us-saudi relations

Argentine President Javier Milei at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida, USA, on November 6, 2025.

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Blowback on MBS from Khashoggi murder saved many other journalists, says expert

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Blowback on MBS from Khashoggi murder saved many other journalists, says expert

US-Saudi relations were strained after the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, which the CIA says was ordered by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, aka MBS. And he knows it was a risky move. "I don't think that they will ever do anything like that again," says Bernard Haykel, a professor at Princeton University and MBS insider. Still, he tells Ian Bremmer on GZERO World, the regime will continue to be very repressive and authoritarian, doing things like mass executions of convicted terrorists from al-Qaeda and the Islamic State but also dissident Shiites.

How MBS consolidated power in Saudi Arabia

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How MBS consolidated power in Saudi Arabia

What sets Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, better known as MBS, apart from other autocrats who've risen to power in recent years? He's consolidated power by "emasculating" his own family, including America's pick to succeed his dad, says Bernard Haykel, a professor at Princeton University and MBS confidante. The effort "was extremely brutal and messy at times," he tells Ian Bremmer on GZERO World.

From Biden’s pariah to core partner: US Saudi visit a win for MBS

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From Biden’s pariah to core partner: US Saudi visit a win for MBS

In October 2018, Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered in Istanbul. The CIA says de-facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, aka MBS, gave the order. That led US President Joe Biden to ghost MBS, and even label him a "pariah." But after Biden's recent Middle East trip, the Saudi crown prince now looks less like a pariah and more like a partner, Ian Bremmer explains on GZERO World.

Saudi Arabia’s repressive power politics

GZERO World with Ian Bremmer

Saudi Arabia’s repressive power politics

US President Joe Biden famously said he would treat Saudi Arabia as a "pariah" for ordering the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. But with oil prices near record highs and Iran seen as a growing menace, he felt he had no choice but to go there to revive the US-Saudi relationship. Biden didn't get much out of his trip, which Princeton University professor and MBS confidante Bernard Haykel says was a "big win" for the Saudis and the crown prince himself. On GZERO World, Ian Bremmer speaks to Haykel, a Saudi expert, who discusses how MBS consolidated power, why the targeting of other journalists is unlikely, the kingdom's strategic value to the US, MBS's strategy to modernize his country, and the prospects for future warmer ties with Israel.