Former Saudi official alleges Prince Mohammed forged king's signature on Yemen war decree

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- A former Saudi official on Monday alleged that Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman forged his father's signature on the royal decree that launched the kingdom's yearslong, stalemated war against Yemen's Houthi rebels.

Saudi Arabia did not respond to questions over the allegations made without supporting evidence by Saad al-Jabri in a BBC interview first published Monday. Al-Jabri later acknowledged the allegations separately in detail in a statement to The Associated Press.

The kingdom has described al-Jabri as “a discredited former government official." Al-Jabri, a former major general and intelligence official who lives in exile in Canada, has been in a long dispute with the kingdom as his two children have been imprisoned in a case he describes as an attempt to lure him back to Saudi Arabia. Al-Jabri also alleges that the crown prince wants him assassinated.

“I am not a dissident, nor did I put myself in this situation by choice,” al-Jabri told the AP. “I was a high-ranking Saudi official who dedicated himself to safeguarding his country, recognized for saving thousands of Saudi and Western lives. Now I am a father doing everything possible to secure the release of his children.”

His allegation comes as Prince Mohammed serves as Saudi Arabia's de facto leader, often meeting leaders in place of his father, 88-year-old King Salman.

Prince Mohammed's assertive behavior, particularly early in his ascension to power around the beginning of the Yemen war in 2015, has extended to a wider crackdown on any perceived dissent or power base that could challenge his rule.

Al-Jabri first told the BBC a “credible, reliable” official linked to the Saudi Interior Ministry confirmed to him that Prince Mohammed signed the decree declaring war in place of his father. Prince Mohammed was the defense minister at the time.

Later, al-Jabri told the AP that he had reached a deal with U.S. counterparts in the then-Obama administration for Saudi Arabia to launch “an aerial bombardment campaign to eliminate Houthi threats, establish deterrence and force a political process without a ground intervention.” His former boss, Saudi Arabia’s then-Interior Minister Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, then chaired a meeting in Saudi Arabia formalizing that plan.

Prince Mohammed bin Salman, however, responded with “visible displeasure” at that meeting and said he could beat the Houthis in two months in a ground offensive, al-Jabri claimed.

“Surprisingly, a royal order was later issued, overriding the agreed plan and authorizing a ground operation — without the king's knowledge and with a forged signature,” al-Jabri told the AP.

The U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment over al-Jabri's claims.

The war against the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, launched with public promises by the prince it would quickly be over, has ground on for nearly a decade. The war has killed more than 150,000 people and created one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters.

The Houthis since the start of the current Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip have launched attacks on shipping that have disrupted traffic through the Red Sea — and led to the most intense combat faced by the U.S. Navy since World War II.

Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, who later served as a crown prince for King Salman, was a trusted confidant of the U.S. in the battle against al-Qaida militants in the kingdom after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. King Salman replaced the crown prince for his son in 2017, and Prince Mohammed bin Nayef is believed to have been held under house arrest.

Al-Jabri sued Prince Mohammed bin Salman in U.S. federal court, alleging the crown prince sought to have him killed after he fled abroad. “He planned for my assassination,” al-Jabri told the BBC. “He will not rest until he sees me dead. I have no doubt about that.”

He described his fears that the crown prince still wants him killed as his adult children Sarah and Omar remain imprisoned in the kingdom, something he reiterated to the AP.

“Staying quiet has only made matters worse, so I had no option but to speak out for the well being of my children and my country,” al-Jabri told the AP. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman “started this needless feud and has the power to end it instantly.”