RIYADH, Oct 22, (Agencies): Saudi Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz has died, the palace announced Saturday, leaving his brother Prince Nayef the likely successor to ailing King Abdullah at a time of Middle East turmoil.

The crown prince, aged 80 according to government records, served as the oil kingpin’s defence minister for nearly five decades and had been in the United States since mid-June for medical treatment. He was operated on in July.

A half brother of King Abdullah, Sultan spent long periods abroad for undisclosed medical treatment.
A Western diplomat, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, said Prince Sultan had been hooked up to life support systems at New York Presbyterian hospital and was declared “clinically dead” more than a month ago.

Condolences flooded into the kingdom from world leaders as news of the prince’s death was confirmed. Kuwait declared three days of mourning from Tuesday while the Amir sent a cable of condolences to the Saudi King.

His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser, speaking to reporters after a dinner banquet held by National Assembly Speaker Jassem Al-Khorafi paid tribute to Prince Sultan.

He said Kuwait lost a brother who had “a bright hand in charity and humanitarian domains.” Asked about whether the government would attend the opening session of the next legislative term, Sheikh Nasser said “this will be announced in due course.”

US President Barack Obama expressed “great regret” over the death of the prince, whom he described as a “strong supporter of the deep and enduring partnership between our two countries forged almost seven decades ago.”

“On behalf of the American people, I extend my deepest condolences to King Abdullah, the royal family, and the people of Saudi Arabia.”

In Jordan, King Abdullah II opened a World Economic Forum with a minute of silence in the late prince’s honour, hailing him as a “champion of the Arab and Muslim cause.”

Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron said he was “saddened” to hear of Sultan’s death.
“He had many friends in this country, and we have all benefited from his wisdom and expertise in international affairs over his long years of service,” the prime minister said.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, despite strains in ties with Riyadh over his security forces’ deadly crackdown on anti-regime protests, also sent condolences to the king.

And Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi sent condolences, expressing “sympathy to his counterpart and the deceased’s next of kin,” media reported.

Allegations
Tensions between Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shiite Iran are running high as a result of US allegations that Iranian officials plotted to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to Washington.
Though Iran has fiercely denied the accusations, Saudi Arabia has accepted them and warned it was mulling “a suitable response.”

Sultan died while King Abdullah, himself 87, was in hospital in Riyadh, recovering from an operation on his back on Monday.

Later on Saturday, the royal palace announced that the king had left the hospital and returned to the palace, where he would undergo further treatment.

The king underwent an operation in November for a debilitating herniated disc complicated by a blood clot, that put pressure on his spine, and he underwent further surgery in December.
The latest operation was aimed at repairing a slackening ligament near the third vertebra that state media said was successful.

Prince Nayef, who is expected to become crown prince, is 78 and was named second deputy premier in March 2009, filling a potential void in the succession lineup.
Another half-brother of King Abdullah, he holds the interior portfolio.

Prince Sultan’s funeral is to be held on Tuesday after his body has been repatriated from the United States.
Sultan had battled colon cancer since 2004, going to Switzerland and then the United States to seek treatment, according to diplomats.

His long illness and absences abroad held up important government decisions while raising questions about how the monarchy would take shape in the next generation of the Al-Saud family.

Heir
King Abdullah is now likely to summon the untested Allegiance Council of the ruling al-Saud family, set up in 2006 to make the succession process more transparent, to approve his preferred heir. In the past, the succession was decided in secret by the king and a coterie of powerful princes.
Most analysts believe the new crown prince will be Nayef, who was appointed second deputy prime minister in 2009, a position usually given to the man who is third-in-line to rule.
“The problem is (the Allegiance Council) is a secret organisation that consists of members of the royal family and Saudi society has no say,” said Madawi al-Rashid, author of A History of Saudi Arabia and critic of the ruling family. “Some sections of Saudi Arabia are worried. Nayef is known for security solutions. His rhetoric always invokes the sword.”

Nayef has been interior minister since 1975 and has managed the kingdom’s day-to-day affairs during the absences of both the king and crown prince.

He has gained a reputation as being more conservative than either King Abdullah or Sultan, with close ties to the country’s powerful Wahhabi clergy. But as king he might follow a more moderate line in keeping with the al-Saud tradition of governing by consensus, analysts say.

“The succession will be orderly,” said Asaad al-Shamlan, a political science professor in Riyadh. “The point of reference will be the ruling of the Allegiance Council. It seems to me most likely Nayef will be chosen. If he becomes crown prince, I don’t expect much immediate change.”

“Things are in order, thanks to the wise leadership represented in King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz,” Prince Talal
bin Abdulaziz, a brother of both Abdullah and Sultan and member of the Allegiance Council, told reporters.
When the Allegiance Council convenes, the 34 branches of the ruling family born to the kingdom’s founder King Abdulaziz Ibn Saud will each have a vote to confirm the king’s nominee for crown prince or appoint their own candidate.

Saudi television broke its normal schedule early on Saturday to broadcast Quranic verses and footage of pilgrims circling the Kaaba in Makkah, Islam’s holiest site, before announcing the crown prince’s death.
“With deep sorrow and sadness the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz mourns the death of his brother and his Crown Prince Sultan ... who died at dawn this morning Saturday outside the kingdom following an illness,” said a Saudi royal court statement carried on official media.
The Saudi stock market was unaffected by the news, and the TASI all-share index closed nearly half a percent up. Shops, schools and universities were open as normal in Riyadh.

An official at the Saudi embassy in Washington confirmed that Prince Sultan had died in New York but declined to give further details.

“The stability of Saudi Arabia is more important than ever,” said Turad al-Amri, a political analyst in Saudi Arabia. “All the countries around it are crumbling. The balance of power is changing in the Middle East.”
Abdullah has gained a reputation as a cautious reformer since becoming de facto regent of the conservative Islamic country in 1995 and as king since 2005.

He was absent for three months in late 2010 and early 2011 following treatment for a herniated disc that caused blood to accumulate around his spine.
Kuwait is observing three days of mourning as of Tuesday for demise of Prince Sultan.

Upon orders by His Highness the Amir, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, an official state of mourning, with the national flag to be flown to half mast, will be observed as of Tuesday, Oct 25, and for three days, for demise of Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Aviation and the Kingdom’s General Inspector.
Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah sent on Saturday Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud a cable of condolence on the demise of Prince Sultan.

In his cable, HH the Amir offered the sincere and heartfelt condolence of the Kuwaiti leadership, government and people over the death of the Saudi crown prince.

He remembered Prince Sultan’s great services and national role in the achievement of comprehensive renaissance in diverse fields in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

By the departure of the Saudi crown prince, both Arab and Muslim worlds have lost a great and sincere man who devoted himself to serving and supporting Arab and Muslim issues, he said.
His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohmmad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah sent the Saudi king two similar cables of condolence.

The passing away of Prince Sultan is a “great loss not only for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia but the Gulf family, and Arab and Islamic nations,” Sheikh Nasser said in a statement to KUNA.
Sheikh Nasser said the deceased had major contributions to humanitarian domain.

He said the Kuwaiti people will never forget Prince Sultan’s firm support for Kuwait during the Iraqi invasion until the liberation of the state of Kuwait.

Sheikh Nasser prayed to Allah the Almighty to bless the soul of Prince Sultan, and that Saudi Arabia enjoys lasting prosperity under the leadership of King Abdullah.