The New Map: Energy, Climate, and the Clash of Nations

by Daniel Yergin

On Salman’s accession to the throne in 2015, Mohammed, heretofore largely unknown, catapulted at age twenty-nine into the position of deputy crown prince—and quickly assumed additional power as minister of defense and head of both the supreme economic council and the supreme council overseeing the oil industry. He oversaw the launch of what would prove the protracted war against the rebel Houthis in Yemen. In June 2017, MBS pushed his cousin Mohammed bin Nayef aside as crown prince. Previously interior minister, bin Nayef had led the anti-extremist campaign since the early 2000s and was well known to Washington. Now MBS was next in line to be king, with the potential for a very long timeline as his father’s successor, whenever that time came. And the ministry of interior, with its responsibilities for domestic security, was also now under his sway.