Saudi Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz has died, the palace announced yesterday, leaving his brother Prince Nayef the likely successor to ailing King Abdullah at a time of Middle East turmoil.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad sent condolences to the king, despite strains over his security forces’ deadly crackdown on anti-regime protests
The crown prince, aged 80 according to government records, served as the oil kingpin’s defence minister for nearly five decades and had been in the US since mid-June for medical treatment. He was operated on in July.
A half-brother of King Abdullah, Sultan spent long periods abroad for undisclosed medical treatment.
A Western diplomat, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, said Prince Sultan had been hooked up to life support systems at New York Presbyterian hospital and was declared “clinically dead” more than a month ago.
Condolences flooded into the kingdom from world leaders as news of the prince’s death was confirmed.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, on a trip to the central Asian nation of Tajikistan, said the prince would be “missed”, stressing Washington’s enduring ties with the oil-rich Gulf state.
“I offer my deepest condolences for this loss to King Abdullah and the Saudi people,” she said. “He will be missed.”
In Jordan, King Abdullah II opened a World Economic Forum in the country’s Dead Sea resort town with a minute of silence in the late prince’s honour, hailing him as a “champion of the Arab and Muslim cause.”
Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron said he was “saddened” to hear of Sultan’s death.
“He had many friends in this country, and we have all benefited from his wisdom and expertise in international affairs over his long years of service,” the prime minister said.
Prince Charles, the heir to the British throne, wrote to King Abdullah, his Clarence House office said.
“The Prince of Wales sent a personal letter of condolence to the king of Saudi Arabia expressing his deep sadness at the news,” a spokesman said.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, despite strains in ties with Riyadh over his security forces’ deadly crackdown on anti-regime protests, also sent condolences to the king.
And Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi sent condolences, expressing “sympathy to his counterpart and the deceased’s next of kin,” media reported.