King Abdullah’s Successor Pledges Continuity in Saudi Arabia

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Hours after the death of Saudi Arabia’s ruler, his successor, King Salman, moved quickly on Friday to project a sense of continuity, saying in a televised address that the oil-rich nation, a Western ally that has long played a dominant role in Arab politics, would not change

course.

“We will continue adhering to the correct policies which Saudi Arabia has followed since its establishment,” Salman, the former crown prince, declared.

Salman was speaking as leaders from the Muslim world converged in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, for the funeral of Abdullah, his brother. Abdullah steered his deeply conservative land through the turmoil of the Arab Spring and was caught up in the region’s seething rivalries before his death early Friday at 90.

In his address, Salman seemed to acknowledge the tensions that have gripped the region, playing out in Syria’s civil war and the consequent rise of the militant group Islamic State, also known as ISIS and ISIL.

King Abdullah Mourned by Saudis

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman led prayers for King Abdullah in Riyadh ahead of his burial Friday afternoon.

Video by Saudi TV on Publish Date January 23, 2015. Photo by Faisal Al Nasser/Reuters.

The comments came just one day after the American-backed government of neighboring Yemen abruptly collapsed, leaving the country leaderless in the face of an increasingly powerful force of pro-Iranian rebels and a resurgent Qaeda affiliate.

With events in Saudi Arabia under close scrutiny — not least from Iran, Saudi Arabia’s greatest rival — leaders including President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, who was touring African countries, shifted their schedules to attend what news reports said would be a simple and traditional burial.

King Abdullah II of Jordan canceled a planned appearance at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Reuters reported, where he was scheduled to lead a debate on security in the Middle East. President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt was also among the Muslim leaders and heads of state expected to attend.

Several countries around the region, including Lebanon, announced three days of official mourning. Egypt called for an entire week of mourning. Abdullah had been a crucial financial and political backer of Mr. Sisi’s as he ousted the elected Muslim Brotherhood government.

Abdullah’s death had an immediate economic effect, too, on oil prices, which had been in decline for months but rose in a reflection of concern about what the king’s death will mean for Saudi Arabia’s oil production policies.

Despite the tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia, Tehran said Friday that its foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, would attend an official memorial service for Abdullah. The Iranian Foreign Ministry also expressed “condolences to the government and people of Saudi Arabia.”

The rivalry between the two countries is one of the region’s principle fault lines. It is in part a geopolitical struggle between nations that see themselves as the regional superpower and the leader of the Islamic world. But it also reflects the broader division between Shiites, who govern in Iran, and Sunnis, such as those who dominate in Saudi Arabia.

In the Syrian civil war, the two powers have backed opposing sides, with Saudi Arabia supporting efforts to oust President Bashar al-Assad and Iran backing his dogged efforts to remain in power.

News reports, quoting a royal decree in Saudi Arabia, said Salman left much of the government unchanged but made two key appointments, naming his son, Mohammad bin Salman, as defense minister and head of the royal court, and Mohammed bin Nayef, the interior minister, as deputy crown prince.

The appointments were seen as important because they signal for the first time a new generation of the Saudi elite being elevated to high office, potentially injecting new energy into a government in which decisions have typically been made at a glacial pace.

The royal court in Saudi Arabia did not disclose the exact cause of Abdullah’s death, which came after the monarch was admitted to a Riyadh hospital on Dec. 31 with what the official Saudi Press Agency said was a lung infection.

Reuters said the king’s body, wrapped in white, would be buried in an unmarked grave after resting in a mosque, where prayers would be led by Salman.

Among Western allies, Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. said that he would lead an American delegation, “to pay our respects and offer condolences.”

Anne Barnard reported from Beirut, and Alan Cowell from London. Thomas Erdbrink contributed reporting from Tehran.