Crown Prince a ‘Red Line’ in Khashoggi Probe, Saudi Arabia Warns
The minister said calls for the Saudi leadership to be held accountable for Khashoggi’s killing won’t be tolerated.
advertisement
Saudi Arabia has warned that criticism of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is a "red line", after Donald Trump heaped praise on the kingdom in defiance of warnings he was giving Riyadh a pass on a journalist's grisly murder.
His comments came as the US president praised Saudi Arabia for keeping oil prices low – one strand of his argument against punishing Riyadh even though the CIA reportedly found strong evidence that the crown prince, the de facto Saudi leader, was involved in the murder.
"In Saudi Arabia our leadership is a red line. The custodian of the two holy mosques (King Salman) and the crown prince are a red line," Jubeir told the BBC.
Khashoggi, a US resident who wrote for The Washington Post and had been critical of Prince Mohammed, was lured to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on 2 October, where he was killed and reportedly dismembered.
However, a CIA analysis leaked to the US media went further, reportedly pointing the finger at the crown prince.
But Trump, on holiday at his Florida Mar-a-Lago Club on Wednesday, doubled down on a statement from Tuesday.
“Great! Like a big Tax Cut for America and the World. Enjoy! USD 54, was just USD 82," he tweeted. "Thank you to Saudi Arabia, but let's go lower!"
Jubeir insisted that Prince Mohammed had not been involved in the killing.
"We have made that very clear. We have investigations ongoing and we will punish the individuals who are responsible for this," he said.
He called on Turkey to come forward with all its evidence about the slaying and stop leaking out information.
The foreign minister said the murder was a "rogue operation" by intelligence officers.
Jubeir also said any possible US sanctions on Saudi Arabia would be short-sighted.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)