Saudi foreign minister Adel al-Jubeir was reportedly fired on Friday and replaced by Khaled bin Salman, the crown prince’s younger brother, according to sources cited by several media outlets including Al-Masdar News.
A diplomatic source who wished not to be identified also confirmed the royal decision to Middle East Eye.
Prince Khaled is currently Riyadh’s ambassador to the United States. A graduate of Columbus Air Force Base in Mississippi, he had served as an F-15 pilot in the Saudi air force.
Al-Jubeir succeeded foreign policy veteran Prince Saud Al Faisal in 2015 to become the second foreign minister in the history of the kingdom who is not a member of the royal family.
Like Prince Khaled, he was serving as ambassador to the US before his appointment.
Saudi Arabia's foreign policy has come under rare criticism from Washington in recent days.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has urged Saudi restraint in Yemen, Qatar and Lebanon.
"With respect to Saudi Arabia's engagement with Qatar, how they're handling the Yemen war that they're engaged in, the Lebanon situation, we would encourage them to be a bit more measured and a bit more thoughtful in those actions to, I think, fully consider the consequences," Tillerson said on Friday.
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