Maybe, like, MBS is bored, and is just looking for a similarly-sized adversary to fight with. Because it's kind of hard to explain this behavior else wise.
This is really strange that sounds like something out of cyberpunk novel, but this seems to be the kind of reality we are now living in.
> seems to be the kind of reality we are now living in
Nothing new. From Crassus to J.P. Morgan, almost every society had powerful non-state actors foreign rulers sought to embarass.
I'm waiting for this to (wrongly) turn into a conversation about Israeli software (Cellebrite) analyzing a phone compromised by the Saudis...
After reading the Bender Affidavit, I can't look at headlines saying anything about Saudi Arabia and not wonder what Qatar is trying to make me believe.
And who wants you to believe everything in the Bender Affidavit? There's certainly little evidence for large portions of it. It's difficult when truth and lies are mixed together with no border between them.