Saudi Arabia’s King Salman undergoes medical tests: royal court

Saudi King Salman is seen in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Dec. 10, 2019. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia -- Saudi Arabia’s 90-year-old monarch King Salman is undergoing medical tests at a hospital in capital Riyadh, the kingdom’s Royal Court said on Friday.

“The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques -- may God protect him -- is undergoing medical examinations today... at King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Riyadh,” the court said in a statement shared on state media.

Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest crude oil exporter, has for years sought to quell speculation over King Salman’s health.

He has been on the throne since 2015, though his son Mohammed bin Salman was named crown prince in 2017 and acts as de facto ruler.

The monarch’s well-being is rarely discussed, but he has been admitted for surgery and tests on multiple occasions in recent years.

In 2024, the Royal Court said he suffered from lung infections, which he recovered from.

He was hospitalised in May 2022, when he went in for a colonoscopy and stayed for just over a week for other tests and “some time to rest”, the official Saudi Press Agency reported at the time.

He was also admitted to hospital in March 2022 to undergo what state media described as “successful medical tests” and to change the battery of his pacemaker.

In 2020, he underwent surgery to remove his gall bladder.