CIA Concludes MBS Ordered Khashoggi’s Murder
WASHINGTON (Middle East Eye) -- The CIA has concluded in an assessment that Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman ordered the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul last month.
The U.S. agency said it had collected multiple sources of intelligence indicating that the crown prince, known as MBS, issued the instructions for the killing, the Washington Post reported on Friday.
The New York Times said the CIA had come to the conclusion based on MBS's control of Saudi Arabia and had reinforced its assessment "with two sets of crucial communications: intercepts of the crown prince's calls in the days before the killing, and calls by the kill team to a senior aide to the crown prince".
A senior Turkish source told Middle East Eye that Turkey had been officially informed about the CIA assessment a few days ago and that the CIA pledged to the Turks that this was their bipartisan, independent assessment.
The agency's conclusion complicates President Donald Trump's efforts to preserve U.S. ties with one of the closest American allies in the region.
Speaking on Saturday, Trump said he had not yet been briefed on the CIA's conclusions, but that he would speak with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the CIA about the issue later in the day. "We haven't been briefed yet," Trump said.
"We will be talking with the CIA later and lots of others. I'll be doing that while I'm on the plane. I'll be speaking also with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo."
Trump also said he was not considering extraditing a U.S.-based cleric to Turkey as part of an effort to ease pressure on Saudi Arabia.
"No, it's not under consideration," Trump told reporters when asked about the potential extradition of Fethullah Gulen, who is wanted in Turkey over accusations he was involved in a failed 2016 coup.
NBC News reported on Thursday the Trump administration had explored whether it could extradite Gulen, as a way to persuade Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan to ease pressure on Saudi Arabia over the killing of Khashoggi.
Trump said he got along well with Erdogan, and spoke of a desire to improve relations with Turkey. He also described Saudi Arabia as "a truly spectacular ally in terms of jobs and economic development".
The communications evidence included an intercept revealing Maher Abdulaziz Mutrib, a security officer who MEE revealed frequently travelled with MBS, telephoning an aide to the crown prince and saying "tell your boss" that the mission was accomplished.
The NYT said phone calls also showed that MBS was attempting to find ways to lure Khashoggi back to Saudi Arabia, although the crown prince did not specifically say in the intercepts that he wanted to have Khashoggi killed, according to people briefed on the intelligence findings.
The revelations appear to confirm that the U.S. used their own advanced satellite-based intelligence to obtain the intercepts.
The "tell your boss" remark did not show up in what MEE understands were Turkish recordings of 19 calls between Mutrib and Riyadh, four of which were to Saud al-Qahtani, a senior aide to MBS, indicating the U.S. may have a fuller account of the events.
The U.S. agency said it had collected multiple sources of intelligence indicating that the crown prince, known as MBS, issued the instructions for the killing, the Washington Post reported on Friday.
The New York Times said the CIA had come to the conclusion based on MBS's control of Saudi Arabia and had reinforced its assessment "with two sets of crucial communications: intercepts of the crown prince's calls in the days before the killing, and calls by the kill team to a senior aide to the crown prince".
A senior Turkish source told Middle East Eye that Turkey had been officially informed about the CIA assessment a few days ago and that the CIA pledged to the Turks that this was their bipartisan, independent assessment.
The agency's conclusion complicates President Donald Trump's efforts to preserve U.S. ties with one of the closest American allies in the region.
Speaking on Saturday, Trump said he had not yet been briefed on the CIA's conclusions, but that he would speak with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the CIA about the issue later in the day. "We haven't been briefed yet," Trump said.
"We will be talking with the CIA later and lots of others. I'll be doing that while I'm on the plane. I'll be speaking also with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo."
Trump also said he was not considering extraditing a U.S.-based cleric to Turkey as part of an effort to ease pressure on Saudi Arabia.
"No, it's not under consideration," Trump told reporters when asked about the potential extradition of Fethullah Gulen, who is wanted in Turkey over accusations he was involved in a failed 2016 coup.
NBC News reported on Thursday the Trump administration had explored whether it could extradite Gulen, as a way to persuade Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan to ease pressure on Saudi Arabia over the killing of Khashoggi.
Trump said he got along well with Erdogan, and spoke of a desire to improve relations with Turkey. He also described Saudi Arabia as "a truly spectacular ally in terms of jobs and economic development".
The communications evidence included an intercept revealing Maher Abdulaziz Mutrib, a security officer who MEE revealed frequently travelled with MBS, telephoning an aide to the crown prince and saying "tell your boss" that the mission was accomplished.
The NYT said phone calls also showed that MBS was attempting to find ways to lure Khashoggi back to Saudi Arabia, although the crown prince did not specifically say in the intercepts that he wanted to have Khashoggi killed, according to people briefed on the intelligence findings.
The revelations appear to confirm that the U.S. used their own advanced satellite-based intelligence to obtain the intercepts.
The "tell your boss" remark did not show up in what MEE understands were Turkish recordings of 19 calls between Mutrib and Riyadh, four of which were to Saud al-Qahtani, a senior aide to MBS, indicating the U.S. may have a fuller account of the events.