US Intelligence believes Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman had ordered Jamal Khashoggi’s Murder. President Joe Biden has recently returned from Jeddah as part of his trip to the Middle East.
President Joe Biden differed with Saudi accounts of journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s murder on Saturday. Khashoggi was a columnist at the Washington Post and a critic of Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman. And US Intelligence believes the crown prince ordered his assassination in 2019. On the contrary, the Saudi ruler denies his involvement. President Joe Biden had recently visited Saudi Arabia as part of his four-day visit to the Middle East.
After Biden returned from his trip, a reporter asked him whether he believed in the Saudi Version of Khashoggi’s murder. president said “No.” President said he confronted the crown prince about Khashoggi’s killing. The crown prince replied that Saudi had acted to prevent such mistakes and that the United States had made mistakes too, said Foreign Affairs Minister Adel-al-Jubeir. Â
Saudi Foreign Affairs Minister Believes US President Didn’t Blame Muhammad bin Salman
Saudi Foreign Affairs Minister Adel-al-Jubeir said he didn’t hear Biden blaming the Saudi Crown Prince on TV. He was speaking on Fox News. Another official reiterated this line.  President’s conversation with Muhammad bin Salman was informal. Biden didn’t blame the Saudi Crown Prince for murdering Jamal Khashoggi, he said. And Biden, when asked whether Adel-al-Jubeir was telling the truth, replied “no”.
A reporter also asked Joe, whether he regretted his decision to visit Saudi. He replied: “ why don’t you guys talk about something that matters? I’m happy to answer a question that matters.
What was the Jamal Khashoggi affair?
As said before, Jamal Khashoggi was a dissident journalist critical of the Saudi regime. US agencies suspect the Saudi Crown Prince presided over his murder. The affair had soured relations between the USA and Saudi Arabia. While President Donald Trump tried normalizing relations with the Saudis, then Presidential candidate Biden promised a harder line. However, he eventually visited Jeddah after the Russian invasion of Ukraine shot up prices of fuel. So far, nothing positive has come out of the meeting.
( Inputs, Indian Express, Reuters)
