MbS Said to Use 'Bullet' on Khashoggi Year Before Murder

The New York Times reported late on Thursday that in the conversation, which took place in September 2017, the crown prince told his aide Turki al-Dakhil that if Khashoggi did not return or was not brought by force to Saudi Arabia from the United States and did not stop criticizing the Saudi authorities, MbS would use a bullet on him.

US intelligence analysists reportedly concluded that MbS had likely used the phrase a metaphor, expressing his intention to kill the journalists unless he returned to Saudi Arabia.

The conversation, which was intercepted and transcribed by the US intelligence, took place during the period when Riyadh’s concerns about Khashoggi’s criticism were growing and amid the crown prince’s moves to tighten his grip on power in Saudi Arabia, the newspaper noted.

The outlet added that the conversation took place the same month as Khashoggi began writing his articles, criticizing the Saudi authorities, for The Washington Post.

The newspaper continued by citing another part of the intelligence report. It reportedly read that prior to his conversation with al-Dakhil, the crown prince had complained to his other adviser, Saud Qahtani, about Khashoggi’s growing influence as his materials were undermining MbS' image of a reformer. As Qahtani reportedly warned the crown prince any action against Khashoggi would create an international outrage, MbS said that Riyadh should not care about international reaction to its actions toward its own citizens, adding he was against "half-measures".

The New York Times noted that the US National Security Agency (NSA) and other intelligence agencies were analyzing years of intercepted conversations of the Saudi crown prince in a bid to learn who was behind the murder of Khashoggi.

While the NSA declined to comment to the New York Times on the matter, al-Dakhil called the claims outlined by the newspaper "categorically false".

"They appear to be a continuation of various efforts by different parties to connect His Royal Highness Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman to this horrific crime. These efforts will prove futile," the official told the outlet.

Khashoggi went missing in early October 2018 after he entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Riyadh initially denied any knowledge of the journalist's whereabouts but later admitted that Khashoggi had been killed with a drug injection and his body had been dismembered and taken out of the consulate. Saudi authorities have since charged 11 people with Khashoggi's murder.

Notably, Qahtani, whom the US intelligence agencies see as the main person in the operation that killed Khashoggi, was dismissed in the course of the Saudi investigation into the incident. However, it is still unknown if the authorities had implicated him in the murder.

The killing of Khashoggi did result in an international uproar and criticism of Riyadh. Western media have repeatedly suggested that the Saudi prince had a role in the operation, something which has repeatedly been denied by the Saudi foreign ministry.

The CIA concluded, according to anonymous sources who spoke with The Washington Post and Reuters, that MbS personally ordered the killing of Khashoggi.

The US foreign espionage agency assessed with “high confidence” that the Saudi Arabia's crown prince was behind the death of the journalist, the newspaper reported in mid-November, citing “people familiar with the matter”.

Reuters later cited its own source as saying that the spy agency “had briefed other parts of the US government on its assessment”, which contradicts the official position maintained by both Riyadh and Washington thus far.

Among the evidence examined by the CIA was an alleged phone call between Khashoggi and the Saudi ambassador to Washington, Khalid bin Salman – the crown prince’s brother – who assured the journalist it was safe to go to the consulate, The WaPo reported.

Among the evidence reportedly obtained by the CIA is the audio recording from a listening device Turkey had placed inside the Saudi consulate, the daily reported.

The New York Times also reported in mid-November that a member of a Saudi assassination squad phoned a superior shortly after Khashoggi was murdered and told him "tell your boss" their mission had been accomplished.

Citing three people familiar with a recording of Khashoggi's killing collected by Turkish intelligence, the newspaper noted that while he was not mentioned by name, US officials believe "your boss" was a reference to MbS.

US intelligence officials view the recording as some of the strongest evidence yet linking the crown prince to the murder, it noted.

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