Saudi King Replaces Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Nayef With Son Mohammad Bin Salman

Saudi Arabia has relieved Muhammad bin Nayef from his role as crown prince, replacing him with Mohammad bin Salman, according to a royal decree published by state news agency SPA.

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

Saudi Arabia's King Salman called for a public pledging of allegiance in Mecca on Wednesday to the new crown prince, Saudi-owned channel al-Arabiya said on Wednesday.

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.

In May, the then-deputy crown prince said his radical economic reforms were succeeding in protecting the kingdom against low oil prices, and he promised massive investments in coming years to help diversify the economy beyond oil.

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.

The Al-Arabiya broadcaster reported that Muhammad Bin Nayef has also lost the post of the interior minister. The post was filled with Prince Abdelaziz bin Saud bin Nayeff, according to media reports.

The news comes amid the ongoing standoff between a number of Gulf states and Qatar. On June 5, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt cut off diplomatic relations with Qatar, accusing the latter of supporting terrorist organizations and destabilizing the situation in the Middle East.

Yemen, the Maldives, Mauritius, Mauritania and the eastern-based government in divided Libya also announced a break in relations with Doha, while Jordan and Djibouti said they would lower the level of diplomatic contacts with Qatar. Senegal, Chad and Niger recalled their ambassadors from Doha.