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Agence France-Presse

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman appointed a new foreign minister on Wednesday, according to a royal decree issued less than a year after his predecessor took office.
Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud, who has been serving as ambassador to Germany, will replace Ibrahim al-Assaf, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) cited the decree as saying.
Assaf will be demoted to minister of state, the SPA reported, having replaced Adel al-Jubeir in December 2018, two months after the murder of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the kingdom’s Istanbul consulate.
Assaf had been detained in 2017 in an anti-corruption sweep.

Saudi officials say he was released after being cleared of any wrongdoing, and he subsequently led a government delegation to the World Economic Forum in Davos earlier this year.
Saud will take office as the kingdom continues to deal with the aftermath of Khashoggi’s killing, widely seen as the kingdom’s worst diplomatic crisis since the September 11 attacks, in which most of the hijackers were identified as Saudi nationals.
The 45-year-old new foreign minister served as a key adviser at the Saudi embassy in Washington during the time of Khashoggi’s murder in October.
Farhan has “strong ties with ‘the West’”, tweeted Cinzia Bianco, a Middle East analyst at the European Council on Foreign Relations.

.....Strong ties with 'the West'. Highly educated, speaks several languages, charming and broadly respected. He is dynamic and proactive. The Ministry will likely be different than what we saw with Adel al-Jubeir and Ibrahim al-Assaf (latter mostly focused on economic relations)
— Cinzia Bianco (@Cinzia_Bianco) October 23, 2019

“He is dynamic and proactive. The ministry will likely be different than what we saw with Adel al-Jubeir and Ibrahim al-Assaf.”
She told AFP on Wednesday that Farhan “has really strong ties with traditional Saudi allies, US and even a more European outlook than would be traditionally the case”.
Elana DeLozier, a research fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told AFP it was still not immediately clear why the replacements took place.
“Al-Jubeir, the foreign minister previously, is still rather present in the foreign policy scene,” she said. “In fact, he has remained more prominent in the media than Assaf.”
Saudi King Salman also replaced the transport minister, Nabil al-Amoudi, with Saleh bin Nasser Al-Jasser on Wednesday. This comes after 35 foreigner were killed when a bus collided with another heavy vehicle near the Islamic holy city of Medina last week.
Saudi crown prince takes ‘full responsibility’ for journalist’s murder
Transporting worshippers around the holy sites, particularly during the haj, is a huge challenge for Saudi Arabia.
During the pilgrimage, the roads can be chaotic with thousands of buses creating interminable traffic jams.
The kingdom has also been navigating a spike in tensions with its regional arch-rival Iran, with attacks on Saudi oil facilities last month that temporarily halved the kingdom’s crude output and sent prices soaring.
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels claimed responsibility, but US officials blamed Tehran, charging that the rebels did not have the range or sophistication to target the facilities.
Tehran has denied involvement and warned of “total war” in the event of any attack on its territory.
Earlier this month, an Iranian tanker was hit in suspected missile strikes off the coast of Saudi Arabia, sparking new fears of war.


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Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia replaces foreign minister Ibrahim al-Assaf less than a year after his appointment, demotes him to minister of state

Saudi Arabia’s new foreign minister Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud. Photo: Reuters

epa07915157 Adel al-Jubeir, Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, attends an Arab League states' foreign ministers emergency meeting to discuss Syria situation, at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, 12 October 2019. Turkey has launched an offensive targeting Kurdish forces in north-eastern Syria, days after the US withdrew troops from the area.  EPA-EFE/Mohamed Hossam

Jackie Chan says he wants to make films in Saudi Arabia after being honoured with award in Riyadh

Jason Momoa, Jackie Chan, Shah Rukh Khan and Jean-Claude Van Damme at the Joy Forum in Riyadh. Photo: Instagram

Jackie Chan receives the Joy Excellence award in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman takes ‘full responsibility’ for murder of Jamal Khashoggi but denies ordering the killing

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Photo: Pool Photo via AP

FILE - In this Dec. 15, 2014, file photo, Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi speaks during a press conference in Manama, Bahrain. Nearly one year has passed since the Oct. 2 killing of Khashoggi, whose body has still not been found, no one has been convicted and questions continue to linger over the crown prince’s culpability. At the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, relatives of activists detained in Saudi Arabia, and Khashoggi’s fiancée, wondered why those responsible haven’t been punished. (AP Photo/Hasan Jamali, File)

Saudi prince Mohammed bin Salman says Khashoggi murder 'happened under my watch'

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Photo: Reuters

FILE - In this Dec. 15, 2014 file photo, Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi speaks during a press conference in Manama, Bahrain. A Turkish newspaper says in his final words, slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi urged his killers not to cover his mouth because he suffered from asthma and could suffocate. The Sabah newspaper on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2019 published new excerpts of a recording of Khashoggi's conversation with members of a Saudi hit squad sent to kill him. (AP Photo/Hasan Jamali, File)

Saudi Arabia, UAE want to ‘fight Iran to the last American’, diplomat Javad Zarif says

A heavily damaged installation at the Khurais oil processing plant in Saudi Arabia. Photo: AFP

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World

Middle East


Assaf will be replaced, by virtue of a royal decree, by the country’s ambassador to Germany Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud



Assaf will be replaced, by virtue of a royal decree, by the country’s ambassador to Germany Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud.


Saudi Arabia replaces foreign minister Ibrahim al-Assaf less than a year after his appointment, demotes him to minister of state

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} Assaf will be replaced, by virtue of a royal decree, by the country’s ambassador to Germany Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud

Assaf will be replaced, by virtue of a royal decree, by the country’s ambassador to Germany Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud