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Biden Won't Sanction Mohammed bin Salman Over Khashoggi Murder—For Now
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February 26, 2021
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1:16Now PlayingSaudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman signed off on the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, according to a U.S. intelligence report released Friday.
“We assess that Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman approved an operation in Istanbul, Turkey, to capture or kill Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi,” the report concluded.
The report builds on classified intelligence from the CIA and other agencies after Khashoggi’s murder in October 2018 inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
The decision to release the report, compiled by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence but withheld under President Donald Trump, reflects the Biden administration’s determination to recalibrate relations with Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, over its human rights record.
Prince Mohammed has denied involvement in the killing, while saying he accepts symbolic responsibility as the country’s de facto ruler. Saudi officials have said the murder was carried out by rogue agents who’ve since been prosecuted.
Although the four-page declassified version of the report didn’t disclose U.S. intelligence methods used in reaching its conclusion, it said the team that killed Khashoggi included seven members of the crown prince’s “elite personal protective detail” who wouldn’t have taken part without his approval.
“The Crown Prince viewed Khashoggi as a threat to the Kingdom and broadly supported using violent measures if necessary to silence him,” the report said. “Although Saudi officials had pre-planned an unspecified operation against Khashoggi we do not know how far in advance Saudi officials decided to harm him.”
The report said it had “high confidence” about the 21 people who were involved in the killing on the prince’s behalf.
In advance of the report’s publication, President Joe Biden held a call Thursday with Saudi Arabia’s King Salman. Biden discussed regional security and the renewed U.S. and United Nations effort to end the war in Yemen. He also “affirmed the importance the United States places on universal human rights and the rule of law,” the White House said in a statement.
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