DUBAI ¨C On his first White House visit since the killing of Saudi critic Jamal Khashoggi sparked global outrage, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is on a mission to reclaim his place on the world stage and prove to President Donald Trump that backing his forceful leadership was worth the gamble.
Tuesday¡¯s meeting between Trump and Saudi Arabia¡¯s de facto ruler ¡ª widely known as MBS ¡ª underscores a relationship built on strategic interests that have endured even as the uproar around the 2018 killing of Khashoggi, an insider-turned-critic, recedes into history. Seven years on, MBS now casts himself as a broker of peace, repairing ties with Iran, pushing for a Gaza ceasefire and welcoming Syria back into the Arab fold, a striking pivot from a prince once branded reckless for plunging into Yemen¡¯s war.
Both reformist and autocrat, MBS has emerged as the most momentous and audacious leader in the kingdom¡¯s modern history ¡ª driving its transformation and shaping its future.
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