CIA concludes Saudi Crown Prince ordered Khashoggi's murder
The CIA believes that as the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, the Crown Prince could not have been unaware of or uninvolved in the killing.
|
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the US in March. Photo:Reuters. |
The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has examined a phone call between journalist Jamal Khashoggi and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's brother, Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the US Khalid bin Salman. Khalid told Khashoggi that he should go to the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul to get documents and assured him that he would be safe,Washington Postciting anonymous sources with knowledge of intelligence information.
It is unclear whether Khalid knew that Khashoggi would be killed, but he made the call at his brother's direction.
The CIA concluded that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the journalist’s killing based on the agency’s assessment that the crown prince is the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, overseeing even the most minor affairs in the kingdom. “The accepted view is that there is no way this could have happened without his knowledge or involvement,” said a US official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
A CIA spokesperson declined to comment on the Washington Post’s revelations. Fatimah Baeshen, a spokeswoman for the Saudi Embassy in Washington, said the ambassador and Khashoggi never discussed anything related to traveling to Turkey. “We have heard various theories and have seen no basis for these speculations,” Baeshen said.
Khashoggi, a 60-year-old Washington Post columnist, disappeared on October 2 after entering the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul, Türkiye, to complete marriage paperwork. Riyadh has admitted he was killed in the consulate and has fired six officials and arrested 18 people for investigation. However, the country has refused to extradite them to Türkiye for investigation as Ankara has requested.
The New York Times reported that a member of the hit squad sent to Türkiye to kill Khashoggi asked his superiors to pass on a message by phone “to the boss” that the agents had completed the mission. The “boss” is believed to be Crown Prince Mohammed. Meanwhile, the Saudi government has denied the prince’s involvement in the murder.
.png "Nhận định, dự đoán Mỹ vs Saudi Arabia: Giằng co từ phút đầu tiên")
.jpg "Bàn cờ Syria hậu Assad: Các nước lớn thực sự muốn gì?")
