Khashogi’s murder: Riyadh and Washington are careful not to spoil their relationship

Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi's killing was not possible without the approval of the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. This is an American intelligence claim. In a report, it states that Mohammad Bin Salman had “complete control”, to carry out such an operation with his “green light”.

The report contains a list of about 20 people involved in the operation, including former Saudi intelligence number two Ahmed al-Assiri, a close aide of MBS and a former adviser to Prince Saud al-Kahani.

The accusations were quickly dismissed by Riyadh, which however is careful not to spoil its relationship with the US.

The US generally does not ban top leaders of countries with which it has diplomatic relations, justified the State Department.

The relationship with Saudi Arabia is an important one. We have significant ongoing interests. We remain committed to the defense of the kingdom. But we also want to make sure – and this is what the President has said from the outset – that the relationship better reflects our interests and our values.  And so what we’ve done by the actions that we’ve taken is really not to rupture the relationship, but to recalibrate it to be more in line with our interests and our values. And I think that we have to understand as well that this is bigger than any one person. This recalibration goes to the policies that Saudi Arabia is pursuing and the actions that it’s taken, said  Secretary Antony J. Blinken at a Press availability.