Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman approved an operation to capture or kill journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, according to a U.S. intelligence report.
“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 states.
“We base this assessment on the Crown Prince’s control of decision-making in the Kingdom, the direct involvement of a key adviser and members of Muhammad bin Salman’s protective detail in the operation, and the Crown Prince’s support for using violent measures to silence dissidents abroad, including Khashoggi.”
However, The New York Times reported that the Biden administration would not penalize the crown prince for Khashoggi’s killing.
The White House decided such action would have too high a cost on U.S.-Saudi cooperation in the areas of counterterrorism and confronting Iran, according to the Times.
But, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken announced the ‘Khashoggi ban’ shortly after the report was released, according to CNBC.
The ban will bar visas for people acting on behalf of a foreign government who are believed to have engaged in “serious, extraterritorial counter-dissident activities.” Asked why the crown price was not on the list, Blinken told reporters, “what we’ve done by the actions that we’ve taken is really not to rupture the relationship but to recalibrate to be more in line with our interests and our values. And I think that we have to understand as well that this is bigger than any one person.”
