Saudi King Salman has appointed former finance minister Ibrahim al-Assaf as the new foreign minister in a major cabinet reshuffle which also included changes to key national security posts, state media reported on Thursday.

Axar.az reports citing Reuters.

The reshuffle comes after the Saudi government faces intense international pressure over the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October.

Assaf replaces Adel al-Jubeir, who was appointed Minister of State for Foreign Affairs.

The king appointed Prince Abdullah bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz to replace Prince Miteb bin Abdullah as chief of the National Guard, and ordered a reshuffle of Saudi Arabia’s Political and Security Council.

General Kalid bin Qirar al-Harbi was named general security chief, while Musaed al-Aiban was appointed national security adviser.