Saudi Arabia King Salman Undergoes Profitable Surgical procedure: Royal Courtroom

The king will remain in the hospital for some time after the "successful" operation, the statement added. (File)

Riyadh:

Saudi Arabia's 84-year-old ruler King Salman was successfully operated on Thursday to remove his gallbladder, the royal court said three days after he was hospitalized.

Saudi Arabia rarely reports on the health of the aging monarch, who has governed the largest oil exporter and largest economy in the Arab world since 2015.

After Kuwait's 91-year-old Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, the king is the second ruling monarch in the Gulf to be hospitalized.

The king "underwent laparoscopic surgery today to remove the gallbladder … at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Riyadh," the royal court said in a statement from the official Saudi press agency.

The king will remain in the hospital for some time after the "successful" operation, the statement added.

The monarch was hospitalized on Monday for "some medical tests" for gallbladder inflammation, the royal court said.

The king's hospitalization prompted Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi to postpone his planned visit to Saudi Arabia, which was due to start on Monday.

A video released on Tuesday by the state media showed how the king led a virtual cabinet meeting out of the hospital.

The silent video apparently aimed to dispel rumors of the king's health.

In 2017, Saudi Arabia rejected reports and growing speculation that the king wanted to abdicate in favor of his little son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is widely regarded as the de facto ruler.

Under the king's rule, Saudi Arabia initiated ambitious economic reforms after the oil and granted women more rights, but also introduced a more assertive foreign policy and started a war in neighboring Yemen.

(This story was not edited by NDTV staff and is generated automatically from a syndicated feed.)