Saudi King Salman enters hospital for ‘examinations’: report

Saudi Arabia’s ailing King Salman was admitted to a hospital on Sunday for unspecified tests, according to state media.

The kingdom has generally sought to quell speculation about the 86-year-old monarch health, who has ruled the Arab world’s largest economy and top oil exporter since 2015.

He entered King Faisal Specialist Hospital in the coastal city of Jeddah on Saturday “to conduct some medical examinations”, according to an official report, citing a royal court statement.

“May God preserves the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and may he enjoy health and wellness,” the statement said.

It is rare for the secretive kingdom to report on the health of the monarch.

In 2017, Saudi Arabia dismissed reports and mounting speculation the king was planning to abdicate in favour of his son Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the country’s de facto ruler.

King Salman underwent surgery to remove his gall bladder in 2020.

He was most recently hospitalised in March, for what state media described as “successful medical tests” and to change the battery of his pacemaker.

Under his leadership, Saudi Arabia has implemented ambitious post-oil economic reforms and expanded women’s rights, while also pursuing a more assertive foreign policy, including military intervention in neighboring Yemen.