Khashoggi kills the role of Saudi Arabia as an ally of the West

Defense Secretary Jim Mattishigh highlighted these concerns over the weekend by rarely criticizing an ally. He told a security conference that Saudi Arabia's actions destabilized the entire region "at a time when it needed it the most".

Mr. Mattis did not blame Saudi leaders for the death of writer Jamal Khashoggi on Oct. 2, but his comments drew attention to how horrific killing – and the way the kingdom treated him – Strained the close ties that unite Saudi to President Donald Trump. The Trump administration has placed the kingdom at the center of a Middle East policy largely defined by efforts to contain the Iranian influence.

The United States and other Western governments are now trying to balance the political cost of the monarchy's support with the need to preserve the kingdom's role as their most important Arab ally. According to government officials and experts, Arab and Western allies fear that the kingdom will struggle to argue the moral argument that it must direct efforts to counter Iran.

"They are worried because Saudi Arabia is the mainstay of the relationship with the United States … and the stability of the region," said a senior Western official who follows the Middle East, referring to the Arab allies of the kingdom. "They think it weakens Saudi Arabia."

Saudi officials have sought to show their allies that the Khashoggi incident was an aberration.

Speaking at the same conference in Bahrain, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir described Saudi Arabia as a beacon of light fighting the "vision of darkness" of the country. Iran. He described as "hysterical" public reaction to the death of Mr. Khashoggi.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman called Mr. Khashoggi's death a "sinister incident" and promised justice.

The Saudi authorities had trouble presenting a credible account of what happened, as the Turkish authorities published information about the ongoing investigation, contradicting the Kingdom's initial refusal to commit wrongdoing.

The Saudi authorities have so far arrested 18 people in connection with Mr Khashoggi 's death and described it as "premeditated", but denied Prince Mohammed, the country' s daily leader, no. played no role – an opinion that some world leaders hailed with skepticism, including Mr. Trump. Turkish and Western officials suspect that the operation would have required the approval of the highest level of government.

The US State Department has imposed travel restrictions on 21 Saudi government employees suspected of involvement in the killing. Other sanctions may follow, including financial penalties for human rights abusers, an opportunity raised by US lawmakers.

Some regional allies have rallied to Saudi Arabia.

King Abdullah II of Jordan and Pakistani Imran Khan, both beneficiaries of Saudi financial aid, presented at the first Riyadh Investment Conference, following the withdrawal of US and European executives and officials from the crisis from Khashoggi.

But Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi, one of Saudi Arabia's closest Arab partners, was invited but did not visit, according to two people close to the case. A spokesman for Mr. Sisi did not respond to a request for comment.

In private, Gulf and other Arab allies have expressed their fear that the killing of Khashoggi will jeopardize their relations with the West.

"It's outrageous because it's not the kind of behavior we're used to seeing from Saudi Arabia," Mohammed Alyahya, an independent Saudi political badyst. "It's the kind of things that Iran and Syria do."

Mr. Alyahya noted that while Saudi Arabia's regional objectives remain unchanged, its priority is now national: to redesign the security apparatus to ensure that such an incident does not happen again.

Saudi-U.S. Relationships had improved after Trump took office, driven by shared concerns over Iran and the desire to abandon the agreement signed by the Obama administration to lift the sanctions against Tehran's nuclear ambitions, which Mr. Trump had done in May.

Riyad's role against Iran is particularly important in Yemen, where he leads a military coalition against Houthi rebels aligned with Iran. US and Gulf officials have said Iran supports the rebels with weapons and training, a claim refuted by Tehran.

The war became a humanitarian disaster and thousands of civilians were killed as part of the Saudi-led bombing campaign. The death of Mr. Khashoggi has given rise to further scrutiny by the US legislature, the conduct of the war by the Saudis and the support of their army by the US military, including air refueling and intelligence.

The White House continues to publicly support a multi-billion dollar Saudi arms deal, but lawmakers on both sides have suggested considering blocking some aspects of the agreement, including precision guided ammunition and other weapons.

The badbadination of Khashoggi "will require Saudi Arabia to plead for the reason why Iran's influence is unpleasant and destabilizing, while theirs is in the interest of all," he said. Kori Schake, Deputy Director General of the International Institute of Strategic Studies, London based think tank.

German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen on Saturday called for the circumstances surrounding the murder of the journalist to be "investigated thoroughly and brought to light, regardless of the consequences". considerable policies ". Germany has already promised to suspend all arms sales to the kingdom until there is more clarity about what happened to Mr. Khashoggi.

The calculation of Washington is complex. As serious as the Khashoggi mbadacre is in US-Saudi relations, any move by the United States could be seen as an overreaction to Riyadh and an opening for US competitors.

Riyadh may react angrily to any Saudi Arabian degradation by the United States and persuade other Gulf allies to cool their relations with the United States, for example by ending military maneuvers.

"We have had close relations with Saudi Arabia for decades and its geopolitical importance has multiple implications for security, energy and regional interests," said Norman Roule, a retired US intelligence officer with three decades of experience in the region. "A break in US-Saudi relations would be considered a gift by Moscow, Tehran and Beijing."

Write to Margherita Stancati at [email protected] and Gordon Lubold at [email protected]