Saad Aljabri, once Saudi Arabia’s number two intelligence official, said the crown prince runs a vicious mercenary gang called the “Tiger Squad” that he uses to carry out kidnappings and assassinations, including the killing of Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate Arabia in Istanbul in 2018. “I’m here to sound the alarm about a psychopathic, murderous, Middle Eastern man with infinite resources who is a threat to his people, to Americans and to the planet,” Aljabri told his “60 Minutes” CBS News. interview that aired on Sunday. “A psychopath?” asked host Scott Pelley. , “A psychopath without empathy, feels no emotion, has never learned from his experience. And we have witnessed atrocities and crimes committed by this murderer,” Aljabri clarified. The former Saudi spy was number two in Saudi intelligence before the crown prince forced him out. CBS Aljabri was a top adviser to Mohammed bin Nayef, nephew of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. But MBS ousted Nayef as crown prince of Saudi Arabia in a 2017 palace purge. By then, Aljabri, fearing for his life, had already left the country, and after the coup he fled to Canada, where he lives in exile. On the day of the coup, Aljabri said, two of his children entered Saudi prisons. Since then, his son-in-law was kidnapped from a third country and returned to the kingdom, where he was tortured. President Biden is set to meet with the controversial Saudi monarch later this week. Balkis Press/Abaca/Sipa USA He added that days before Khashoggi’s murder was revealed, he received a tip from a friend in Middle Eastern intelligence that a strike team was headed to Canada to find him. “And the warning I received [was,] “Do not be near any Saudi mission in Canada. Don’t go to the consulate. Don’t go to the embassy.’ I said why? [They] he said, “They cut the guy up, they’re killing him. You’re at the top of the list,” Aljabri told Pelley. In the case, Aljabri continued, the group of six lied to customs officials at the Ottawa airport and were deported.​​ Aljabri went on to claim that MBS fears him because he has information about his intention to kill then-King Abdullah, who died in 2015. Saudi Arabia’s crown prince shakes hands with President Donald Trump at the G20 leaders’ summit June 29, 2019. REUTERS President Barack Obama welcomes Saudi Arabia’s royals to the White House May 13, 2015. Getty Images According to Aljabri, bin Salman told Nayef in 2014 of his intention to kill the sitting king to pave the way for his own father, the current King Salman, to take the throne. “And he said to him: ‘I want to assassinate King Abdullah. I get a poison ring from Russia. I just have to shake his hand and it’s over,” Aljabri told “60 Minutes.” The revelations come on the eve of Biden’s trip to Israel, the West Bank and Saudi Arabia – a visit that sparked criticism over his intention to meet with MBS even as then-candidate Biden vowed to deal with the Saudi government as ” pariah”. after Khashoggi’s assassination.
Biden defended the visit in a Washington Post op-ed over the weekend, arguing that he would seek the Saudis’ help in reducing record gas prices and promoting peace in the region. “I know there are many who disagree with my decision to travel to Saudi Arabia,” wrote Biden, who leaves for the trip on Tuesday. “My views on human rights are clear and long-standing and fundamental freedoms are always on the agenda when I travel abroad, as they will be on this trip, as they will be in Israel and the West Bank.” The Saudi embassy in Washington responded to “60 Minutes” by calling Aljabri a “reputable former government official with a long history of fabricating and creating distractions to hide his financial crimes, which amount to billions of dollars, in order to provide a rich way of living. himself and his family.” All eyes will be on the crown prince as he meets with President Biden this week. AFP via Getty Images But former CIA deputy director Michael Morell vouched for the one-time Saudi spy, saying the information he provided saved the lives of many Americans. “Dr. Saad absolutely saved American lives. It saved Saudi lives, many of them, and it saved American lives,” Morell told “60 Minutes.” Pelley asked Aljabri if he had stolen $500 million from Saudi Arabia’s counterterrorism budget, as the royal family has alleged in lawsuits filed in the U.S. and Canada. , Aljabri denied taking the money, saying his wealth came from the generosity of the Saudi royal family. The fiancee of murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi told President Biden you are “disgracing yourself” by meeting Mohammed bin Salman. AFP via Getty Images “I served a royal monarchy in close proximity for two decades,” he said. “Three kings, four heirs. They treated me kindly. They were very generous. It is a tradition in the royal family of Saudi Arabia. They take care of the people around them.” Morel said he does not know if the royals’ claims about Aljabri are true. , “I wouldn’t be surprised if it wasn’t because he’s such an honest man. But I also wouldn’t be surprised if it was,” he said. “Because everyone had their hand in the kitty to some extent. And King Abdullah allowed it, he allowed it.”