U.S. Sanctions Saudis, Alleging Involvement in Khashoggi Murder

WASHINGTON:- The U.S. sanctioned 17 Saudi officials over the death of U.S.-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi, as the White House seeks to quell international outrage over his killing while preserving its relationship with a key ally in the Middle East.

The announcement came just hours after Saudi Arabia charged 11 people for the murder, saying it will seek the death penalty for five who confessed. Among the officials sanctioned by the U.S. was Saud al-Qahtani, a senior adviser to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman before King Salman removed him after the killing.

The sanctions, which will limit access to the U.S. financial system and freeze the assets of the officials, come shortly after the Trump administration announced plans to end air refueling flights for the Saudi-led coalition fighting Houthi rebels in Yemen. The conflict has fueled the world's worst humanitarian disaster, according to the United Nations.

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

The Treasury Department said that al-Qahtani took part in the the planning and execution of the operation targeting Khashoggi. Maher Mutreb, an aide to the crown prince who was captured on a surveillance camera entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on the day Khashoggi was killed there, also was sanctioned. The Treasury said in its statement that Mutreb "coordinated and executed" the operation.

The financial penalties announced by the U.S. aren't expected to directly affect the crown prince, who critics say must have given at least tacit approval for some of his aides to plan Khashoggi's murder. The action may revive criticism that President Donald Trump hasn't responded forcefully enough to the killing.

Asked whether al-Qahtani had any role in the murder, Saudi Arabia's deputy attorney general Shalaan Shalaan said that a royal adviser had a coordinating role and had provided information. The adviser believed that Khashoggi had been co-opted by organizations and countries hostile to the kingdom "and his presence abroad represented a danger to national security," the prosecutor said.

The former adviser was now under investigation, the prosecutor said, declining to reveal the names of any of those facing charges. The prosecution "demands the death penalty for those who ordered and executed the killing and they're five people," he said.

The moves come as Trump is relying on Saudi Arabia as a central pillar of his strategy to contain Iran, including by providing enough oil to ensure new U.S. sanctions imposed against the Islamic Republic don't cause a spike in crude prices.

Trump previously vowed "very severe" consequences over the killing, and said he would work with members of Congress to develop an effective response. But in recent weeks, he's also said he didn't believe Saudi leaders had betrayed him in the case and reiterated he believes it would be foolish for the U.S. to cancel arms deals with the country because it might hurt U.S. jobs.

Khashoggi was a critic of the crown prince's policies and a U.S. resident who wrote for the Washington Post. He was murdered during an Oct. 2 visit to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, where he was retrieving documents for his upcoming wedding. After initially denying that Khashoggi had died inside the facility, Saudi officials conceded that he had been killed during an interrogation and announced the firing of five top officials and the arrest of 18 others.

Turkish officials say they believe a 15-member kill team arrived shortly before the incident via private planes from Riyadh. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he shared audio of the killing, obtained by Turkish intelligence, with governments including the U.S. He and Trump discussed the case earlier this month while both were in Paris for an event marking the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I.

Investors will be watching to see if Saudi Arabia retaliates over the sanctions. In October, the Saudi foreign ministry appeared to make a veiled threat to use its oil resources to counter any effort to impose penalties over the Khashoggi affair.

"The kingdom emphasizes that it will respond to any measure against it with an even stronger measure," the foreign ministry said in a statement. "The kingdom's economy has an influential and vital role in the global economy."

Earlier this year, the kingdom expelled the Canadian ambassador, ended flights to Canada, and froze trade and investment in retaliation over criticism leveled by Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland.

The Saudi officials the U.S. sanctioned include the kingdom's consul general in Istanbul, Mohammed Alotaibi.

The Treasury Department also sanctioned 14 other people it identified as Saudi government officials: Salah Tubaigy; Meshal Albostani; Naif Alarifi; Mohammed Alzahrani; Mansour Abahussain; Khalid Alotaibi; Abdulaziz Alhawsawi; Waleed Alsehri; Thaar Alharbi; Fahad Albalawi; Badr Alotaibi; Mustafa Almadani; Saif Alqahtani; and Turki Alsehri.