New Saudi king pledges to stay the course

Saudi King Salman pledged Friday to maintain existing energy and foreign policies as he assumed the monarchy after his half-brother's death and quickly moved to name a deputy crown prince from his dynasty’s next generation, settling the succession for years to come.

By appointing his youngest half-brother, Muqrin, 69, as crown prince and nephew Mohammed bin Nayef, 55, as deputy crown prince, Salman has swiftly quelled speculation about internal palace rifts at a moment of great regional turmoil.

As news broke early Friday that King Abdullah, 90, had died, oil prices jumped, in a signal the monarch’s death could add uncertainty to energy markets.

Salman, thought to be 79, takes over as the ultimate authority in a country that faces long-term domestic challenges compounded by the plunging price of oil in recent months and the rise of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), which has captured vast areas in Syria and Iraq in a bid to destabilize the entire region.

He must navigate a white-hot rivalry with Shia Muslim power Iran playing out in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Lebanon and Bahrain as well as open conflict in two neighboring nations — all while managing bumpy relations with its most important ally, the United States.

In his first speech as king, shown live on Saudi television, Salman called for unity among Arab states and pledged to maintain his predecessors’ approach to ruling Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter and the birthplace of Islam.

"We will continue, God willing, to hold the straight course that this country has followed since its establishment by the late King Abdul-Aziz," he said.

Reputedly pragmatic and adept at managing the delicate balance of clerical, tribal, royal and Western interests that factor into Saudi policymaking, Salman appears unlikely to change the kingdom's approach to foreign affairs or energy sales.

Despite rumors about his health and strength, diplomats who have attended meetings between the him and foreign leaders over the past year have said he has been fully engaged in talks lasting several hours at a time.

Many in Saudi Arabia, a country with a large young population, will be unable to recall a time before Abdullah's rule, as monarch from 2005 and as regent for a decade before that.

His legacy was an effort to overhaul the kingdom's economic and social systems to address a looming demographic crisis by creating private sector jobs and making young Saudis better prepared to take them.

"I think [Salman] will continue with Abdullah's reforms. He realizes the importance of this. He's not conservative in person, but he values the opinion of the conservative constituency of the country," said Jamal Khashoggi, the head of a news channel owned by a Saudi prince.

But Abdullah's reforms did not stretch to politics, and after the Arab Spring his security forces clamped down on all forms of dissent, imprisoning outspoken critics of the ruling family alongside women drivers and religious militants.

As the Saudi population grows and oil prices fall globally, the country will increasingly struggle to maintain its generous spending on social benefits for ordinary people, potentially undermining its legitimacy in a country where there are no elections, analysts say.

Salman has spoken against the idea of introducing democracy in Saudi Arabia, in comments to U.S. diplomats recorded in embassy cables released by WikiLeaks.

In keeping with Muslim traditions, Abdullah's body, clothed in white and shrouded in a simple cloth, was to be carried on an ambulance stretcher by relatives to rest in a mosque before being borne to the cemetery and buried in an unmarked grave on Friday. Prayers in the mosque were to be led by Salman and attended by Muslim leaders and other senior figures.

Non-Muslim dignitaries have planned visits to pay respects to the new monarch and crown prince and other members of the Saud dynasty in the coming days.

Later, after the evening prayer an hour after sunset, Salman and Muqrin will receive pledges of allegiance from other family members, Wahhabi clerics, tribal chiefs, leading businessmen and other Saudi subjects.

In the kingdom's strict Wahhabi version of Sunni Islam, ostentatious displays of grief are frowned upon. After previous deaths of Saudi monarchs and other top royals, there was no official period of mourning, and flags were at full staff.

Despite a surge of sorrowful messages from Saudis on social media, that religious constraint on public commemorations meant there were no signs in Riyadh's streets early on Friday that the country's longtime ruler had died.

Wire services