Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler offered reassuring words on Tuesday about the health of the Gulf kingdom’s aging monarch, who has a lung infection, state media said.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, first in line to the throne, “reassures everyone about the health of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques,” the official Saudi Press Agency said on social media, referring to the prince’s father, King Salman.
Prince Mohammed also voiced “gratitude to everyone who inquired about King Salman’s health” and prayed for his “speedy recovery.”
His comments came at the weekly cabinet meeting that King Salman usually attends, though he was absent on Tuesday.
On Sunday, the Royal Court said that the king had a lung infection and was undergoing a treatment program involving antibiotics.
A statement earlier that day said that he was suffering from a high temperature and joint pain.
Prince Mohammed cancelled a planned trip to Japan “due to the health condition of King Salman,” Japan’s top government spokesman said on Monday.
King Salman has been on the throne since 2015, although 38-year-old Prince Mohammed was named crown prince in 2017 and acts as day-to-day ruler.
Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest crude oil exporter, sought for years to quell speculation about King Salman’s health, which is rarely discussed.
But the Royal Court disclosed in April that the monarch had been admitted to King Faisal Specialist Hospital for “routine examinations.” He left the hospital later the same day.
Before that, his most recent hospitalization had been in May 2022, when he was admitted for a colonoscopy and stayed for just over a week.
With AFP
