‘Saudi Prince approved Khashoggi’s murder’

Jamal Khashoggi. Pics/AFP

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman approved of an operation to capture or kill dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi who was murdered in 2018, states a declassified US intelligence assessment released on Friday. The report was completed under the administration of Donald Trump in the wake of the grisly October 2018 killing.

Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman

But President Joe Biden has ordered a declassified version to be released as part of a reset where Washington is distancing itself from Prince Mohammed. The report asserts that Prince Mohammed directed the assassination in which Khashoggi, a Washington Post writer and US resident, was lured to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, then killed.

The release of the report comes on the heels of a first phone call between Biden and Saudi Arabia's King Salman late Thursday. The White House made clear that Biden had no intention of speaking directly to the 35-year-old crown prince, who is de facto leader in Saudi Arabia and poised to take over after the ailing king.

Among the punitive steps the United States took on Friday, it imposed a visa ban on some Saudis believed to be involved in the Khashoggi killing and placed sanctions on others, including a former deputy intelligence chief, that would freeze their US assets and generally bar Americans from dealing with them.

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