| Prince Muhammad bin Nayef bin Abdul Aziz | |
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| In office | since May 1999 |
| Full name | |
| Muhammad bin Nayef bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud | |
| House | House of Saud |
| Religion | Islam |
Prince Mohammad bin Naif bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud (Arabic: محمد بن نايف بن عبد العزيز آل سعود) (born August 30, 1959) is the Saudi Deputy Interior Minister in charge of Counter-Terrorism. He survived an assassination attempt in August 2009.
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Born in Jeddah, he moved to Riyadh. He later moved to the United States to study for his bachelor's degree, majoring in Political Science.
He has been commended by Western intelligence agencies for Saudi Arabia's counter-terrorism programs.[1] He has called for a "security channel" with the U.S. to facilitate information exchange. He firmly supported President Obama in Obama's opposition to the release of detainee interrogation photographs. He believes Yemen is a "dangerous failed state" and is becoming a larger threat to Saudi Arabia. He believes Yemeni President Saleh is losing control. He has suggested a strategy of directly working with Yemeni tribes.[2] He strongly condemns terrorism. [2] He believes gaining cooperation with Pakistan in Afghanistan requires cooperating with Pakistan.[3] He praised General Kayani as a "good man".[3] He voiced concern about Iran’s nuclear program.[3] He defers foreign policy issues to the King.[3]
In June 2003, al-Qaeda member Abdul Rahman Al-Ghamdi surrendered to him in person.[1] He, unlike most of the royal family, actively talks with the media.[1]
In October 2010, he warned U.S. Deputy National Security Adviser of the 2010 cargo plane bomb plot.[4]
On August 27, 2009, he was slightly injured by Abdullah Hassan Al Aseery (al-Asiri), a suicide bomber linked to Al-Qaida. Al Aseery spoke to the Prince a few days prior to the bombing and expressed a desire to turn himself in as part of the country's terrorist rehabilitation program. This was an apparent ploy to get admitted to the Prince's palace. Al Aseery is believed to have traveled to Jeddah from the Yemenite province of Marib. During Ramadan, Al Aseery waited in line at the Prince's Jeddah home as "well-wisher" . He exploded a suicide bomb, killing himself, but only lightly injuring the Prince, who was protected from the full force of the blast by Al Aseery's body. [5][6][7] Prince Muhammad appeared on state television with a bandage around two of his fingers on his left hand. He stated, "I did not want him to be searched, but he surprised me by blowing himself up. However, this will only increase my determination to fight terrorism in the kingdom." [8][9]
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.[10]
He is the second son of Saudi Interior Minister Prince Naif bin Abdul-Aziz and brother of Saudi ambassador to Spain -Prince Saud bin Naif. His sisters are Princesses Norah and Sarah.
He is married to the daughter of Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul-Aziz, Princess Reem bint Sultan bin Abdul-Aziz.
He has two daughters:
Princess Sara and Princess Loulwah.