The U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions against the Saudi Rapid Intervention Forces and the former Deputy Head of General Intelligence in the Kingdom for their involvement in the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Officials in the department indicated that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman would not be directly punished, as this would put Washington in a hostile position with Riyadh. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced on Friday evening the "Khashoggi Ban" on individuals involved in activities against dissidents. Blinken stated that the department imposed entry visa restrictions on 76 Saudis. The American minister affirmed that the United States would not tolerate threats and assaults by Saudi Arabia against activists, dissidents, and journalists, while emphasizing that Washington remains interested in its relationship with Saudi Arabia.
A senior official in the Biden administration, who requested anonymity, stated that the approach aims to create a new starting point for relations with the Kingdom without breaking a fundamental relationship in the Middle East. On Friday evening, President Joe Biden's administration released a declassified version of the U.S. intelligence report on the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence reported that "we assess that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman approved an operation in Istanbul, Turkey, to capture or kill journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018."
The report further noted, "We base this assessment on the Crown Prince's control over the Kingdom's decision-making process and the direct involvement of a senior advisor and individuals from Mohammed bin Salman's security team in the operation and the Crown Prince's support for using violent measures to silence dissidents abroad, including Khashoggi." The report highlighted that the Saudi Crown Prince viewed Khashoggi as a threat to the Kingdom and significantly supported violence.
The declassified document identified 21 individuals whom U.S. intelligence believes are involved or responsible for Khashoggi's murder on behalf of the Crown Prince. President Biden decided to declassify the report that former President Donald Trump had refused to release, challenging a law passed in 2019, reflecting a new American readiness to confront the Kingdom on issues ranging from human rights to the war in Yemen. Relations have significantly strained over the years due to the war in Yemen and Khashoggi's murder inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, where Khashoggi resided in the U.S. and wrote for The Washington Post.
