Saudi probe

King Salman on Monday ordered an internal probe into the Khashoggi’s disappearance as a joint Turkish-Saudi team was set to search the Saudi consulate in Istanbul where he was last seen on October 2.

A Turkish diplomatic source said investigators would inspect the consulate on Monday afternoon, following delays last week when the two countries agreed to work together to find out what happened to Khashoggi, a critic of the Kingdom’s policies.

“The King has ordered the Public Prosecutor to open an internal investigation into the Khashoggi matter based on the info from the joint team in Istanbul,” a Saudi official, not authorised to speak publicly, said.

Asked when the public prosecutor could make an announcement about the investigation, the official said: “He was instructed to work quickly.”

Khashoggi disappeared after entering the consulate to get marriage documents. Turkey believes he was murdered and his body removed, while Saudi Arabia has denied the allegations. Saudi Arabia has responded by saying it would retaliate against any pressure.

King Salman AFP

President Trump said on Monday that he spoke with the king of Saudi Arabia and that the ruler denied any knowledge of the disappearance of a Saudi dissident journalist. After the call, Trump said it was possible that “rogue killers” were behind the disappearance of the journalist, Jamal Khashoggi.

Trump’s comments, in a morning Twitter post and later in brief remarks to reporters, come as the Saudis have given Turkish authorities permission to search the Saudi consulate in Turkey, where local officials believe Khashoggi, was killed and dismembered earlier this month.

The President said the secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, was travelling to Saudi Arabia later to meet King Salman.

Trump said his conversation with King Salman lasted about 20 minutes, and the king “firmly denied any knowledge of it”.

“It sounded to me like maybe these could have been rogue killers — who knows,” Trump said.

He said he told King Salman, “The world is watching. The world is talking, and this is very important to get to the bottom of.”

Trump previously said the episode would not have an impact on American relations with Saudi Arabia, one of the President’s closest allies in West Asia. But he was already facing pressure from some in Congress to respond to the Saudis with some kind of economic sanctions.

In an interview with CBS on Sunday, Trump said that even as the Saudis deny involvement in Khashoggi’s disappearance, it was still possible that they were responsible.

Trump said that because Khashoggi is a journalist, the case was even more serious.

“There’s something really terrible and disgusting about that, if that were the case,” Trump told CBS. “We’re going to get to the bottom of it, and there will be severe punishment.”

Khashoggi went to the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on October 2 to obtain a document for his wedding and he has not been seen or heard from since.

The columnist is one of the best-known media personalities in the kingdom and has been a confidant to several previous kings and princes.

Khashoggi moved to Washington after Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman began a kingdom-wide anticorruption crackdown, including efforts to silence dissidents.

Friends of Khashoggi’s speculated that the columnist’s harsh words about the crown prince in columns he contributed to The Washington Post — including comparing Prince Mohammed to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia — landed him on the prince’s blacklist.