Nayef bin Abdul Aziz — currently Saudi Arabia’s interior minister — has been named the new crown prince of that Middle Eastern nation.

The news, citing a royal decree signed by King Abdullah, was announced early Friday morning on state-run Saudi Television.

Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud the king’s half-brother, died in New York last Saturday. His death raised succession questions in the key oil-producing country at a time of turmoil in the Arab world.

CNN’s Rima Maktabi contributed to this report.