What Does the Saudi Crown Prince Want?
The Inquiry
BBC
4.6 • 1.7K Ratings
🗓️ 16 November 2017
⏱️ 23 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
He’s pushed through reforms but some fear there is a darker desire driving the ruler. In one night, Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman arrested over a dozen Princes and government ministers on corruption charges. To turn on his own royal family, he must be serious. But is corruption the Crown Prince’s real target or is this a power grab? There are also fears that the aggressive stance he has taken with Lebanon, Yemen and Qatar is increasing tensions with regional rival Iran. If the tension reaches a tipping point, there are fears the conflict could widen beyond the region. So what is he up to? What does the Saudi Crown Prince want?
(Photo: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, in Riyadh on October 24 2017. Credit: Fayez Nureldine/Getty Images)
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello, thank you for downloading this edition of the inquiry from the BBC World Service. |
| 0:04.8 | We ask a pressing question from the world news every week, |
| 0:08.4 | and with the help of four expert witnesses, answer it. |
| 0:12.3 | This week, it's a many-layered story which reveals the |
| 0:15.6 | Saudi crown prince's deepest desires. They're calling it the night of the long knives. |
| 0:27.0 | On November the 4th at 11 p.m. |
| 0:30.0 | guests staying at the grandest hotel in Saudi Arabia's capital city were told to leave. |
| 0:37.0 | Confused, they packed their bags and went to find somewhere else in Riyadh to sleep. |
| 0:42.0 | The hotel stopped taking new bookings. |
| 0:45.0 | But at midnight it opened its doors again to busloads of princes, ministers and businessmen. |
| 0:59.0 | The VIPs were ushered in under heavy guard. |
| 1:06.5 | Once they were inside, the hotel doors shut again, |
| 1:11.2 | firmly. These 30 members of Saudi Arabia's elite were under house arrest. |
| 1:21.7 | Accused of corruption, scores more had been detained in other locations, |
| 1:26.5 | private jets grounded to prevent escape. |
| 1:29.7 | The ruthless round-up was carried out by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the King's |
| 1:40.0 | son and heir to the throne. |
| 1:44.0 | It shocked and amazed everyone in Saudi Arabia, |
| 1:48.0 | and all around the world people were asking, |
| 1:50.0 | who is this prince and what's he up to? |
| 1:55.0 | This is only the latest in a series of dramatic actions undertaken by Mohammed bin Salman. |
| 2:01.0 | So our inquiry this week, what does the Saudi Crown Prince want? Part 1 out of the shadows. |
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