RIYADH –
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz made reassuring comments about King Salman’s health during a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, state TV reported.
Because of King Salman’s health problems, Crown Prince Mohammed postponed a visit to Japan that had been scheduled to begin on Monday, Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said.
The 88-year-old monarch would be treated with antibiotics until the inflammation subsides after he underwent medical tests at the royal clinics at Jeddah’s Al Salam Palace after “high temperature and joint pain,” the state news agency cited the royal court as saying on Sunday.
“The crown prince reassures everyone of the health of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques (the king) … praying to God Almighty to bless him with a speedy recovery and to grant him good and sound health,” state TV said.
The king was last admitted to hospital in April for a routine check-up, state TV reported then.
King Salman, the custodian of Islam’s holiest sites, became ruler of the world’s top oil exporter in 2015 after spending more than two and a half years as the crown prince and deputy premier.
His illness struck just as the crown prince met US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan in the kingdom for talks on a strategic agreement between Washington and Riyadh.