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Saudi Arabia’s ailing King Salman was released from the hospital one week after being conceded for tests, including a colonoscopy, according to state media. The 86-year-old monarch was seen walking out of King Faisal Specialist Hospital in the coastal city of Jeddah, using a cane and encircled by officials, including Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, before being driven away in a video broadcast late Sunday by the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA). The SPA said on Twitter that he left “after conducting medical checks and successfully completing the treatment regimen and recovery period.”
For years, the kingdom has tried to quell speculation about the 86-year-old monarch health, who has ruled the world’s top oil exporter since 2015.
The king’s colonoscopy results were “sound,” according to state media, and doctors “decided to keep him in the hospital for some time to rest.”
Saudi Arabia denied reports and rising speculation that the king was planning to abdicate in balance in favor of Crown Prince Mohammed, the de facto ruler, in 2017.
In 2020, King Salman underwent gall bladder removal surgery.
Prior to this latest hospitalization, he was admitted in March for “successful medical tests” and to replace the battery in his pacemaker, according to state media.
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.
