Saudi Arabia has pushed back hard against growing pressure over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, with Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir telling the BBC that calls to remove Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman are a “red line”.
Al-Jubeir said the crown prince was not involved in the October 2 killing at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. He insisted the kingdom would continue its own investigations and punish those found responsible.
“In Saudi Arabia our leadership is a red line. The custodian of the two holy mosques [King Salman] and the Crown Prince (Mohammed bin Salman) are a red line,” he said. “They represent every Saudi citizen and every Saudi citizen represents them. And we will not tolerate any discussion of anything that is disparaging towards our monarch or our crown prince.”
The minister dismissed reports in the US media that the CIA believed the killing could only have happened on the crown prince’s order. He described the murder as a “rogue operation” carried out by intelligence agents.
He also urged Turkey to release all evidence linked to the case and stop leaking information. Al-Jubeir warned that any US sanctions against Saudi Arabia would be short-sighted.
The comments came as President Donald Trump defended Washington’s relationship with Riyadh. In a statement on Tuesday, Trump said the crown prince “could very well” have known about Khashoggi’s murder, adding: “Maybe he did and maybe he didn’t!”
Trump said Saudi Arabia remained an important ally against Iran, pointing to the kingdom’s spending “billions of dollars in leading the fight against Radical Islamic Terrorism” and warning that Russia and China would benefit if US contracts were cancelled. He also said the United States intended to remain a “steadfast partner” of Saudi Arabia.
Trump later said he would meet Prince Mohammed bin Salman at a G20 meeting in Argentina next week if the crown prince attended.
On Tuesday, Republican Senator Bob Corker and Democrat Bob Menendez, speaking for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called for a second investigation focused specifically on the crown prince. They said the inquiry should determine whether a foreign person was responsible for an extrajudicial killing, torture or another gross human rights violation under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, which requires a response within 120 days.
