On Saturday, following the declaration of a US intelligence report saying that Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS) approved the killing of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul, US President Joe Biden announced that the administration will make an announcement on the matter on Monday to determine what the US will do with regards to Saudi Arabia. No further details were given by President Biden on the matter.
On the subject matter, a White House official has suggested that no significant steps are expected to be made. The official argues that the administration’s steps refer to the various actions previously taken by the Biden administration on Friday and that the announcement to be made on Monday is just to elaborate on the details of that specific announcement and not to declare any new actions on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Based on an editorial on The Washington Post, Biden has been at the receiving end of some criticisms that the new administration should have been tougher on Saudi Arabia and the Crown Prince MBS, who, in spite of approving the murder of Khashoggi, has not been included in any measures such as sanctions in terms of response.
Following the release of the US report on the Khashoggi case, the Saudi government immediately issued a statement completely rejecting the findings of the report and repeated its previous claims that the killing of the journalist in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul was a crime executed by a rogue group. The statement also denied the involvement of the Saudi Crown Prince in the murder of Khashoggi.
