Prince Mohammed Accused of Forging King’s Signature on War Decree: Report

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been accused of forging his father’s signature on the royal decree that initiated the kingdom’s war against Yemen’s Houthi rebels, according to a former Saudi official.

The claim was made without supporting evidence during an interview with the BBC by Saad al-Jabri, a former Saudi intelligence officer now living in exile in Canada.

Newsweek contacted the Saudi Royal Family and the Saudi Embassy in London for comment by email, but received no response Monday morning.

The Yemen war began in 2014 with a promise from Prince Mohammad, then defense minister, of a swift campaign. Instead the war has dragged on for nearly a decade, resulting in over 150,000 deaths and creating one of the worst humanitarian crises in recent history.

In al-Jabri’s remarks to the BBC, he said a “credible, reliable” official linked to the Saudi Interior Ministry confirmed to him that Prince Mohammed signed the royal decree declaring war in place of his father.

“We were surprised that there was a royal decree to allow the ground interventions,” al-Jabri told the BBC. “He forged the signature of his dad for that royal decree. The king’s mental capacity was deteriorating.”

The Saudi government has previously described al-Jabri as “a discredited former government official.”

The official has been involved in a yearslong dispute with the kingdom as his two children have been imprisoned in a case he describes as trying to lure him back to Saudi Arabia.

A U.S.-based lawyer for al-Jabri did not immediately respond to a request for comment from AP.

Prince Mohammed has increasingly taken on the responsibilities of leadership from his aging father, King Salman.

The conflict in Yemen has recently escalated with Houthi forces launching attacks on maritime traffic amid the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

Al-Jabri’s accusations add to growing scrutiny of Prince Mohammed’s leadership, which has been marked by aggressive measures to consolidate power, including the sidelining of former Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef in 2017.

Bin Nayef, once a key ally of the U.S. in counterterrorism efforts, is believed to be under house arrest following his removal.

Al-Jabri has previously sued Prince Mohammed in U.S. federal court, alleging that the Crown Prince plotted to assassinate him after he fled Saudi Arabia.

In his interview with the BBC, he reiterated claims made in a 2021 CBS News interview that Prince Mohammed had considered using a poison ring from Russia to kill former King Abdullah.

Al-Jabri expressed fears for his own safety, stating that the Crown Prince “will not rest until he sees me dead.”