US warns Saudi over journo’s slay
Turkish media claims leader of assassination team was part of Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s security detail
WASHINGTON— President Donald Trump admitted on Thursday that missing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi “certainly looks” to be dead and warned of “very severe” if Riyadh were involved.
Trump did not say on what he based his statement about the Khashoggi’s likely death, but when he was asked if Khashoggi is already dead, he said, “It certainly looks that way… Very sad.”
Unspecified consequences
Asked what consequence Saudi leaders would face if they are found to be responsible, he replied: “It will have to be very severe. It’s bad, bad stuff. But we’ll see what happens.”
Before Trump spoke, the administration announced that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin had pulled out of a major upcoming investment conference in Saudi Arabia.
Waiting for probe’s end
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who had just returned from talks with Saudi and Turkish leaders, said Washington could wait for the results of an ongoing investigation.
But he said he had also warned the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman that his credibility as a future leader is at stake.
An official who was with Pompeo in Saudi Arabia quoted the top US diplomat as telling the prince that it would be “very difficult for you to be a credible king” after his aged father, King Salman.
Pompeo said that whatever response the administration might decide on would take into account the importance of the long-standing US-Saudi partnership.
“They’re an important strategic ally of the United States, and we need to be mindful of that,” Pompeo said.
Trump’s and Pompeo’s comments signaled an urgency in completing the probe into the disappearance of Khashoggi, who was last seen entering the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2.
Since then, Ankara has leaked audio and video recordings showing the arrival of a 15man team from Saudi Arabia, who were allegedly sent to kill Khashoggi over his criticism of the Saudi royalty.
Slay team named
Turkish officials identified one of the 15 as Maher Abdulaziz Mutreb, a member of Prince Mohammed’s security detail, who arrived in Istanbul on a private jet with an “autopsy expert” Oct. 2.
The autopsy expert was identified as UK-trained Salah Muhammad al-Tubaigy, who was could supposedly be heard leading the dismembering of Khashoggi’s body.
Disposed of in the forest
Meanwhile, an Turkish official said investigators, who searched the consulate and the residence of the Saudi consul general in Istanbul, are looking into the possibility that Khashoggi’s remains was disposed at a nearby forest.
The official told The Associated Press on Friday that police have established that two vehicles belonging to the Saudi consulate left the building on Oct. 2—the day Khashoggi had walked into the consulate and vanished.
The official says one vehicle went to the Belgrade Forest while the other traveled to the city of Yalova. Police were searching these areas.