King Salman of Saudi Arabia has been admitted to the hospital for unspecified tests, state media reported on Sunday.
The Kingdom has generally sought to stop speculation about the health of the 86-year-old monarch, who has ruled the world’s leading Arab oil exporter and largest economy since 2015.
According to an official report, referring to a statement from the royal court, he was admitted to King Faisal Specialist Hospital in the coastal city of Jeddah on Saturday “to undergo some medical examinations.”
“May God protect the guardians of the two holy mosques and may they enjoy health and well-being,” the statement said.
It was rare for the secret kingdom to report on the monarch’s health. In 2017, Saudi Arabia denied reports and growing speculation that the king was planning an abdication in favor of his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the country’s de facto ruler.
Saudi Arabia King Salman will undergo gallbladder surgery in 2020.
He was last hospitalized in March because of what the state media described as “successful medical tests” and because he replaced his pacemaker battery.
Under her rule, Saudi Arabia launched ambitious post-oil economic reforms, giving women more rights while adopting a more compelling foreign policy, including the outbreak of war in neighboring Yemen.
