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President Biden on Saturday teased an announcement regarding Saudi Arabia following the release of an official report that accuses Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of ordering the operation that killed Jamal Khashoggi.
Biden told reporters on the White House lawn: “There will be an announcement Monday on what we’re going to do with Saudi Arabia in general.”
Biden was responding to a question from the Post about whether he would punish the 35-year-old crown prince, who is the de facto ruler of the oil-rich kingdom.
A report from US officials released Friday indicates that the prince, commonly known by his initials MBS, ordered the 2018 coup on Khashoggi.
Biden spoke to the prince’s father, King Salman, 85, on Thursday before the damning report was released.
On Friday, the Biden administration announced sanctions against dozens of Saudis identified as involved in Khashoggi’s murder, but none against the crown prince.
Khashoggi was a resident of Virginia and a columnist for the Washington Post when he was killed at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
Turkish authorities claim Khashoggi was strangled and dismembered with a bone saw.
Former President Donald Trump argued that the US-Saudi strategic alliance was too important to risk punishing Saudi Arabia for Khashoggi’s death, which came as the crown prince consolidated power.
But some advocates say the United States should use its influence to force the prince’s resignation.
Saudi courts sentenced five people allegedly involved in Khashoggi’s death to death, but those sentences were later converted to 20 years in prison. Saudi Arabia’s legal system has not prosecuted the crown prince.
Biden has already changed U.S.-Saudi relations, including ending U.S. support for the long-stalled Saudi military campaign to restore Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, who was ousted in 2015 by a militia allied with the Iran which still controls most of the country’s population. areas.
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