Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud King of Saudi Arabia The king of Saudi Arabia, Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, 82, was previously governor of Riyadh for 48 years. He was named crown prince following the death of his brother in 2012, and became king in 2015. His most notable moves to date was to launch a war on Yemen in March 2015 - where the Saudi-led bloc is supported by eight other Arab countries including the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Egypt. As a result of the diplomatic crisis Qatar was removed from the coalition shortly after. Saudi has blocked the only land crossing into Qatar and has blocked air and sea links to the country, as well



Mohammad Bin Salman Al Saud Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia The crown prince of Saudi Arabia, 31-year-old Mohammad bin Salman is also the kingdom's minister of defence. In a surprise announcement on June 21, 2017, King Salman reshuffled the line to the throne and announced bin Salman as his successor, replacing Mohammed bin Nayef. The newly crowned prince has ruled out any chance of dialogue with Iran, promising to take “the battle” to Tehran. In one of his first moves as defence minister, Mohammad bin Salman led the Saudi coalition's invasion in Yemen. Operation Decisive Storm was launched in 2015, and to date, the United Nations has accused the coalition of war crimes. It is believed that Mohammad bin Salman was behind the GCC diplomatic rift, seeking to challenge the Qatari emir's power and credibility in the region.

