Former Saudi Official Alleges Prince Mohammed Forged King's Signature on Yemen War Decree, BBC Says

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A former Saudi official has 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 immediately respond to a request for comment over the allegations made without supporting evidence by Saad al-Jabri in a BBC interview published Monday. The kingdom has described him as “a discredited former government official." Al-Jabri, a former 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 trying to lure him back to Saudi Arabia.

The 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 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.

“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.”

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

The war against the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, launched with 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.

Al-Jabri once worked for former Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, 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 children remain imprisoned in the kingdom.

Al-Jabri also again alleged Prince Mohammed considered assassinating former King Abdullah with a poison ring from Russia — something he claimed in a 2021 interview with CBS.