Muhammad bin Nayef Al Saud[a] (Arabic: محمد بن نايف آل سعود, romanized: Muḥammad bin Nāyif Āl Su‘ūd; born 30 August 1959), colloquially known by his initials MBN or MbN,[1] is a former Saudi Arabian politician and businessman who served as the crown prince and first deputy prime minister of Saudi Arabia from 2015 to 2017[2] and as the minister of interior from 2012 to 2017.

[7] In October 2010, he warned the U.S. Deputy National Security Adviser of an al-Qaeda plot to bomb transatlantic cargo aircraft.

[4][24] In November 2009, King Abdullah appointed Muhammad as a member of the influential Supreme Economic Council of Saudi Arabia.

[29] His appointment was criticized by human rights activists due to Prince Muhammad's professional experience as a tough enforcer who imprisoned thousands of suspected troublemakers in Saudi Arabia.

[35] Until his ouster in June 2017, Muhammad bin Nayef had spent 15 years as Saudi Arabia's most influential security official; he maintained close connections with American and British intelligence communities.

Prince Muhammed and Pompeo discussed security with Turkish officials, and said Saudi Arabia's relationship with the U.S. is "historic and strategic".

[40] Walid Jumblatt described Muhammad bin Nayef as the Saudi equivalent of General Ashraf Rifi, former director-general of Lebanon's Internal Security Forces.

[42] In 2011, The Economist described Prince Muhammad as energetic and low-key, and stated that he was one of the candidates for the throne when the line of succession passes to the grandsons of King Abdulaziz.

[47] Muhammad bin Nayef was injured by Abdullah al-Asiri, a suicide bomber linked to Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

Al-Asiri spoke to Muhammad bin Nayef a few days prior to the bombing, and expressed a desire to surrender himself to the authorities as part of the country's terrorist rehabilitation program.

He exploded a suicide bomb, killing himself, but apparently only slightly injuring Muhammad bin Nayef, who was protected from the full force of the blast by al-Asiri's body.

"[54] According to Bruce Riedel, a former CIA officer and director of the Intelligence Project at the Brookings Institution, "the weight of the evidence I have seen is that [bin Nayef] was more injured in the assassination attempt than was admitted."

[55] This was the first assassination attempt against a royal family member since 2003, when Saudi Arabia faced a sharp uptick in Al Qaeda-linked attacks.

In addition to his other posts, Prince Muhammad was named the chair of the Council for Political and Security Affairs which was established on 29 January 2015.

[61] MBN's younger cousin, Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), was named deputy crown prince at age 29.

[62] MBS, as defense minister, launched and led the largely unsuccessful Saudi military campaign in Yemen in March 2015, while MBN's support for the war was muted.

[62] By 2016, MBS's rise within the Saudi royal family raised speculation that he would displace MBN as heir apparent, and ultimately become king.

[63] Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, who had a poor relationship with MBN, supported MBS during the power struggle.

[63] Amid rising tensions, MBN's closest advisor, the intelligence official Saad Aljabri, fled to Turkey with his family.

[63] Muhammad bin Nayef was deposed by royal decree on 21 June 2017, amid a palace coup[63] that fundamentally reoriented the Saudi power structure.

[63] In 2018 and 2019, as MBS consolidated his power, MBN was permitted to hunt within Saudi Arabia and to attend weddings and funerals of royal family members.

[63] In August 2020, MBN's legal representatives raised concerns over his well-being, alleging that Saudi authorities had refused to allow his doctor or his family members to visit him since his arrest five months earlier.

[80] On 4 March 2016, when Muhammad bin Nayef was crown prince, he was awarded Légion d’honneur by then French president François Hollande citing his efforts in combating terrorism in the region.