WASHINGTON – Saudi Arabia’s crown ordered an operation targetingjournalist and United States’ resident Jamal Khashoggi, who has beenmissing for more than a week, The Washington Post reported Wednesday citingUS intelligence intercepts.
Khashoggi — one of the more outspoken critics of the regime of King Salmanand his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman — disappeared after enteringthe Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2, and Turkish officials suspecthe was murdered.
The Post, a newspaper to which Khashoggi contributed, cited unnamed USofficials as saying that Saudi officials had been heard discussing a planto lure Khashoggi from the US state of Virginia, where he resided, anddetain him.
The paper quoted several of Khashoggi’s friends as saying that senior Saudiofficials had approached him offering protection, or even a high-levelgovernment job, if he returned home — but that Khashoggi was sceptical ofthe offers.
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State Department deputy spokesperson Robert Palladino earlier insisted thatthe US had no forewarning of any concrete threat to Khashoggi.
“Although I can’t go into intelligence matters, I can definitively say thatwe had no knowledge in advance of Mr Khashoggi’s disappearance,” Palladinotold reporters.
