Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman al Saud is one of select few millennials at the helm of global affairs right now. His rapid accession in Riyadh’s power circles as the de facto leader is one of the most unexpected turning points in the House of Saud’s history, as not only was he initially appointed the defence minister-the youngest in the world-but also managed to bump off Prince Mohammad bin Nayef and replace himself as the crown prince through a plot best described as Machiavellian. His domestic and foreign policies have remained a subject of great debate among observers and analysts for they do not correlate when looking from certain perspectives. While his goals for modernising Saudi Arabia’s socio-economic outlook through liberal reforms and depending less on the oil economy are quite welcoming, he seems to have lost the plot when it comes to regional and familial politics. When dissecting his foreign policy, the ongoing Saudi-Yemen war since early 2015 was the first of his many blunders. Though the Houthi rebels seemingly have Tehran’s discreet support, Prince Mohammad has certainly underestimated their prowess as witnessed last weekend when a long-range ballistic missile flew right into Riyadh-though thwarted. His other major blunder is trying to spread Saudi hegemony beyond its own borders and pulling strings in other regional states such as Lebanon, Qatar and Palestine. When looking at Lebanon’s situation, Saad Hariri’s sudden resignation as Lebanon’s prime minister and emergence in Riyadh speculates that he has been mentally held hostage by the ambitious young prince. Though he visited Abu Dhabi later on for a brief trip, only time would tell whether he would return to Beirut since the tussle with Hezbollah is simmering gradually to the point of spilling over. Moreover, the diplomatic standoff with Doha was something that could have been avoided through dialogue and brokerage of an amicable deal. However, that didn’t happen for some of the core issues, including the highly popular Al Jazeera Network’s media operations, remained unresolved. As a matter of fact, why should the Qataris even listen to the Saudis? Neither are they dependent on them nor are they some kind of a satellite state, focusing solely on their own national interests. Islamabad and Ankara could potentially play a pivotal role in holding the Saudis back from throwing the entire region into anarchy. The Saudis need to understand that they are mere pawns in this power play whose ultimate beneficiary would be those trying to sabotage the Middle East’s future Even Palestine has come under Prince Mohammad’s radar with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas being summoned to the Saudi capital as if he’s some sort of a subservient viceroy from the colonial era. Speculations of his impending resignation are already doing rounds on Arab social media. If he does resign, or come under some sort of pressure then it would show that the Saudis mean serious business in clouting their influence across the geographical borders of the Middle East. What’s interestingly common in all this is the Iranian factor. Iran has long been accused of funding militant groups and making inroads into the Middle East through diplomatic leverage and political influence. Even the much talked about Islamic Military Alliance to Fight Terrorism (IMAFT) has sort of fizzled out owing to its alleged role to counter Tehran. Only General Raheel Sharif can best describe its actual purpose when its perception is such in the media and global community. What Riyadh doesn’t understand is that some of the countries in the region and beyond such as Qatar, Turkey and Pakistan wish to seek stability for the sake of peace and progress. Tehran already enjoys prosperous ties with some of the regional powers and has already made significant progress on its ties with Islamabad when both the Pakistani Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif and its army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa paid highly successful visits. Historically, both countries had helped each other in times of dire need but ties strained since the Afghan factor became a bone of contention since the early 1990s. Nevertheless, now it has become the need of the hour at a time when Donald Trump and his likes are increasingly trying to undermine global security and political structure through inconsistent but increasingly hawkish policies. Prince Mohammad seems to be one of those who are under Trump’s camp owing to his regular meetings and coordination with White House officials for not only containing Tehran but also promoting US (read Trump) business and political interests in the region. Islamabad and Ankara could potentially play a pivotal role in holding the Saudis back from engulfing the region in constant emergency. The Saudis need to understand that they are mere pawns in this power play whose ultimate beneficiary would be those trying to sabotage the Middle East’s future-which isn’t Tehran to be quite frank. On geostrategic levels, Moscow and Beijing are already seeking stability but the stumbling block remains Washington DC, Riyadh and to some extent Tel Aviv where Benjamin Netanyahu acts like a delusional fascist aiming for anarchy. The Obama administration’s Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) deal with Tehran was something every sane diplomat could have been proud of but eventually it collapsed because of a man-child sitting in the White House. Now coming to the blunder of all blunders that the young-blooded prince of Riyadh has just recently committed to consolidate his position as the undisputed leader. The arrest of highly influential Saudi princes and businessmen such as Prince Al Waleed bin Talal and Bakr bin Laden under the garb of anti-corruption drive could prove to be the gist of Mohammad’s mind set. He may have likely been watching House of Cards or Game of Thrones for learning a few political lessons — no puns intended! This kind of familial politics could prove fatal for his future, and he’s most likely being directed from somewhere else outside Saudi boundaries. Being an inexperienced leader, he may not realise but his gamble is suicidal — to say the least. Even the mysterious death of two influential Saudi princes within a span of 24 hours has led to conspiracy theories of how Mohammad’s politics could destroy the House of Saud. It is hoped that stability and peace would be sought through diplomatic means to secure the region’s future by all major stakeholders of the region and beyond. Though it is being said with hope, chances are likely low given how the power structure is being shaken through ruthless means. The writer is a geopolitical analyst and an alumnus of the Department of War Studies, King’s College London, University of London. He regularly appears on the media to discuss and debate on issues related to foreign policy, politics and national security. He can be reached at hassankhan440@gmail.com and tweets @mhassankhan06 Published in Daily Times, November 9th 2017.