Old Video of Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Shared With Misleading Claim
We found out that the video dates back to 2018 and shares a misleading claim.
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A video is going viral on social media, claiming to show Saudi Arabia's King Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud issuing a statement about 'conquering Yemen'.
The caption reads, “If it weren't for our fear for the innocent people of Yemen, we would have conquered it in one week and eliminated the Houthis.“
The video goes viral amid the growing conflict between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia.
(Archived versions of similar claims can be found here and here.)
Is it true?: No, the claim is false.
The video is old and does not show Saudi Arabia's King Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud recently stating that they could conquer Yemen in a week.
The actual statement from 2018 has been misinterpreted to make the false claim.
How did we find out?: We ran a reverse image search on the video using Google Lens and found a YouTube video carrying the same visuals.
The video was uploaded on 11 April 2018, which disproves the claim that the statement was made recently.
The video, carrying similar visuals, was uploaded in 2018.
(Source: YouTube/ Screenshot)
This video features Mohammed bin Salman discussing the military operations in Yemen.
He acknowledges that mistakes can occur during military operations by any nation, emphasising that the focus should be on whether harm to civilians is intentional or planned.
The Saudi-led coalition works with partners like France, the United States, and Great Britain to refine planning and engagement mechanisms to minimise civilian casualties.
He states that while coalition forces are within 20 km of the capital, Sanaa, and could theoretically capture it within a week, they avoid a full-scale ground invasion to prevent significant loss of innocent civilian life.
He also highlights Saudi Arabia's commitment to protecting historical landmarks in cooperation with UNESCO and the French government, noting that the Kingdom remains a major provider of humanitarian aid to Yemen.
We found a report uploaded by Al Arabiya English in which the Crown Prince is seen wearing similar clothes, along with a similar video framing.
According to the title, the video shows a joint press conference the Saudi Prince had with French President Emmanuel Macron.
We conducted a keyword search and found reports on the joint press conference.
According to a report by France24, a French television news network, the conference included discussions of pressure on France to scale back the sale of weapons to Saudi Arabia and the casualties in Yemen due to the conflict.
The report also mentions that the Saudi Crown Prince said that "the coalition was doing everything to avoid civilian casualties in Yemen, but that mistakes were inevitable in conflicts."
Here's a preview of the report by France24.
(Source: France24/ Screenshot)
Anadolu Agency, a news agency based in Turkey, reported that Macron defended selling arms to the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen.
The report mentioned that they also discussed the situation in Yemen, where more than 10,000 people were killed and over 30 lakhs displaced due to the conflict.
Here's a preview of the report by Anadolu Agency.
(Source: Anadolu Agency/Screenshot)
The conference happened during a period of intense tension between Saudi Arabia and the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Conclusion: The video is old, and Saudi Arabia's King Salman's statement has been misinterpreted to make a false claim.
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