Saudi whistle-blower: UAE Involved in pro-American Coup in Turkey

Saudi whistle-blower Mujtahid, who is believed to be a member of or have a well-connected source in the royal family, dislosed that senior government officials in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi had been informed of the coup in Turkey long before it took place.

Mujtahid wrote on his twitter page on Monday that the UAE leaders had played a role in the coup and the Turkish agencies have come to decode this involvement, adding that the UAE leaders had also alerted the Saudis about the impending coup.

"Saudi Deputy Crown Prince and Defense Minister Mohammad bin Salman had been informed of the military coup in Turkey," Mujtahid wrote on his twitter page on Monday.

"There are reasons which show that given his intimate relations with Mohammad bin Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahyan (the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces), Mohammad bin Salman was aware of this coup," he added.

According to Mujtahid, Turkish intelligence agencies have received information about some negative collaboration between bin Salman and bin Zayed, but the Saudis have managed to convince the Justice and Development party to rest assured and be optimistic about Riyadh's measures.

He revealed that bin Salman has been trying to convince the Turks to conceal the UAE's role in the coup and has promised a large amount of cash in reprisal.

An attempted Turkish military coup appeared to crumble on Saturday after crowds answered President Erdogan's call to take to the streets to support him and dozens of rebel soldiers abandoned their tanks in the main city of Istanbul.

In relevant remarks on Sunday Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif voiced regret that certain countries, including Saudi Arabia and Qatar, were somehow interested in the victory of coup plotters against the legal government of President Erdogan in Turkey.

"Our foreign minister told a closed session of the parliament today that certain states like Saudi Arabia and Qatar didn’t dislike the strengthening of the coup in Turkey, an issue which requires further contemplation," member of the parliament's Presiding Board Akbar Ranjbarzadeh quoted Zarif as saying on Sunday.

Meantime, another MP Gholamreza Jafarzadeh quoted Zarif as saying, "Given the Saudis' stance on issues in Turkey, we conclude that Saudi Arabia has likely been involved in this coup."

"Mr. Zarif said that in principle, we condemn any coup in any parts of the world and believe that people should play the role in democracy," both MPs told FNA.

According to Ranjbarzadeh, Zarif blasted certain states for not taking a clear position on the coup in Turkey and even keeping mum on the crisis.