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Saudi Royal Decree Reshuffles Cabinet, Names Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Prime Minister

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. (SPA)
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. (SPA)
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Saudi Royal Decree Reshuffles Cabinet, Names Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Prime Minister

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. (SPA)
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. (SPA)

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz issued on Tuesday a Royal Decree naming Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as prime minister.

Cabinet sessions attended by King Salman will continue to be chaired by him.

King Salman also decreed a reshuffle of the cabinet.

Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud was named Minister of Energy, Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki bin Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud was named Minister of Sport and Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Naif bin Abdulaziz Al Saud was named Minister of Interior.

Prince Abdullah bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz Al Saud was named Minister of the National Guard, Prince Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud was named Minister of Defense, Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah bin Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud was named Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Farhan Al Saud, was named Minister of Culture.

Dr. Abdullatif bin Abdulaziz bin Abdulrahman Al Al-Sheikh was named Minister of Islamic Affairs, Call and Guidance, and Dr. Essam bin Saad bin Saeed was named Minister of State for Shura Council Affairs.

Walid bin Mohammed Al-Samaani was named Minister of Justice and Dr. Tawfiq bin Fawzan bin Mohammed Al-Rabiah was named Minister of Hajj and Umrah.

Dr. Majid bin Abdullah Al-Qasabi, as the Minister of Commerce and Acting Minister of Media.

Eng. Abdulrahman bin Abdulmohsen Al-Fadhli was named Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture, and Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir was named Minister of State for Foreign Affairs.

Majed bin Abdullah bin Hamad Al-Hogail was named Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing, Mohammed bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Jadaan was named Minister of Finance, and Eng. Abdullah bin Amer Al-Sawaha was named Minister of Communications and Information Technology.

Eng. Ahmed bin Suleiman bin Abdulaziz Al-Rajhi was named Minister of Human Resources and Social Development, Bandar bin Ibrahim bin Abdullah Al-Khorayef was named Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, and Eng. Saleh bin Nasser bin Al-Ali Al-Jasser was named Minister of Transport and Logistics Services.

Ahmed bin Aqeel Al-Khateeb was named Minister of Tourism, Eng. Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih was named Minister of Investment, Faisal bin Fadhel bin Mohsen Al-Ibrahim was named Minister of Economy and Planning, Fahd bin Abdulrahman bin Dahes Al-Jalajel was named Minister of Health and Yousef bin Abdullah bin Mohammed Al-Benyan was named Minister of Education.

Prince Dr. Mansour bin Miteb bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Sheikh Saleh bin Abdulaziz bin Mohammed bin Ibrahim Al Al-Sheikh, Prince Turki bin Mohammed bin Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Dr. Mutlab bin Abdullah Al-Nafisah, Dr. Musaed bin Mohammed Al-Aiban, Dr. Ibrahim bin Abdulaziz Al-Assaf, Mohammed bin Abdulmalik Al Al-Sheikh, Khalid bin Abdulrahman Al-Issa, and Dr. Hamad bin Mohammed bin Hamad Al Al-Sheikh were named Ministers of State.

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Etidal, Telegram Remove 30 Million Extremist Posts in Q2 2025

Etidal signals Saudi Arabia’s resolve to combat terrorism on all fronts (Etidal)
Etidal signals Saudi Arabia’s resolve to combat terrorism on all fronts (Etidal)
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Etidal, Telegram Remove 30 Million Extremist Posts in Q2 2025

Etidal signals Saudi Arabia’s resolve to combat terrorism on all fronts (Etidal)
Etidal signals Saudi Arabia’s resolve to combat terrorism on all fronts (Etidal)

Saudi Arabia’s Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology, known as Etidal, said on Monday that its joint efforts with Telegram led to the removal of more than 30.8 million pieces of extremist content and the shutdown of over 1,200 extremist channels during the second quarter of 2025.

The operation, carried out in April, May and June, is part of ongoing cooperation between the Riyadh-based center and the messaging platform to curb what both describe as “digital extremism.”

According to information seen by Asharq Al-Awsat, total removals since the partnership began in February 2022 have surpassed 207.6 million extremist items, with 17,455 channels and groups shut down.

Both parties say the collaboration reflects a continued commitment to creating a safer online environment and tackling radical propaganda.

The bulk of the removals came in June 2025, when around 18 million extremist items were taken down and 643 channels closed. In April, about 1.2 million posts were removed and 110 channels shut, while May saw 11.6 million removals and 501 closures.

These posts reportedly included messages promoting violence, hatred, and radical ideologies.

Telegram, which has long faced scrutiny over its use by extremist groups, said in a July update on its website that it has had a “zero tolerance policy for calls to violence and terrorist propaganda since 2016.” The platform publishes daily transparency reports and said its efforts to tackle extremist ideologies had been significantly bolstered through its partnership with Etidal.

It added that more than 100 million terrorism-related posts had been removed in cooperation with Etidal alone, with a peak in February 2025, when 3,851 groups were blocked in a single day.

Telegram also revealed that more than 134,000 terrorism-linked groups have been banned so far this year.

In the first quarter of 2025, the Etidal-Telegram partnership removed 16 million extremist posts and shut down 1,408 channels linked to extremist groups.

Etidal and Telegram expanded their joint operations on February 21, 2022, focusing on preventing extremist propaganda from reaching digital audiences.

The center said it remains committed to working with regional and international partners to develop advanced tools to counter evolving tactics used by radical groups.

Despite ongoing removals, Etidal warned that terrorist organizations continue to use redirect links and evasion tactics to bypass digital monitoring. In the first quarter alone, more than 1.2 million such links were identified and taken down.

Dr. Yousef Al-Rumeih, a security adviser and professor of counterterrorism at Qassim University, told Asharq Al-Awsat that recent months had seen renewed online activity by extremist groups. He called for greater digital and cybersecurity awareness, especially among youth, to counter their influence.

He stressed the importance of three layers of protection—official cybersecurity surveillance, community and family-level monitoring, and individual vigilance—to confront extremist messaging. “Reporting suspicious links to authorities is key to limiting their reach,” he said.

Founded in May 2017 by Saudi King Salman in the presence of US President Donald Trump and leaders from 55 nations, Etidal has spent eight years spearheading efforts to counter radical ideologies.

The center says it has prevented millions of extremist posts and links from reaching the public and shared its expertise with over 78 countries through international cooperation and technical visits to its Riyadh headquarters.