Saudi Arabia's powerful crown prince dominates US media

The US media has widely covered Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's (MBS) English-language interview with Fox News, which aired on the evening of September 20.

The conversation with the powerful Saudi Crown Prince shed light on the situation in the Middle East, as well as the kingdom’s progress toward normalizing relations with Israel. The interview also focused attention on MBS’s commitment to improving the living conditions of Palestinians.

The topics covered in the interview were wide-ranging and had political and economic resonance, including discussions on Chinese and US leaders, Iran, energy markets, Crown Prince MBS’s Vision 2030 plan, economic growth and judicial reform.

The US media has highlighted Crown Prince MBS's leadership and his willingness to establish an increasingly improved relationship with Iran, while highlighting his determination to help Riyadh acquire nuclear capabilities to balance power in case Tehran obtains them.

New York Post reporter Victor Nava focuses on Crown Prince MBS's statements revealing his country's approach if Iran acquires nuclear weapons.

Crown Prince MBS argued that if Iran were able to acquire some kind of nuclear weapon and its leadership decided to use it, Tehran would quickly find itself at war with “the whole world .” “The world cannot afford to see another Hiroshima,” he noted.

“We are concerned about any country acquiring nuclear weapons. That is a very bad move,” the crown prince said. “You don’t need to have nuclear weapons because you can’t use them even if you can have them.”

World - Saudi Arabia's powerful Crown Prince — Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) in an interview with Fox News (USA), broadcast on September 20, 2023. Photo: Asharq Al-Awsat

Meanwhile, CNN highlighted the Saudi Crown Prince’s statements regarding the prospect of normalizing relations with Israel. The news channel pointed to the Crown Prince’s statements that Saudi Arabia is “getting closer every day” to reaching an agreement to normalize relations with Israel.

CNN called the claims unprecedented, especially given that negotiations are being taken “very seriously.”

Crown Prince MBS also told Fox News host Baier that the pact with Israel would be “the biggest historic deal since the Cold War.”

MBS has given few interviews to Western media, especially since the 2018 murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, which US intelligence believes was the result of an operation carried out by Saudi agents with the crown prince's approval. The Saudi crown prince has denied any involvement.

“We’ve tried to reform our security system to make sure that this kind of mistake doesn’t happen again,” he said on Fox News about the Khashoggi killing. “It was a mistake. It’s painful,” he said, stressing that “everyone involved” should go to jail.

In the five years since, the Arab world's leading kingdom has shaken off international isolation as it shifted its focus to major diplomatic initiatives and advances under Vision 2030, Crown Prince MBS's wide-ranging plan to overhaul the Saudi economy, provide jobs for young people and reduce its dependence on oil revenues .

Minh Duc (According to Asharq Al-Awsat, AP)

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