Washington-SANA
The United States announced today the identification of a former "senior" official in the Saudi regime's intelligence services in connection with the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in his country's consulate in Istanbul in 2018 without mentioning his name.
Reuters quoted US State Department spokesman Ned Price as saying in a press briefing today that the United States is focusing on the future behavior of Saudi Arabia after the sanctions it imposed on some Saudi officials regarding Khashoggi's killing, which did not include Crown Prince Bin Salman.
Price indicated that future arms sales to the Saudi regime "will be evaluated on the basis of American interests and values," noting that his country "urged" the Saudi regime to disband its force for rapid intervention.
Last Friday, the administration of US President Joe Biden revealed a declassified copy of a CIA report on Khashoggi's killing, stating: “We see that the Saudi crown prince approved in 2018 an operation in Istanbul to arrest or kill Khashoggi,” adding: “We build this assessment. On the crown prince's control of the decision-making process in Saudi Arabia, the direct involvement of a key advisor and members of the bin Salman protection team in the process, and support for the crown prince to use violent measures to silence dissidents abroad, including Khashoggi.