Biden Admin Declassifies Khashoggi Murder Report: MBS Approved Assassination of Saudi Journo in Turkey

By Staff, Agencies

A US intelligence report that was declassified on 26 February suggests that the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, approved an operation in Istanbul to "capture or kill" Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The report, provided by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, states that this assessment is based on the crown prince's "control of decision-making" in the kingdom, as well as on the "direct involvement of a key adviser and members" of Salman's "protective detail".

"Since 2017, the Crown Prince has had absolute control of the kingdom's security and intelligence organizations, making it highly unlikely that Saudi officials would have carried out an operation of this nature without the crown prince's authorization", the report's executive summary says.

The report further says that the crown prince "viewed Khashoggi as a threat to the kingdom and broadly supported using violent measures if necessary to silence him."

The document's authors also write that they have "high confidence" that the seven individuals whose names are provided in the report "participated in, ordered, or were otherwise complicit in or responsible for the death of Jamal Khashoggi" on Salman's behalf.

"We do not know whether these individuals knew in advance that the operation would result in Khashoggi's death", the report notes.

Accordingly, the US on Friday imposed sanctions on an elite Saudi unit as well as a former intelligence official over their role in the killing of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The Treasury Department said it would block assets and criminalize transactions with the Rapid Intervention Force, which a declassified intelligence report said was answerable to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, as well as former intelligence official Ahmad Hassan Mohammed al-Asiri.

In 2019, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman reportedly said that he gets "all the responsibility" for Khashoggi's killing because "it happened under my watch", although he denies ordering it.