A man holds a poster showing images of Saudi Crown Prince Muhammed bin Salman and of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, describing the prince as "assassin" and Khashoggi as "martyr" in Turkish and Arabic during funeral prayers in absentia for Khashoggi who was killed last month in the Saudi Arabia consulate, in Istanbul, Friday, Nov. 16, 2018. Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Thursday called for an international investigation into the killing of the Saudi dissident writer Jamal Khashoggi.(AP Photo/Emrah Gurel) (AP)</s>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury will announce on Thursday sanctions on 17 Saudis for their role in the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, according to a source familiar with the administration’s plans.

Those to be sanctioned include Saud al-Qahtani, a former top aide to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, as well as the Saudi Consul General Mohammed Alotaibi, the source said.

The sanctions will be implemented under the Global Magnitsky Act, which imposes sanctions over human rights abuses, the source said.

Among others facing sanctions are Maher Mutreb, an aide to Qahtani who has appeared in photographs with Prince Mohammed on official visits this year to the United States and Europe.</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 CIA has determined that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman personally ordered the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, despite the Saudi government’s denials that the de facto ruler was involved, according to a Washington Post report.

Citing people familiar with the matter, the Post reported Friday that the CIA reached its conclusion by examining several sources of intelligence. According to the Post, US officials have high confidence in the CIA’s assessment.

A spokesman for the CIA declined to comment to the Post. The Saudi government has denied bin Salman’s involvement in Khashoggi’s death.

Fatimah Baeshen, a spokeswoman for the Saudi Embassy in Washington, told the newspaper that the claims in the CIA’s “purported assessment are false.”

“We have and continue to hear various theories without seeing the primary basis for these speculations,” she told the Post.

Khashoggi, a former Saudi royal insider who became a critic of the country’s government, went missing in October after he visited the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to obtain papers for his upcoming marriage. The Saudi government offered changing explanations for Khashoggi’s disappearance.

Included in the US intelligence analyzed by the CIA was a phone call the prince’s brother Khalid bin Salman made to Khashoggi, encouraging the journalist to make the trip to the consulate to get the documents, according to the Post. Sources told the Post that Khalid made the call at his brother’s command.

Khalid denied the Post’s reporting, saying on Twitter that he had never spoken to Khashoggi by phone.

“I never talked to him by phone and certainly never suggested he go to Turkey for any reason. I ask the US government to release any information regarding this claim,” Khalid said.

He said the last contact he’d had with Khashoggi was via text in October 2017.

Baeshen told the Post that Khalid, who is the Saudi ambassador to the US, and Khashoggi never discussed “anything related to going to Turkey.”

The CIA also examined an audio recording from inside the Saudi consulate provided by Turkey and a phone call placed from inside the consulate after Khashoggi was killed, according to the Post.

Maher Mutreb, an alleged member of the Saudi hit team and a security official for the crown prince, placed the phone call to a top aide for bin Salman informing the aide that the job had been done, people familiar with the call told the newspaper.

According to the Post, the CIA also based its conclusion on its evaluation of bin Salman as a leader who is involved in minor matters.

The CIA does not know the location of Khashoggi’s remains, according to the Post.

The Trump administration on Thursday imposed penalties on 17 individuals over their alleged roles in the killing of Khashoggi. Khashoggi’s assassination has created a crisis for the Trump administration and drawn attention to President Donald Trump’s business ties to Saudi Arabia and the relationship between bin Salman and Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner.

Earlier Thursday, the Saudi Public Prosecutor’s Office said 11 people had been charged for their involvement in the death of Khashoggi, adding that five are facing capital punishment for being directly involved in “ordering and executing the crime.”

Khashoggi was killed following “a fight and a quarrel” at the Saudi consulate, the prosecutor’s office claimed. Prosecutors said Khashoggi was tied up and injected with an overdose of a sedative that killed him. Then, according to prosecutors, his body was dismembered and removed from the consulate by five people.</s>President Donald Trump has nominated retired Army Gen. John Abizaid to fill the long-vacant job of U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia amid tensions over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The four-star general, now a fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution think tank and a private consultant, headed the U.S. Central Command from 2003 until 2007, overseeing the Iraq war and military operations across the Middle East.

Saudi Arabia is a key U.S. economic, diplomatic and strategic partner in the Middle East, though relations have been strained since the killing of Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist and critic of the kingdom. After denying responsibility, the Saudis admitted Khashoggi was slain in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul at the hands of Saudi personnel.

The Saudi ambassador post, which requires Senate confirmation, has been vacant since Trump became president. Trump’s selection of a military figure may reflect the kingdom’s importance as a customer of U.S. weaponry. The U.S. has chosen not to suspend Saudi arms sales in the wake of Khashoggi’s death, but has warned of an unspecified response.

U.S. weapons have been linked to the Saudi-led campaign against Yemen, a topic garnering raised interest following Khashoggi’s killing. Congress is expected to vote this month whether to end American support for the Saudi coalition fighting in Yemen, and the U.S. and U.K. have called for a cease-fire. The conflict has spawned one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises in recent years.

The Trump administration has prioritized the U.S. relationship with the Saudis, placing senior adviser Jared Kushner in charge of bonding with newly minted Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.</s>
• The Trump administration on Thursday hit 17 Saudi officials with sanctions over their alleged involvement in the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
• Among those slapped with sanctions were Saud al-Qahtani, top henchman of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The Trump administration on Thursday hit 17 Saudi officials with sanctions over their alleged involvement in the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

“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.”

Mnuchin added: “The United States continues to diligently work to ascertain all of the facts and will hold accountable each of those we find responsible in order to achieve justice for Khashoggi’s fiancée, children, and the family he leaves behind.”

Among those slapped with sanctions were Saud al-Qahtani, a top henchman of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, whom the Treasury Department described as “part of the planning and execution of the operation that led to the killing of Mr. Khashoggi.”

Read more: The operation that led to Khashoggi’s killing was reportedly run via Skype by one of Crown Prince Mohammed’s top henchmen

Qahtani reportedly ran the operation surrounding Khashoggi’s killing via Skype. The Saudis have sought to distance Prince Mohammed from the killing, and on Thursday reiterated their claim he had nothing to do with the operation. But it’s widely believed Khashoggi’s killing was a direct result of orders from Prince Mohammed, the de facto ruler of the kingdom.

Maher Mutreb, Qahtani’s subordinate, was also hit with sanctions. The Treasury Department said the operation was “coordinated and executed” by Mutreb.

Additionally, Consul General Mohammed Alotaibi, who oversaw the Saudi consul in Istanbul where Khashoggi was killed, was slapped with sanctions.

Read more: How the Saudi government’s story on slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi has shifted over time

This all comes after Saudi Arabia earlier in the day announced it had indicted 11 men in connection with Khashoggi’s killing, and requested the death penalty for five.

The Saudi public prosecutors office said Khashoggi was killed via a lethal injection after a brief struggle, claiming his body was then dismembered and the parts were given to a local collaborator. The prosecution said the team originally intended to coerce Khashoggi to return to his native country, but killed him after he resisted.

This marked yet another shift in the Saudi’s narrative on the journalist’s disturbing killing.</s>A man holds a poster showing images of Saudi Crown Prince Muhammed bin Salman and of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, describing the prince as "assassin" and Khashoggi as "martyr" in Turkish and Arabic during funeral prayers in absentia for Khashoggi who was killed last month in the Saudi Arabia consulate, in Istanbul, Friday, Nov. 16, 2018. Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Thursday called for an international investigation into the killing of the Saudi dissident writer Jamal Khashoggi.(AP Photo/Emrah Gurel) (AP)</s>Saudi officials are seeking the death penalty for five of the 11 suspects charged in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi.

Saudi officials are seeking the death penalty for five of the 11 suspects charged in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi.

Saudi officials are seeking the death penalty for five of the 11 suspects charged in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi.

Shalaan al-Shaalan, the kingdom's deputy public prosecutor, revealed that 21 people are in custody over the grisly killing and charges have been brought against 11 of them.

Al-Shalaan told reporters in Riyadh he has sought the death penalty for five who "are charged with ordering and committing the crime and for the appropriate sentences for the other indicted individuals".

None of the five facing the death penalty were named. Executions in Saudi Arabia are usually carried out by public beheading.

Within hours of the decision, the US announced it would place punishing economic sanctions on 17 Saudis allegedly involved in the murder.

"The Saudi officials we are sanctioning were involved in the abhorrent killing of Jamal Khashoggi. These individuals who targeted and brutally killed a journalist who resided and worked in the United States must face consequences for their actions," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said.

The 17 included Saud Al-Qahtani and Maher Mutreb, key aides of the powerful prince, and Mohammed Al-Otaibi, who was the consul general in the Istanbul consulate when Khashoggi was murdered.

The US Treasury said Qahtani, Crown Prince Mohammed's long-time right-hand man, "was part of the planning and execution of the operation" to kill Khashoggi.

But it did not point any fingers at the Prince, who the Saudi Government has insisted did not order the killing.

Meanwhile, Saudi officials have maintained the whereabouts of Khashoggi's body is unknown.

Saudi authorities maintain the Crown Prince was not involved in the murder case.

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has nothing to do with this issue. This was a rogue operation," Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir said.

His comments contradict the findings of a Turkish investigation, which claim it was a well-planned operation that came from high-level officials in the Saudi kingdom.

Earlier in the week, a recorded phone call linked the Washington Post columnist's death to Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince.

A member of the 15-man "hit squad", which allegedly killed the Saudi citizen, reportedly said in a phone call with a superior afterwards to "tell your boss" the murder mission had been completed.

The phone call was made by Maher Abdulaziz Mutreb in Arabic.

A recording of it, shared last month with CIA director Gina Haspel, is seen as some of the strongest evidence linking Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the murder.

The phone call did not mention the Prince by name, but The New York Times reported that US intelligence officials believe "your boss" was a reference to the young ruler, while Turkish intelligence officers said they thought he was speaking to one of Bin Salman's aides.

Turkey continues to call on the Saudis to reveal who ordered the killing.

US President Donald Trump suggested ultimate responsibility lay with the Prince as de facto ruler.</s>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The CIA has concluded that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul, the Washington Post reported on Friday, a finding that contradicts Saudi government assertions that he was not involved.

The Post said U.S. officials have expressed high confidence in the CIA assessment, which is the most definitive to date linking Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler to the killing and complicates President Donald Trump’s efforts to preserve U.S. ties with one of the closest American allies in the region.

Reuters was not immediately able to verify the accuracy of the report, but a source familiar with U.S. intelligence assessments told Reuters U.S. government experts assess with confidence that the crown prince ordered the operation that led to Khashoggi’s death.

The White House declined to comment on the Post report, saying it was an intelligence matter. The State Department also declined to comment.

Khashoggi, a contributing columnist for the Washington Post, was killed at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2 when he went there to pick up documents he needed for his planned marriage to a Turkish woman.

Khashoggi, a critic of the Saudi government, had resisted pressure from Riyadh for him to return home. Saudi officials have said a team of 15 Saudi nationals were sent to confront Khashoggi at the consulate and that he was accidentally killed in a chokehold by men who were trying to force him to return to the kingdom.

Turkish officials have said the killing was intentional and have been pressuring Saudi Arabia to extradite those responsible to stand trial. An adviser to Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday accused Saudi Arabia of trying to cover up the murder.

His remarks came after Saudi Arabia’s public prosecutor said he was seeking the death penalty for five suspects charged in Khashoggi’s killing. The Saudi prosecutor, Shalaan al-Shalaan, told reporters the Saudi crown prince knew nothing of the operation, in which Khashoggi’s body was dismembered and removed from the consulate.

The Post, citing people familiar with the matter, said the CIA reached its conclusions after examining multiple sources of intelligence, including a phone call that the prince’s brother, Khalid bin Salman, the Saudi ambassador to the United States, had with Khashoggi.

Khalid told Khashoggi he should go to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to retrieve the documents and gave him assurances that it would be safe to do so, the Post said.

The newspaper, citing people familiar with the call, said it was not clear if Khalid knew Khashoggi would be killed but that he made the call at his brother’s direction.

Ambassador Khalid bin Salman said in a Twitter posted on Friday the last contact he had with Khashoggi was via text on Oct. 26, 2017, nearly a year before the journalist’s death.

“I never talked to him by phone and certainly never suggested he go to Turkey for any reason. I ask the US government to release any information regarding this claim,” he said in his Twitter message.</s>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions on 17 Saudi officials on Thursday for their role in the killing last month of Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, the first concrete response by the Trump administration to the journalist's death.

Among those sanctioned were Saud al-Qahtani, who has been removed from his position as a top aide to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, as well as the Saudi Consul General Mohammed Alotaibi and members of a 15-person team Turkey has identified as being involved in Khashoggi's death.

The announcement was unusual for Washington, which rarely imposes sanctions on Saudi nationals. The sanctions do not target the Riyadh government, an important U.S. security and economic ally.

It also allows President Donald Trump's administration to stop short of any action that might affect lucrative U.S. arms deals with Saudi Arabia that he has vowed to preserve.

The sanctions limit access to the U.S. financial system and freeze the individuals' assets. They will be implemented under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, which targets perpetrators of serious human rights abuses and corruption.

"These individuals who targeted and brutally killed a journalist who resided and worked in the United States must face consequences for their actions," Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said in a statement.

"The Government of Saudi Arabia must take appropriate steps to end any targeting of political dissidents or journalists," Mnuchin said.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called Thursday's announcement "an important step" in the response to Khashoggi's killing and said his department would continue to seek facts, consult the U.S. Congress and work with other countries to hold accountable anyone who was involved.

TURKEY IDENTIFIED MANY OF THOSE SANCTIONED

Among others cited in Thursday's announcement are Maher Mutreb, an aide to Qahtani who has appeared in photographs with Prince Mohammed on official visits this year to the United States and Europe.

He and 14 others were members of the team Turkey identified as being responsible for killing Khashoggi.

Absent from the sanctions list were four officials fired last month along with Qahtani: General Ahmed Asiri, the deputy head of foreign intelligence, and three other intelligence deputies - General Rashad bin Hamed al-Hamadi, director of the general directorate of security and protection, General Abdullah bin Khaleef al-Shaya, assistant head for human resources, and General Mohammed Saleh al-Ramih, assistant head for intelligence affairs.

Treasury did not immediately respond to a request for an explanation of why they were not included.

The U.S. sanctions were announced a few hours after Saudi Arabia's public prosecutor said the death penalty was being sought for five out of 11 suspects charged in Khashoggi's murder, as the kingdom tries to contain its biggest political crisis in a generation.

Khashoggi, a royal insider-turned-critic of Saudi policy, was killed in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2 after a struggle, by lethal injection, deputy public prosecutor and spokesman Shalaan al-Shalaan told reporters.

Shalaan said Prince Salman knew nothing of the operation, in which Khashoggi's body was dismembered, removed from the building and handed over to an unidentified "local cooperator."

In contrast to Thursday's announcement, the U.S. government never imposed sanctions on Saudi officials over the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, in which 15 of the 19 hijackers were from the kingdom.

A U.S. government commission found no evidence that Saudi Arabia directly funded al Qaeda, which carried out the attacks on New York and Washington. The panel, however, left open whether individual Saudi officials might have.

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The Donald Trump administration announces sanctions on 17 Saudi officials, not including Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, for their alleged involvement in killing Khashoggi.