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The Istanbul prosecutor's office has submitted an extradition request to Saudi Arabia for the 18 suspects, who have not been indicted.
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir said Saturday that his request would be denied.
"Individuals are Saudi nationals," he said. "They are being held in Saudi Arabia and the investigation is taking place in Saudi Arabia and they will be prosecuted in Saudi Arabia."
Riyadh claimed that neither Salman nor King Salman were aware of the operation aimed at targeting Khashoggi, a former Saudi insider who had written critical reviews for the Washington Post.
US officials have stated that such a mission, including 15 men sent from Riyadh, could not have been carried out without the permission of bin Salman, the country's de facto leader.
Saudi Minister: "Hysteria" after the case
Speaking at the International Institute for Strategic Studies Manama Dialogue in Bahrain, Al-Jubeir urged the public to wait for a full investigation.
"There has been hysteria in the media about the guilt of Saudi Arabia," he said. "People blame Saudi Arabia with such certainty before the end of the investigation." We made it clear that we would conduct a comprehensive and very transparent investigation, the results of which would be published. "
Asked about the manner in which the killing had been committed without Bin Salman's knowledge, Al-Jubeir reiterated that the investigation was ongoing.
"We are trying to find out what happened," he said. "We know that an error has been made, we know that people have exceeded their authority and we know we are investigating them."
Al-Jubeir added that those responsible would be punished and prosecuted in Saudi Arabia and that "mechanisms will be put in place to prevent this from happening again".
At the same time, US Secretary of Defense James Mattis, at the same event in Bahrain, said the killing of Khashoggi should "concern us all greatly".
"As stated the US Secretary of State Pompeo, the United States does not tolerate this kind of ruthless action aimed at silencing Mr. Khashoggi, journalist, by violence", a- he declared. "A country's non-compliance with international standards and the rule of law undermines regional stability when it is most needed."
Mattis said that US President Donald Trump had noted that the United States was "getting to the bottom of things" and added that the president had called for congressional participation.
Pompeo has promised to revoke the visas of officials and "will take additional action as the situation becomes clearer," said Mattis.
Robotic cameras probe sewers
Turkish Justice Minister Abdulhamir Gul said on Friday that Turkish institutions were capable and determined in their investigation, according to the official Turkish news agency Anadolu.
Mr Gul also said that Turkey wanted his request for extradition to be satisfied since "this atrocious incident occurred in Turkey," Anadolu said.
On Friday night, a private company used robotic cameras to examine the sewers in front of the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
"The sewer plate was removed by the van staff and robotic cameras were placed in the sewer. The examination performed in the sewer was monitored at the same time. Help screens located in the van. Anadolu state media reported.
The company that did the research told CNN that the system was designed to detect the finest materials. The research was commissioned by the Turkish Government's Water and Wastewater Administration, the company said, and related to the Khashoggi case.
CN Roberts Nic Robertson reported from Istanbul and Laura Smith-Spark wrote from London. CNN's Nimet Kiraç, Onur Cakir, Milena Veselinovic, Gul Tuysuz, Isil Sariyuce, Bethlehem Feleke, Jennifer Hauser and Sara Mazloumsaki contributed to this report.
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