Saudi crown prince loses his lustre over Khashoggi case | Financial Times

Saudi crown prince loses his lustre over Khashoggi case | Financial Times:

For three years, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been creating waves across the Middle East seemingly unchecked as he has shaken up the conservative kingdom and pursued an assertive foreign policy.

On the crown prince’s watch, western allies had said little about a series of provocative moves. Saudi Arabia apparently detained Lebanon’ s prime minister in Riyadh, where he announced his shock resignation last year; the kingdom led a regional blockade on Qatar; and a Saudi-led coalition has intensified its war in Yemen. At home, the authorities detained members of the Al-Saud ruling family, shook down some of the kingdom’s wealthiest businessmen in an anti-corruption purge, and locked up dozens of clerics, academics, activists and bloggers.

But the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi, a prominent Saudi journalist, may mark the end of indulgence for Prince Mohammed, who finds his increasingly authoritarian rule under unprecedented scrutiny. The Khashoggi case risks plunging the world’s top oil exporter into its biggest diplomatic crisis with western allies since the 9/11 attacks on the Twin Towers and threatens to undermine Prince Mohammed’s uncontested hold on power.