The Week That Was Stirring the Saudi Succession Pot Saudi Arabia stole the headlines this week with a rash of royal decrees. Most notably, the king's favorite son, Mohammed bin Salman, slid into the critical role of Crown Prince, displacing the king's quieter and more cautious nephew, Mohammed bin Nayef, in the royal succession plan. Bin Salman is already defense minister and head of the Aramco supreme council as well as architect of the ambitious Vision 2030 economic reform plans. There were already signs that the father-son duo would sideline bin Nayef, but the move was likely accelerated by an internal debate over how to manage the ongoing confrontation with Doha.