WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Trump administration is pressing Saudi Arabia to show “tangible progress” toward holding to account those behind the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi and wants them to do so before the one-year anniversary of his murder, a senior administration official said.

FILE PHOTO: An Indonesian journalist holds a placard during a protest over the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in front of the Saudi Arabia embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, October 19, 2018. REUTERS/Beawiharta/File Photo

Pushing back against critics who have accused President Donald Trump of letting the Saudis off the hook after Khashoggi’s death, the official told Reuters this week the message to the kingdom is that it remains a “very hot issue” and “they need to take it seriously.”

Republican and Democratic lawmakers, citing evidence of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s role in the Khashoggi case and incensed over the civilian toll from the Saudi air campaign in Yemen, have ramped up efforts to block Trump’s arms sales to Saudi Arabia.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Saudis needed to complete their investigation and take action ahead of the anniversary but did not specify any consequences if they failed to do so. The Trump administration has so far taken only minimal steps.

Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist and U.S. resident who had become a vocal critic of the prince, disappeared after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2. Eleven Saudi suspects have been put on trial in secretive proceedings but only a few hearings have been held since January.

“There will be increased sensitivity around the anniversary,” the official said. “It would be in everyone’s best interest to have some tangible progress by then.”

The CIA has determined with “medium to high confidence” that the crown prince, commonly known by his initials MbS and considered de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, ordered the killing, U.S. government sources have said. The spy agency has continued to monitor and gather information but is not conducting a full-scale inquiry, a U.S. official said.

Saudi officials have denied involvement by Prince Mohammed.

Trump has expressed doubts about the CIA assessment and argued that Washington must not risk its alliance with Riyadh, the cornerstone of U.S. security policy in the Gulf regarded as a regional counterweight to Iran.

Khashoggi’s murder tarnished the crown prince’s reputation internationally. He has pushed ahead with an ambitious domestic agenda accompanied by a crackdown on dissent.

Trump drew a furious reaction from Congress last month when he declared that the threat from Iran was an emergency that forced him to bypass lawmakers and sell $8 billion in arms to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Democratic U.S. Senator Chris Murphy this week accused the administration of “turning a blind eye” to Khashoggi’s murder.

The administration is making clear to the Saudis the controversy will persist until they demonstrate a “very clear case of culpability,” the senior administration official said.

White House adviser and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who has cultivated a close relationship with MbS, declined to blame the crown prince for Khashoggi’s death in an interview with Axios this month.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in March the administration was still working “all across the government” to identify those responsible. </s> Dear Reader, As you can imagine, more people are reading The Jerusalem Post than ever before. Nevertheless, traditional business models are no longer sustainable and high-quality publications, like ours, are being forced to look for new ways to keep going. Unlike many other news organizations, we have not put up a paywall. We want to keep our journalism open and accessible and be able to keep providing you with news and analysis from the frontlines of Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World.

The Trump administration is pressing Saudi Arabia to show "tangible progress" toward holding to account those behind the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi and wants them to do so before the one-year anniversary of his murder, a senior administration official said. 



Pushing back against critics who have accused President Donald Trump of letting the Saudis off the hook after Khashoggi’s death, the official told Reuters this week the message to the kingdom is that it remains a "very hot issue" and "they need to take it seriously."



Republican and Democratic lawmakers, citing evidence of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s role in the Khashoggi case and incensed over the civilian toll from the Saudi air campaign in Yemen, have ramped up efforts to block Trump’s arms sales to Saudi Arabia.The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Saudis needed to complete their investigation and take action ahead of the anniversary but did not specify any consequences if they failed to do so. The Trump administration has so far taken only minimal steps.Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist and U.S. resident who had become a vocal critic of the prince, disappeared after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2. Eleven Saudi suspects have been put on trial in secretive proceedings but only a few hearings have been held since January."There will be increased sensitivity around the anniversary," the official said. "It would be in everyone's best interest to have some tangible progress by then."The CIA has determined with "medium to high confidence" that the crown prince, commonly known by his initials MbS and considered de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, ordered the killing, U.S. government sources have said. The spy agency has continued to monitor and gather information but is not conducting a full-scale inquiry, a U.S. official said.Saudi officials have denied involvement by Prince Mohammed.Trump has expressed doubts about the CIA assessment and argued that Washington must not risk its alliance with Riyadh, the cornerstone of U.S. security policy in the Gulf regarded as a regional counterweight to Iran.Khashoggi's murder tarnished the crown prince's reputation internationally. He has pushed ahead with an ambitious domestic agenda accompanied by a crackdown on dissent.Trump drew a furious reaction from Congress last month when he declared that the threat from Iran was an emergency that forced him to bypass lawmakers and sell $8 billion in arms to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.Democratic U.S. Senator Chris Murphy this week accused the administration of "turning a blind eye" to Khashoggi’s murder.The administration is making clear to the Saudis the controversy will persist until they demonstrate a "very clear case of culpability," the senior administration official said.White House adviser and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, who has cultivated a close relationship with MbS, declined to blame the crown prince for Khashoggi's death in an interview with Axios this month. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in March the administration was still working "all across the government" to identify those responsible.

Now is the time to join the news event of the year - The Jerusalem Post Annual Conference! 

For more information and to sign up, click here>> </s> Pushing back against critics who have accused President Donald Trump of letting the Saudis off the hook after Khashoggi’s death, the official told Reuters this week the message to the kingdom is that it remains a "very hot issue" and "they need to take it seriously."

Republican and Democratic lawmakers, citing evidence of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s role in the Khashoggi case and incensed over the civilian toll from the Saudi air campaign in Yemen, have ramped up efforts to block Trump’s arms sales to Saudi Arabia.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Saudis needed to complete their investigation and take action ahead of the anniversary but did not specify any consequences if they failed to do so. The Trump administration has so far taken only minimal steps.

Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist and US resident who had become a vocal critic of the prince, disappeared after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct 2. Eleven Saudi suspects have been put on trial in secretive proceedings but only a few hearings have been held since January.

"There will be increased sensitivity around the anniversary," the official said. "It would be in everyone's best interest to have some tangible progress by then."

The CIA has determined with "medium to high confidence" that the crown prince, commonly known by his initials MbS and considered de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, ordered the killing, US government sources have said. The spy agency has continued to monitor and gather information but is not conducting a full-scale inquiry, a US official said.

Trump has expressed doubts about the CIA assessment and argued that Washington must not risk its alliance with Riyadh, the cornerstone of US security policy in the Gulf regarded as a regional counterweight to Iran.

Khashoggi's murder tarnished the crown prince's reputation internationally. He has pushed ahead with an ambitious domestic agenda accompanied by a crackdown on dissent.

Trump drew a furious reaction from Congress last month when he declared that the threat from Iran was an emergency that forced him to bypass lawmakers and sell $8 billion in arms to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Democratic US Senator Chris Murphy this week accused the administration of "turning a blind eye" to Khashoggi’s murder.

The administration is making clear to the Saudis the controversy will persist until they demonstrate a "very clear case of culpability," the senior administration official said.

White House adviser and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, who has cultivated a close relationship with MbS, declined to blame the crown prince for Khashoggi's death in an interview with Axios this month.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in March the administration was still working "all across the government" to identify those responsible. </s> The Trump administration has been hesitant to place any direct blame on the Saudi ruler.

Donald Trump’s administration is helping the Saudi Crown Prince cover up the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a former CIA officer turned CNN analyst claims.

CNN intelligence analyst Bob Baer said that the White House is scrambling with the apparent evidence that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was directly involved in the murder of the Washington Post journalist. Baer claimed that Saudi Arabia is too volatile for the White House to push the Crown Prince out of power, so instead of creating new instability in the Middle East, the White House is forced to help cover up his alleged involvement with Khashoggi’s murder.

“Frankly the White House at this point doesn’t know what to do,” Baer said.

The Trump administration has been hesitant to directly condemn Saudi Arabia and especially Crown Prince Mohammed for Khashoggi’s death. In the days after it was first reported that Khashoggi was murdered by a team of Saudi agents, Donald Trump said he did not want the killing to jeopardize a multi-billion dollar arms deal that the United States has struck with Saudi Arabia.

And on Tuesday, National Security Adviser John Bolton said that audio recording of Khashoggi’s murder that Turkish officials said links Saudi Arabia to his murder did not directly implicate Crown Prince Mohammed.

“That’s not the conclusion that I think the people who heard it have come to,” Bolton said at a press briefing in Singapore (via the Washington Post).

After initially denying any knowledge of involvement in Jamal Khashoggi’s murder, Saudi officials have since offered a series of changing explanations for how he was killed. They initially said he died in a fist fight, then said Khashoggi was killed unintentionally before finally admitting that his killing was premeditated.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has taken a more direct stance on the killing, blaming Saudi Arabia and saying the murder was ordered from the “highest levels” of the Saudi government.

Erdogan said he has called on Saudi Arabia for an explanation but has not yet gotten a response.

“The crown prince says, ‘I will clarify the matter, I will do what is necessary.’ We are waiting patiently,” he said.

Meanwhile, there is increasing evidence that there was much-advanced planning of Jamal Khashoggi’s murder. A recent report from the New York Times claimed that last year, Saudi officials had sought information about using private companies to assassinate Iranian enemies. </s> The United States sanctioned 17 Saudi Arabian nationals Thursday in connection with the killing of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The announcement came just hours after Saudi Arabia said it will seek the death penalty for five suspects among 11 charged in the killing of the Washington Post columnist.

Among those sanctioned by the the Treasury Department was Saud Al-Qahtani, a former senior adviser to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The sanctions freeze their U.S. asserts and prohibit Americans from doing business with them.

"The Saudi officials we are sanctioning were involved in the abhorrent killing of Jamal Khashoggi," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement. "These individuals who targeted and brutally killed a journalist who resided and worked in the United States must face consequences for their actions. The Government of Saudi Arabia must take appropriate steps to end any targeting of political dissidents or journalists."

Earlier Thursday, Saud Al-Mojeb, the kingdom's top public prosecutor, said the most senior official behind Khashoggi’s murder in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2. is Ahmad al-Assiri, a former deputy intelligence chief.

Al-Assiri was arrested and fired for ordering Khashoggi's forced return to Saudi Arabia, an operation that Riyadh has tried to characterize as a botched rendition by rogue operatives. Al-Mojeb did not say whether Al-Assiri was facing the death penalty. He said 21 people are in custody and 11 have been indicted in connection with the case.

Protestors hold candles and pictures of Jamal Khashoggi during the demonstration in front of Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul, Turkey.

Turkey says it has audio evidence that proves the Washington Post columnist's murder was sanctioned at the highest level in Saudi Arabia, likely in coordination with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the nation's de facto ruler and a close U.S. ally.

On Monday, Canada's Justin Trudeau became the first western leader to confirm that Turkey has shared this evidence with other countries' intelligence agencies. President Donald Trump has acknowledged its existence but has not said whether he's heard it.

The recording was shared last month with the C.I.A. Director Gina Haspel.

However, Al-Mojeb did not address that, and only requested that Turkish authorities release additional information about their investigation. He said Khashoggi's murderers drugged and killed the writer inside the consulate before dismembering the body and handing it over for disposal by an unidentified local collaborator.

Following Al-Mojeb's remarks, Turkey released a statement urging Saudi Arabia to reveal who ordered Khashoggi's killing. It also called the prosecutor's comments "unsatisfactory" and insisted that the suspects be extradited to Turkey for trial.

Khashoggi's remains are unaccounted for more than a month after he entered the consulate to obtain legal documents needed to marry his Turkish fiancee.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said he has pressed the Saudis for answers over the case and told Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in a phone call that "the United States will hold all of those involved in the killing of Jamal Khashoggi accountable." The Trump administration has also appeared intent on preserving its relationship with Saudi Arabia's leadership despite the affair.

More: Report: Saudis discussed killing other enemies long before Khashoggi's death </s> President Donald Trump soaked up the grandeur of Saudi Arabia on his first foreign stop as president last year and envisioned huge benefits for the United States in building closer ties with the repressive and oil-rich desert kingdom.

Now, the White House relationship with Riyadh is imperiled over the mysterious disappearance of a Saudi writer, and the situation is creating friction between the Trump administration and members of Congress demanding to know if the columnist for The Washington Post was killed inside the Saudi consulate in Turkey.

Trump said he has talked to officials at the highest level of the kingdom and is “demanding everything” to explain how Jamal Khashoggi, an activist who had been critical of Saudi leaders, vanished after he walked into the consulate in Istanbul to get documents he needed to get married.

Turkish authorities claim Khashoggi, who resided in the United States, was killed by members of an elite Saudi “assassination squad.” The kingdom describes the allegation as “baseless.” But if Saudi Arabia is found to be complicit in his disappearance or death, the warm U.S.-Saudi relationship — and even hopes for Middle East peace — could be upended.

A senior administration official said Friday that the U.S. is in ongoing contact with Turkish and Saudi officials about the case. The U.S. believes it is essential that Turkish authorities — with full, transparent support from the Saudi government — are able to conduct a thorough investigation and officially release the results, the official said.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to speak publicly, said the U.S. supports Turkish investigators’ efforts, will not prejudge the outcome of the official investigation, but stands ready to assist.

Trump said Thursday the U.S. had “investigators over there and we’re working with Turkey” and Saudi Arabia. But he has provided no details.

Trump has backed Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s ambitious campaign to modernize the conservative kingdom and its economy. Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who exchanges phone and text messages with the young crown prince, was instrumental in last year’s deal to sell $110 billion in U.S. weapons to the kingdom.

But even before Khashoggi vanished, concerns were mounting in Congress over Saudi Arabia’s policies and the crown prince’s aggressive steps to silence his critics. And now there are calls on Capitol Hill for the U.S. to halt arms sales to the kingdom, and Khashoggi’s disappearance could galvanize more opposition from lawmakers and pressure Trump to rethink his relations with Saudi Arabia.

Trump on Thursday pronounced U.S. relations with Saudi Arabia “excellent” and said he doesn’t want to scuttle arms deals with Riyadh because it means tens of millions of dollars pouring into the U.S. economy. He said the kingdom would simply buy the weapons from Russia or China instead.

“If it turns out to be as bad as it might be, there are certainly other ways of handling this situation,” he said without elaborating.

Much of how the U.S. responds will depend on whether evidence surfaces that proves Saudi Arabia is responsible for Khashoggi’s death.

Trump will have to craft a “calibrated response,” said Jon Alterman, who directs the Middle East program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “He doesn’t like that approach. The president likes complete wins.”

The close ties between the Trump White House and the kingdom were in part forged by a friendship between two young princes: Last spring, Kushner and the crown prince met formally for the first time as a late-season snow fell outside the White House.

The two men — both in their 30s, both trusted aides of older, familial leaders — struck a bond. As their countries’ chief negotiators on Israeli-Palestinian peace, Kushner and the Saudi prince were both looking to make a name for themselves on the world stage and consulted with each other frequently over the following months.

Kushner championed Crown Prince Mohammed to the president and senior foreign policy officials, some of whom expressed wariness at the embrace of MBS, as he is known in diplomatic circles.

The two men’s relationship also played a key role in Riyadh becoming the unlikely first stop on Trump’s maiden international trip in May 2017. Trump, despite endorsing a travel ban on Muslims during his campaign, became the first U.S. president to make his official first trip to an Islamic nation.

Relations between the two countries are complex because they are entwined on energy, military, economic and intelligence issues. The Trump administration has aggressively courted the Saudis for support of its Middle East agenda to counter Iranian influence, fight extremism and forge peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

“We want to have a relationship with Saudi Arabia. They’re a strategic partner. They’re a mortal enemy of the Iranians. They’re helping us on terrorism,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a Trump supporter and top member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

“Having said all that, if this did happen — and it’s increasingly likely that something bad happened to this man at the hands of the Saudi government — that shows contempt for us. That’s disrespectful to us. It puts people like me in a box who’ve been one of the leading champions of the relationship.”

It’s not just Graham who’s in a box. It’s also Trump, who has long-standing business ties to Saudi Arabia.

Jeff Prescott, who was senior director for the Middle East at the National Security Council during the Obama administration, said that a reassessment of the U.S. relationship with Saudi Arabia is overdue and that Trump should raise U.S. complaints with Saudi leaders.

“What the Trump administration has given Saudi Arabia is a green light to pursue any policy,” said Prescott, now executive director of National Security Action, a group of former officials opposed to the Trump administration. “The key question is whether Republicans will have the courage to force the administration to have a reckoning of the relationship.”

He said Kushner’s project to forge peace between Israel and the Palestinians also could be in jeopardy.

“There is no question that a rift with Saudi Arabia — or even relations strained by pressure from Congress — would make an already bleak prospect even less likely,” Prescott said.

In Congress, there is a push for sanctions under a human rights law, and lawmakers are questioning American support for the Saudi-led bombing campaign against Iranian-backed rebels in Yemen. The U.S. has raised concerns previously about heavy civilian casualties caused by the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen.

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., voiced doubt there would be support in Congress for another arms sale to Saudi Arabia — though lawmakers haven’t blocked sales before. He also called for at least a temporary halt in U.S. military support for the Saudi bombing campaign in Yemen. Murphy tweeted that if Saudi Arabia is found complicit in Khashoggi’s death, it should be viewed as a “fundamental break in our relationship with Saudi Arabia.”

Copyright © 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed. </s> • A former CIA case officer and intelligence analyst said the Trump administration is helping the Saudi Crown Prince cover up journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s murder.
• Bob Baer, who worked as a CIA case officer primarily in the Middle East, told CNN’s Jake Tapper that the US has purposely muted its response to Khashoggi’s murder, despite mounting evidence – including audio recordings – that some suggest implicates the Saudi Crown Prince.
• Turkish and US officials, including US National Security Adviser John Bolton, have said that the audio does not conclusively link the killing to Prince Mohammed. But Baer suggested it is unlikely that anyone else in the Kingdom would have the authority to order such an operation.
• “The chances that Mohammed bin Salman ordered this, we’re hitting 100%,” Baer said.
• The Trump administration, by all appearances, is unsure of how to proceed in its response to Khashoggi’s murder; while officials have been promising to clamp down hard with possible sanctions, little meaningful action has been taken.

A former CIA case officer and intelligence analyst for CNN claimed the Trump administration is helping the Saudis cover up Jamal Khashoggi’s murder.

Speaking to CNN’s Jake Tapper on Tuesday, Bob Baer, who worked at a CIA case officer primarily in the Middle East, said the US has purposely muted its response to journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s murder.

“We’ve always turned a blind eye to what’s going on in Saudi Arabia,” he told CNN Tuesday.

Khashoggi, a Washington Post contributor and US resident, was murdered after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2. Saudi Arabia has repeatedly shifted its version of the events that transpired that day, and it has fired five top officials and arrested 18 Saudis it says are connected to the killing.

Still, Khashoggi’s body has not been returned, and audio recordings circulating around government agencies appear to indicate that that someone senior, possibly Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, had ordered the killing.

According to The New York Times, the tape allegedly records Khashoggi’s last moments, and catches one of his killers call his superior on the phone and tell the person to “tell your boss” that “the deed was done.“

“The way Saudi Arabia is run today, Mohammed bin Salman is an autocrat,” Baer said. “Security services, the rest of the country, he’s in control.”

While Turkish and US officials, including US National Security Adviser John Bolton, have said that the audio does not conclusively implicate Prince Mohammed, Baer suggested it is unlikely that anyone else in the Kingdom would have the authority to order such an operation. Bolton has said he has not heard the tape himself.

“The Saudis do not have rogue operations ever,” Baer said. “It’s never occured. The chances that Mohammed bin Salman ordered this, we’re hitting 100%.”

The Trump administration, by all appearances, is unsure of how to proceed in its response to Khashoggi’s murder; while officials have been promising to clamp down hard with possible sanctions against senior Saudi leaders, little action has been taken, likely due to the deep economic ties between Washington and Riyadh.

“At this point, the White House doesn’t see a way out. Saudi Arabia is a volcano and to try and push the Crown Prince out, we don’t have any players [in Saudi Arabia] on our side, so we don’t know what to do,” Baer said. “So we have a psychopath sitting in Riyadh controlling the country.”

Prince Mohammed has tightened his grip in the last year since being appointed Crown Prince last June at the age of 31. His massive purge of more than 200 influential Saudi figures, many of whom were members of the Saudi royal family, silenced dissenting voices and cemented his status as Saudi Arabia’s most powerful figure.

“No Saudi prince has ever done this ever in its history,” Baer said. “I think what worries the White House is this country could pop, and what would we do then?” </s> ELKO, Nev. (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he is not satisfied with Saudi Arabia’s explanation for the circumstances around the killing of journalist and government critic Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul.

Speaking to reporters in Nevada, Trump added that it was possible that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had been unaware of the death. </s> Turkish prosecutor's office says it is 'obliged' to reveal the details about the murder of Khashoggi after the talks with Saudi Arabia's chief prosecutor produced 'no concrete results'

ISTANBUL, Turkey – Journalist Jamal Khashoggi was strangled as soon as he entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul and then dismembered as part of a premeditated plan, Turkey's chief prosecutor said Wednesday, October 31, making details of the murder public for the first time.

The revelations came just hours after Saudi Arabia's chief prosecutor left Istanbul, and the Turkish prosecutor's office said it was "obliged" to reveal the details after the talks produced "no concrete results".

Gruesome reports in the Turkish media had previously alleged that Khashoggi, a 59-year-old Washington Post contributor critical of the powerful Saudi crown prince, had been killed and cut into pieces by a team sent from Riyadh to silence him. His body has not been found.

"In accordance with plans made in advance, the victim, Jamal Khashoggi, was strangled to death immediately after entering the Consulate General of Saudi Arabia in Istanbul on October 2, 2018 for marriage formalities," said a statement from the office of Istanbul chief prosecutor Irfan Fidan.

"The victim's body was dismembered and destroyed following his death by suffocation – again, in line with advance plans," it added.

"Despite our well-intentioned efforts to reveal the truth, no concrete results have come out of those meetings."

Riyadh sent the head of its investigation to Istanbul this week seeking to draw a line under a crisis that has brought near unprecedented scrutiny on Saudi Arabia.

However a senior Turkish official said earlier Wednesday that Saudi officials seemed "primarily interested in finding out what evidence Turkey had against the perpetrators".

"We did not get the impression that they were keen on genuinely cooperating with the investigation," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

After arriving on Sunday, Saudi Arabia's Attorney General Sheikh Saud al-Mojeb met with Fidan twice, visited the consulate and spoke with Turkey's MIT intelligence agency.

He flew out of Istanbul on Wednesday afternoon without making a public statement.

After initially insisting Khashoggi left the consulate unharmed, then saying he died in a brawl during an interview gone wrong, the Saudi regime has since admitted he was killed by a "rogue operation" and arrested 18 people.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has urged the Saudi regime to reveal the location of Khashoggi's body and who ordered the hit.

Erdogan has also called on Riyadh reveal the identity of local "co-conspirators" that media reports claimed had disposed of Khashoggi's body.

However Mojeb said that Saudi authorities had made no such statement about local collaborators, the Istanbul prosecutor's office said.

The Saudi prosector's office meanwhile invited Fidan and his delegation to Riyadh "along with the evidence they have obtained", it added.

'Truth needs to come out'

The case has sorely strained relations between the ultra-conservative kingdom and the West.

France said Wednesday that "not enough" was being done to find those responsible for the murder of Khashoggi, who was an insider in Saudi royal circles before going into self-imposed exile in the United States last year.

"This crime has to be punished and the perpetrators identified. The truth needs to come out," Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said.

In an editorial published Tuesday, the Washington Post accused Riyadh of "deflecting questions by pretending to investigate" the murder.

It said the administration of US President Donald Trump was "playing along" and "pretending to believe that the Saudis can conduct a credible probe – even though a chief suspect is the kingdom's own autocratic ruler".

The editorial also urged the US Congress to impose sanctions on those responsible – "including, if the available evidence points to him, Mohammed bin Salman – and reshape US relations with Saudi Arabia".

The affair has tarnished the image of the crown prince, who has positioned himself as a Saudi reformer. He has denounced the murder as "repulsive" and strongly denied any involvement.

Trump meanwhile has called the case "one of the worst cover-ups in history", but warned against halting a Saudi arms deal, saying it would harm US jobs.

However relations between the long-time allies have cooled after the murder and on Tuesday Washington called for a ceasefire and peace talks in Yemen, where the US has faced fierce international criticism for supporting a Saudi-led coalition.

Pentagon chief Jim Mattis said the US had been watching the conflict, in which nearly 10,000 people have been killed, "for long enough". – Rappler.com
Reuters reports, on the basis of an unnamed "senior administration" source, that the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is pressuring the government of Saudi Arabia to show some progress in its investigation of the murder of Jamal Khashoggi before the one-year anniversary in October.