US President Donald Trump spoke on Friday to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman about Middle East stability and the oil market, the White House said, after tensions with Iran prompted a rise in oil prices.

“The two leaders discussed Saudi Arabia’s critical role in ensuring stability in the Middle East and in the global oil market. They also discussed the threat posed by the Iranian regime’s escalatory behavior,” White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said in a statement. </s> U.S. President Donald Trump and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman are seen during the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina November 30, 2018. REUTERS/Marcos Brindicci

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump spoke on Friday to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman about Middle East stability and the oil market, the White House said, after tensions with Iran prompted a rise in oil prices.

“The two leaders discussed Saudi Arabia’s critical role in ensuring stability in the Middle East and in the global oil market. They also discussed the threat posed by the Iranian regime’s escalatory behavior,” White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said in a statement.

The phone call took place in the wake of Iran’s shooting down of an unmanned U.S. drone in the Gulf region, which prompted Trump to prepare but ultimately hold back from launching a retaliatory attack.

There was no word from the White House statement on whether Trump raised with the crown prince the death last October of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

A 100-page report by the U.N. special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, Agnes Callamard, earlier this week accused Saudi Arabia of a “deliberate, premeditated execution” and said the crown prince should be investigated for it. </s> Saudi Arabia has relieved Muhammad bin Nayef as crown prince, replacing him with Mohammed bin Salman, a royal decree published by state news agency SPA reported.

Bin Salman, 31, has been his country's defense minister and deputy crown prince, and was credited with a "huge success" for President Donald Trump's recent decision to stop in Saudi Arabia.

The young prince has taken a central role in Saudi Arabia's efforts to build its economy beyond the oil industry. He holds primary responsibility for the kingdom's military and energy sector.

In March, Bin Salman met Trump in the White House, and agreed that Iran represents a regional security threat.

Here's CNBC's look at Bin Salman's economic vision for his country.

Experts have said that Bin Salman is different than other Saudi leaders in that he had been educated in the kingdom — he wears traditional dress and is popular with young Saudis.

"They see in Mohammad bin Salman someone of their own generation moving up the ladder very quickly. He has a certain degree of popularity. He's also grated a lot of people in the family who see him as abrasive, inexperienced, undisciplined, impulsive," Bruce Riedel, director of the intelligence project at Brookings and former CIA national intelligence officer for the Middle East, told CNBC in 2016.

This is breaking news. Please check back for update.

—Wires and CNBC's Patti Domm and Berkeley Lovelace Jr. contributed to this report. </s> King Salman of Saudi Arabia has ousted his nephew as crown prince and replaced him with his son, Mohammed bin Salman, confirming the 31-year-old as heir and consolidating the kingdom’s move to reassert its influence as a regional power.

The move was announced by royal decree just after midnight, stunning the Saudi establishment, which has seen Bin Salman’s profile soar over the past three years but regarded the role of the former crown prince, Mohammed bin Nayef, a veteran security tsar, as secure.

US rebukes Saudi Arabia over Qatar embargo in reversal after Trump comments Read more

President Trump called Bin Salman on Wednesday to congratulate him on his “recent elevation”.

“The president and the crown prince committed to close cooperation to advance our shared goals of security, stability, and prosperity across the Middle East and beyond,” a White House statement said, adding that the two leaders talked about cutting off support for terrorists, resolving Saudi Arabia’s dispute with Qatar, economic cooperation and “a lasting peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians.”

A source familiar with Trump foreign policy and national security said that Bin Salman was seen by the White House as a key ally.

“The circles who have worked on the bridge between this administration and the Arab coalition, they know each other and they know Prince Mohammed is a solid ally,” the source said. “The consolidation of Prince Mohammed’s influence within the government of Saudi Arabia is going to be seen as a positive development for the administration ... and now there are less risks that there will be opposition to him in the near future.”

The upheaval follows a dizzying series of moves from the usually cautious kingdom, which in recent weeks has seen it recalibrate relations with Washington and open a diplomatic offensive against Qatar, led by Bin Salman’s office, while pressing ahead with a war in Yemen and an ambitious economic and cultural overhaul at home.

Bin Salman has been central to the changes, which have helped his profile and powers grow rapidly under the tutelage of an 81-year-old monarch who has given him an almost free hand across most aspects of society.

By contrast, Bin Nayef, a former interior minister and intelligence chief, and more traditional US ally, had been increasingly marginalised and the decree removed him from all his positions. He had played little role in the reform programme and was given little face time with Donald Trump during the US president’s visit to Riyadh in May, which is widely seen to have precipitated the change in succession.

Iran’s state television, which reflects the views of Tehran’s leaders, called the Saudi appointment “a soft coup”. The two countries are involved in proxy conflicts across the Middle East and the Saudi-led blockade of Qatar came in part over its conciliatory relationship with Iran.

Bin Salman retains his role as defence minister and adds the position of deputy prime minister to his portfolio. He also chairs a weekly cabinet meeting that focuses on all aspects of Saudi society. The country’s allegiance council approved the changes by 31 out of 34 votes.

The new role formalises powers that Bin Salman had assumed with astonishing speed since his father ascended to the throne in January 2015. Since then, he has consolidated more influence than anyone else in the kingdom, spearheading plans for a privatisation of the state oil company, Aramco, while taking charge of the war in Yemen and one of the world’s largest arms budgets.

The decision to blockade and isolate Qatar, nominally a Saudi ally, was also led by Bin Salman’s office. The move, which continues to reverberate around the regional Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), was sparked by the Trump visit that publicly reprioritised Riyadh as a regional ally and wound back the Obama administration’s warming relations with Iran.

US rebukes Saudi Arabia over Qatar embargo in reversal after Trump comments Read more

However, the Qatar blockade has split the Trump administration. While Trump forged a bond with Bin Salman, the sudden aggressive move against Doha alarmed the Pentagon and the State Department, which on Wednesday put out a stern statement rebuking Riyadh and its allies for failing to come up with a formal justification for the embargo.

On Wednesday, the secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, said that justification appeared to be in the pipeline.

“In regards to the continuing dispute within the GCC, we understand a list of demands has been prepared and coordinated by the Saudis, Emiratis, Egyptians, and Bahrainis,” Tillerson said in a written statement. “We hope the list of demands will soon be presented to Qatar and will be reasonable and actionable.”

Riyadh has sought to consolidate what it sees as its renewed prestige, and impose its presence in the region. Qatar had been viewed as an outlier because of its connections to Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood, both of which Bin Salman had seen as threats in Riyadh and elsewhere in the Gulf. In interviews, he has regularly ruled out dialogue with Iran, accusing it of “trying to control the Islamic world”.

Tensions have been simmering between Tehran and Riyadh recently, with Iranian authorities confirming on Tuesday the arrests of three Iranian nationals by Saudi coast guards last week. Both sides provided clashing versions - Tehran said they were fishermen sailing on fishing boats while Riyadh claimed they were members of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards.

Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency, affiliated to the Revolutionary Guards, called the appointment “a political earthquake.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Mohammed bin Salman with Donald Trump in the Oval Office in March. Photograph: Mark Wilson/Getty Images

A senior Iranian MP, Seyedhossein Naghavi-Hosseini, who is the speaker of the parliamentary committee on national security and foreign policy, urged restraint from the Saudis.

“After the appointment of Bin Salman as the crown prince, we urge Saudi officials to act with prudence and according to international norms and they should know their limits,” he said, according to the semi-official Isna news agency.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran does not want war with any country and we believe we can resolve differences with dialogue. There is no need for foreign interference ... but Trump visited Saudi Arabia to do warmongering,”



The rapid rise of the prince has not been without criticism in Riyadh. “Lots of people don’t like him here,” said a western diplomat in the Saudi capital last month. “He is seen as precocious and beyond criticism. There is a view among parts of the establishment that he is not worthy of the powers that he has been given.”

Younger Saudis, however, are thought to be broadly behind an empowered prince who has regularly pledged to cater for their needs – by sharply increasing entertainment options across the conservative kingdom, while emphasising other touchstone issues such as education and more access to skilled jobs.

The Saudi stock market closed up over 5.5% following the news of Bin Salman’s appointment.

Another young prince also ascended to power on Wednesday. Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud, 33, was named the new interior minister tasked with counterterrorism efforts and domestic security. His father is the governor of Saudi Arabia’s vast Eastern Province, home to much of the country’s oil wealth and most of its minority Shiites. He previously served as an adviser to the interior and defense ministries.

The new interior minister is Mohammed bin Nayef’s nephew, while Mohammed bin Salman is the former crown prince’s cousin. All hail from the powerful Sudairi branch of the royal family.



Additional reporting by Saeed Kamali Dehghan </s> The King of Saudi Arabia has appointed his son Mohammed bin Salman as Crown Prince and deputy prime minister, replacing his nephew Mohammed bin Nayef as first in line to the throne.

The new appointment came as a series of decrees amended Article V of the Kingdom's statute of ruling. Salman's appointment was endorsed by 31 out of 34 members of the Allegiance Council, composed of senior members of the ruling Al Saud family.

The reshuffle on Wednesday (21 June) is seen by some as a significant move that can bring about economic changes in the Kingdom, which is highly dependant on oil revenues.

Although some had anticipated Salman's appointment as Crown Prince, the timing was surprising , given that Saudi Arabia is facing tensions with Iran - its rival in the region – and Qatar, and it is embroiled in the war in Yemen, Reuters reported.

"There had been speculation about the appointment for a long time but no concrete evidence it was going to happen. This was clearly negotiated in a very small circle," Steffen Hertog, associate professor at London School of Economics specialising in Gulf and Middle East politics, told IBTimes UK.

Born in Jeddah in 1985, Salman is the eldest son of King Salman and his third wife. The prince obtained a Bachelor's degree in Law and worked in the private sector until 2009, when he started working as a special consultant to his father who, at the time, was the governor of Riyadh Province.

Salman's rise to power began in 2013, when he was appointed as the head of the Crown Prince's Court. Two years later, at at the age of 30, he became the Kingdom's minister of defence after his father became the new king.

In his new role, Salman oversaw a Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen, where a civil war erupted in 2015. The conflict has pitted Iran-allied Houthi forces – who control the capital Sana'a and are allied with loyalists of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh – against forces allied to the government of Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, based in Aden, supported by a coalition led by Saudi Arabia.

Following his father's ascension to the throne, Salman became known locally and internationally and started representing his father abroad, including a trip to the White House in March.

"He has a good relation with the White House," journalist and researcher Naseer Giyas told IBTimes UK. "He was the main event-organiser of [the] recent Arab Islamic American Summit."

According to some analysts, Prince Salman's appointment will speed up the country's attempt to reduce its dependence on oil.

Salman, who is the chairman of the Council of Economic and Development Affairs - established by his father in 2015 - aims to partly privatise the state oil company, Saudi Aramco.

"He has been instrumental to bring economic reforms and trying hard to enhance the non-oil income resources of the Kingdom," Giyas said.

However, Hertog believes there will not be immediate economic changes. "Mohammed bin Salman was already in charge of economic policy, among many other portfolios. It is likely that in the short run austerity policies will be relaxed a bit," he said.

"In the medium term, Mohammed bin Salman's more consolidated position could allow him to take harsher adjustment measures, which are likely to become necessary given the protracted low oil prices and high fiscal deficits."

Giyas believes Mohammed Bin Salman's appointment could "disturb the balance of the power".

"The current monarch [is] trying to pacify the possible political backlash by appointing another eight young princes on key posts," he said. "[The King] appointed Prince Abdul Aziz bin Saud bin Nayef as interior minister. Abdul Aziz is a nephew of ousted Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef."

However, others believe Salman's appointment could avoid a possible power struggle within the royal family.

"It's clearly a transition that has happened smoothly and bloodlessly. Now it's clear, it's straightforward. That kind of clarity lowers the risk. There's no question as to who's going to be in charge," Bernard Haykel, professor of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton, told Reuters.

After being deposed, Mohammed bin Nayef pledged allegiance to Salman and said "I am content." In response, Salman said: "We will not give up taking your guidance and advice."

"There will not be a power struggle; Mohammed bin Nayef has pledged [loyalty] to MBS in public and has lost his position as Minister of Interior, his main basis of power," Hertog said. "The power structure in KSA [ Kingdom of Saudi Arabia ] is more centralized now than it has ever been since the times of founder King Abdulaziz in the 1950s." </s> Saudi Arabia named Defense Minister Mohammed bin Salman, the king's son, as crown prince by royal decree on Wednesday, the official Saudi Press Agency announced.

Prince Mohammed, 31, replaces Muhammad bin Nayef as the heir-apparent to King Salman, 81, who assumed the throne in January 2015. Bin Nayef, a nephew of the king's, was also removed as deputy premier and interior minister. Prince Mohammed will remain defense minister, the press agency said.

No reason for the replacement was immediately announced, but Prince Mohammed, not Bin Nayef, was tapped to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House in March, a meeting that was widely hailed as a success in Saudi Arabia.

Related: Dueling Princes: One Saudi Gets Lunch With Trump, His Rival Gets a Medal

The crown prince is often depicted as a reform-minded technocrat devoted to building the kingdom's economy beyond the oil industry.

And as defense minister, bin Salman has pursued a war in neighboring Yemen, leading forces from other Arab states to put down a rebellion by Iran-linked Houthi rebels. Rising civilian Yemeni casualties have garnered international condemnation of Saudi Arabia.

Last year, Prince Mohammed visited Silicon Valley to sell his vision of market-oriented reforms and a transformation of the kingdom's society.

"This guy is all about change,” Saudi analyst Ahmad Al-Ibrahim told NBC News in November as Prince Mohammed was promoting modernization of Saudi Arabia's economy as a way to modernize the desert kingdom's ultra-conservative social structure.

The prince has “huge ambitions and a Western mindset that he wants to apply to Saudi Arabia," Al-Ibrahim said at the time. </s> US President Donald Trump said close ally Saudi Arabia and its king would not last "for two weeks" without US military support at a rally in Mississippi on Tuesday.

"We protect Saudi Arabia. Would you say they're rich. And I love the King, King Salman. But I said 'King - we're protecting you - you might not be there for two weeks without us - you have to pay for your military,'" the president said to cheers at the rally.

Trump did not say when he made those remarks to the Saudi monarch, but they come amid increasing oil prices in the US.

Saudi Arabia is the world's top oil exporter and the de facto leader of the oil producing bloc, OPEC, which has been criticised by Trump for high oil prices.

Trump called King Salman on Saturday to discuss efforts to maintain supplies to ensure oil market stability and global economic growth, according to Saudi state news agency SPA.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman traveled to Kuwait last weekend to speak with Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, reportedly about increasing oil production.

No further developments have surfaced from the Kuwait meeting but media reports said the Gulf crisis was also on the agenda of the talks.

Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly in New York last month, Trump said OPEC members were "as usual ripping off the rest of the world".

Oil prices are on the rise. A barrel of oil currently costs about $75, continuing a steady increase over the past year. The price per barrel was around $50 in October 2017.

The average cost of a gallon (3.78 litres) of petrol in the US was $3 in May, according to AP. Despite the harsh words, the Trump administration has had a close relationship with Saudi Arabia, which it views as a bulwark against Iran's ambitions in the region.

Trump made Saudi Arabia his first stop on his maiden international trip as president last year, shortly before Bahrain, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia imposed a blockade on Qatar, alleging support of terror organisations and decrying what they see as its close relationship with Iran.

"We defend many of these nations for nothing, and then they take advantage of us by giving us high oil prices. Not good. We want them to stop raising prices, we want them to start lowering prices," Trump said.

The US military was stationed in Saudi Arabia from the first Gulf War against Iraq in 1990 to 2003, when then Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld announced pullout.

The presence of the US military in Saudi Arabia, home to the two holiest sites in Islam – Mecca and Medina – was strongly objected to by most of the world’s Muslim population, according to opinion polls published by Gallup in 2009.

Qatar hosts the largest US military base in the region.

Trump has also pressed other US allies, such as Japan, South Korea and Germany, to take more of the financial burden of their defence. </s> He came to power promising to revolutionise the world’s most conservative country. But the murder of a journalist could be the Crown Prince’s downfall.

He came to power promising to revolutionise the world’s most conservative country. But the murder of a journalist could be the Crown Prince’s downfall.

JUST six months ago, the United States was rolling out the red carpet for Saudi Arabia's ruling autocrat.

Young, ambitious and viewed as relatively progressive for the ultraconservative kingdom, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman went through a phase of rock-star status in the western world.

But of all the things threatening the facade, it was the sudden disappearance of a prominent Saudi journalist in Turkey that may have brought him down.

THE RISE AND FALL OF MOHAMMED BIN SALMAN

When Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman came to power in 2015, his rise was seen as a sign of the shifting sands in Saudi Arabia.

The 33-year-old leader pushed ambitious plans to transform the country into a modern state through a series of reforms that would secure its economic future. The ultraconservative kingdom lifted its driving ban on women in June this year.

Bin Salman boasted a "Vision 2030" plan to ease social controls in the kingdom and embrace a more open and tolerant interpretation of Islam.

He was the young reformer set on bringing the Middle Eastern kingdom into the 21st century and opening it up to the world, with western diplomats hailing him as a breath of fresh air in the regressive nation.



 Of course, this was largely a PR exercise designed to make the country more palatable to the West. But it worked.

Despite his country's atrocious human rights record, bin Salman was received in the US like a celebrity in April.

TIME Magazine featured him on its cover. He had televised interviews with western media outlets, with 60 Minutes hailing him as a "revolutionary" who was "emancipating women". He dined with Morgan Freeman, director James Cameron and The Rock, who posted on Instagram that it was a "pleasure" meeting him and a "fascinating experience".

Various incidents have put stains on that image - he arrested at least seven high-profile women's activists in May, detained Lebanon leader Saad Hariri and allegedly forced him to resign, and threatened to arrest anyone who dared question his reforms.

 Late last year, he was behind a Game of Thrones-style purge billed as an "anti-corruption" campaign, detaining dozens of members of Saudi Arabia's political and business elite accused of corruption.

Under his watch, Saudi Arabia intervened in the civil war in neighbouring Yemen, entered a massive diplomatic spat with Canada, and isolated Qatar by closing the smaller country's only land border.

But it was the mysterious disappearance of one of his most prominent critics, Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, that saw bin Salman crash and burn in the eyes of the West.

HOW KHASHOGGI TURNED THE TIDE ON SAUDI PRINCE

Jamal Khashoggi is a prominent journalist whose Post column often criticised the Saudi government.

He hasn't been seen since October 2, when he went into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to sort out marriage paperwork.

A Turkish newspaper is now reporting the contents of the writer's Apple Watch recorded his final brutal moments.

According to The Sabah newspaper, authorities recovered the audio from Khashoggi's iPhone and his iCloud account, which were synced up to his watch.

 It's believed he gave his phones to his fiancee, Hatice Cengiz before entering the consulate to arrange paperwork for his marriage.

The tape, if it's authentic, supposedly reveals Khashoggi had his fingers cut off and his panicked screams as he was dying could reportedly be heard before he was "injected with an unknown drug" and then nothing more is heard from him.

The Saudi government has denied the claims - with the controversy dealing a huge blow to the kingdom's image and efforts by the youthful Crown Prince to showcase a reform drive.

But the disappearance has sparked global outrage and demands for a full investigation of his death.

 According to US media reports, the kingdom is considering an admission that Khashoggi died after an interrogation that went wrong during an intended abduction.

Citing two unnamed sources, CNN has reported Saudi Arabia is preparing a report that would admit Khashoggi was killed as the result of an interrogation that went wrong.

One source cautioned the report was still being prepared and could change, CNN said on Monday.

The other source said the report would likely conclude that the operation was carried out without clearance and that those involved will be held responsible, the cable news outlet said.

In the meantime, international pressure continues to mount against bin Salman and the Saudis, with France, Germany, the UK and the US pushing for the truth.

Worse still, numerous companies and individuals are backing away from doing business with the kingdom.

Representatives from more than a dozen western news outlets, including The New York Times, The Financial Times, Bloomberg and The Economist, have removed their media sponsorship and withdrawn from an upcoming international conference to be hosted by the Crown Prince, according to Axios.

At the same time, top tech executives are pulling away from the Neom project advisory board, an ambitious $500 billion project spruiked by the kingdom as a sustainable futuristic megacity.

Apple's chief design officer Jony Ive, former US secretary of energy Ernest Moriz, Footpath Labs' Dan Doctoroff, and former vice president of the European Commission Neelie Kroes have all suspended their involvement in the project.

And Hollywood agency Endeavour Content is pulling out of a $400 million investment deal in the country, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Even US politicians are saying time is up for bin Salman.

Senator Lindsey Graham, one of the conservative kingdom's most vocal defenders in Congress and a close ally of President Donald Trump, said the Crown Prince has "got to go".

Senator Graham vowed never to return to the country as long as the young leader remains in power.

"This guy is a wrecking ball. He had this guy murdered in a consulate in Turkey, and to expect me to ignore it - I feel used and abused," he said in a Fox & Friends interview.

He said bin Salman is "toxic" and "can never be a world leader on the world stage".

In a 60 Minutes interview earlier this week, Mr Trump warned that the Saudi kingdom would face "severe punishment" if it was proved responsible for the journalist's death.

"There's something really terrible and disgusting about that, if that was the case, so we're going to have to see," Mr Trump said. "We're going to get to the bottom of it and there will be severe punishment."

Whether the Crown Prince is even concerned by the global fury is up for debate.

His main concern, argues Washington Examiner journalist Tom Togan, is how he's viewed within his own country - particularly by those who want him gone.

"While Saudi Arabia's Western allies are lining up to criticise his government, none of those nations pose an existential threat to his rule. If anything, Mohammed bin Salman is confident that these nations will want to retain Saudi stability for reasons of oil market stability and their own export interests," Togan wrote.

"In contrast, the real threat to his rule is those in Saudi Arabia who, either in opposition to his liberalising reforms of society, or his ending of the oil-patronage networks, or his consolidation of total power, want to see bin Salman gone."

That said, Mr Trump's threat of "severe punishment" did spark a reaction from the kingdom.

Earlier this week, prominent Saudi journalist Turki Aldakhil warned the US it would "stab its own economy to death" if it tried to retaliate with sanctions.

In a furious opinion piece, Aldakhil warned such actions would cause oil prices to rise as high as $200 a barrel, drive the Middle East towards Iran and lead Riyadh to permit a Russian military base in the city of Tabuk.

"The information circulating within decision-making circles within the kingdom have gone beyond the rosy language used in the statement," Aldakhil wrote for the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya news channel.

"There are simple procedures, that are part of over 30 others, that Riyadh will implement directly, without flinching an eye if sanctions are imposed," he said.

"If US sanctions are imposed on Saudi Arabia, we will be facing an economic disaster that would rock the entire world."

He added: "If the price of oil reaching $80 angered President Trump, no one should rule out the price jumping to $100, or $200, or even double that figure." </s> Donald Trump offered a very public “thank you” to Saudi Arabia for low oil prices just one day after refusing to condemn the kingdom for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

On Tuesday, Trump seemed to go against the assessment of the CIA in declaring that he was unsure of whether Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman ordered the killing of the Washington Post journalist. Trump released a statement refusing to condemn the country — and to risk losing Saudi investments — and said it was ultimately undetermined whether the crown prince personally ordered Khashoggi to be killed.

Trump doubled down via Twitter in his support of Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, tweeting a congratulation about low oil prices that personally thanked the kingdom.

“Oil prices getting lower. Great!” he tweeted. “Like a big Tax Cut for America and the World. Enjoy! $54, was just $82. Thank you to Saudi Arabia, but let’s go lower!”

As the Independent noted, there is plenty of doubt as to whether Saudi Arabia did anything to lower worldwide oil prices.

The report added that Donald Trump seems to be hoping that a focus on oil prices will take attention away from his denials about Jamal Khashoggi’s murder. Despite a report from the New York Times that the CIA found his murder came at the direct order of Crown Prince Mohammad, Trump seemed to refuse to accept this assessment in a statement released Tuesday.

“It could very well be that the crown prince had knowledge of this tragic event,” Trump said in a statement (via the Associated Press). “Maybe he did and maybe he didn’t!”

Many had been calling on Donald Trump to come down hard on Saudi Arabia, despite signs that Trump would not. Just after it was revealed that Khashoggi had been murdered at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Trump said he did not want to risk a multi-billion dollar arms deal with Saudi Arabia. Trump had also praised Saudi Arabia for its investments in his own companies, saying they would pay upward of $40 million or $50 million to buy condos from his company.

But experts have also said that Donald Trump is overvaluing the investments Saudi Arabia has made, noting that the arms deal is well below the $100 billion mark that Trump has repeatedly claimed.
U.S. President Donald Trump spoke to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman about Middle East stability and the oil market, the White House says, after tensions with Iran prompt a rise in oil prices.