Missing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi
Saudi Arabia is preparing to admit it killed missing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in an interrogation gone wrong, according to a report Monday.
The forthcoming admission could bring to an end questions over Khashoggi's fate. The Washington Post journalist has been missing since Oct. 2 when he was last seen entering the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.
The Saudis will claim in a report they intended to abduct Khashoggi from Turkey, but accidentally killed him during an interrogation, CNN reported, citing two anonymous sources.
The network cited one source who cautioned the report is still being prepared and could be changed. Another source told CNN the report is likely to shift blame from top Saudi officials, arguing the plot was carried out without official clearance and transparency while seeking to place blame on those immediately involved.
Khashoggi has long been feared killed at the consulate after he entered and was never seen exiting.
U.S. President Donald Trump raised the possibility that "rogue killers" could have been responsible for Khashoggi's disappearance after speaking over the telephone with Saudi King Salman for 20 minutes earlier Monday.
Trump said Salman "firmly denies" any knowledge of Khashoggi's disappearance
"He didn’t really know, maybe, I don’t want to get into his mind but it sounded to me like maybe it could have been rogue killers, who knows? We’re going to try get to the bottom of it very soon but his was a flat denial," Trump told reporters.
Turkish and Saudi officials arrived earlier Monday at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul for a joint probe into Khashoggi's case.
On the same day Khashoggi went missing 15 other Saudis, including several officials, arrived in Istanbul on two planes and visited the consulate while Khashoggi was inside, Turkish police sources said. All of the identified individuals have since left Turkey.
A National Security Council spokeswoman told Anadolu Agency it is imperative Turkish authorities with Saudi Arabia's full and transparent support are able to thoroughly investigate the case and release results officially once the probe is concluded.
The spokeswoman further voiced support for Turkish investigators' efforts, and said she would not prejudge the inquiry's outcome while noting Washington stands ready to assist.
Turkish authorities have an audio recording which indicates that missing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, a Turkish official and a security source said on Monday."Turkish police have an audio recording that indicates that Khashoggi was killed in the Saudi consulate", the security source told Reuters. He gave no further details.Saudi Arabia has strongly denied killing Khashoggi, a critic of the kingdom's policies. Its interior minister has described the assertion as "lies". Saudi officials have said he left the consulate shortly after entering it.Video: Turkey, S.Arabia set to start Khashoggi probeThe Turkish official said evidence showing that Khashoggi had been killed was being shared with countries including Saudi Arabia and the United States.Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist and U.S. resident, has not been seen since entering the consulate on Oct. 2 to obtain documents for his forthcoming marriage. His fiancée said he never left the building."Evidence has been conveyed to all sides very clearly," the security source said. "Now we are at the stage of collecting concrete evidence at the consulate."
Turkish police have audio showing Khashoggi was killed at consulate
U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday said he was sending U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to meet with Saudi Arabia's King Salman over the unexplained disappearance of prominent journalist Jamal Khashoggi.In a post on Twitter, Trump said he was sending Pompeo "immediately" but gave no other details. Representatives for the White House and the U.S. Department of State could not be immediately reached for any further comment.Trump also said he had spoken with the king about Khashoggi, who disappeared after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2.Turkey, Saudi Arabia set to start Khashoggi probeTurkish sources have said they believe Khashoggi was killed inside the building and his body removed, allegations that Riyadh dismisses as baseless.Salman denied "any knowledge of whatever may have happened" to Khashoggi and told him the Saudis are working closely with Turkey on the case, Trump wrote.In an interview over the weekend, Trump threatened "severe punishment" for Riyadh if it turned out Khashoggi, a prominent critic of Saudi authorities and a legal resident of the United States, was killed in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Saudi Arabia, in turn, threatened to retaliate.But Trump has said he is wary of halting U.S. military sales to Saudi Arabia over the incident.Earlier on Monday, Salman ordered an internal probe into Khashoggi's disappearance while a joint Turkish-Saudi team was set to search the consulate. Turkish experts try to crack passwords of Khashoggi’s iPhonesSpain calls for urgent investigation into disappearance of Saudi journalistSaudi currency at weakest in two years on Khashoggi caseSaudi King orders public prosecutor to open internal probe into Khashoggi case
Trump: Pompeo to meet with Saudi king amid Khashoggi probes
The European Union Foreign Affairs Council will discuss the case of missing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the monthly meeting, the EU foreign policy chief said on Monday.Federica Mogherini would raise the issue at the council meeting, she told reporters in Luxembourg ahead of the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting."I will mention, obviously, the latest events on which I already had the opportunity to comment one week ago, from Lisbon," Mogherini said."The European Union expects full investigations from the authorities of Saudi Arabia, full cooperation with the Turkish authorities in line with what also our main partners and allies have expressed, mainly in Washington but also elsewhere," she added."We expect and we hope that there will be transparency and full clarity on what happened."Moroccan press calls for probe into Khashoggi caseTrump says US would be 'punishing itself' if it halts Saudi arms salesThe 28-member bloc's foreign ministers arrived in Luxembourg for the monthly Foreign Affairs Council meeting. The EU Ministers are expected to address foreign policy, security, trade matters along with latest developments in the region.Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist and columnist for The Washington Post, has gone missing since he entered the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2.On that same day 15 other Saudis, including several officials, arrived in Istanbul on two planes and visited the building while Khashoggi was also inside, Turkish police sources said.All of the identified individuals have since left Turkey.Saudi authorities have yet to give a clear explanation of Khashoggi’s fate, while several countries -- particularly Turkey, the U.S., and the U.K -- are pressing for the case to be cleared up as soon as possible.Trump: Khashoggi disappearance no reason to stop Saudi investmentsMedia companies, journalists drop out of Saudi event after Khashoggi disappearance
EU Foreign Affairs Council to address Khashoggi case
Members of a committee probing the case of missing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi met Monday at the Istanbul Security headquarters, sources said.According to the security sources, who refused to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media, the members which include both Turkish and Saudi officials are holding talks.Diplomatic sources told Anadolu Agency earlier on Monday that the start of the joint probe at the Saudi Consulate is imminent.Turkish experts try to crack passwords of Khashoggi’s iPhonesThe investigation of the case of Khashoggi, who has not been seen since entering Saudi Arabia's Istanbul Consulate on Oct. 2, is set to start Monday evening, said the sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.On Sunday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Saudi King Salman spoke on the phone about the case.The phone conversation, according to presidential sources, was to form an investigative committee to probe Khashoggi’s disappearance.Spain calls for urgent investigation into disappearance of Saudi journalistAlso on Oct. 2, 15 other Saudis, including several officials, arrived in Istanbul on two planes and visited the consulate while Khashoggi was still inside, Turkish police sources said. All of the identified individuals have since left Turkey.Saudi authorities have yet to give a clear explanation of Khashoggi’s fate, as several countries -- particularly Turkey, the U.S., and the U.K. -- are pressing for the case to be cleared up as soon as possible.Saudi currency at weakest in two years on Khashoggi caseSaudi King orders public prosecutor to open internal probe into Khashoggi caseTurkey to search Saudi consulate in Istanbul for missing journalist on Monday
Turkey, Saudi Arabia set to start Khashoggi probe
Two iPhones belonging to Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi are being looked into by Istanbul police. Khashoggi had handed the phones over to his fiancée Hatice Cengiz prior to entering the Saudi consulate on Oct. 2.Both phones are in the hands of the Department of Anti-Cyber Crime Investigation, but no information has yet been obtained because the passwords have not been able to be cracked.Security forces are continuing their efforts to access Khashoggi’s iCloud account, which is synced with his iPhones.Spain calls for urgent investigation into disappearance of Saudi journalistReports emerged on Saturday that Turkey's investigation into Khashoggi's fate after he entered the Saudi consulate revealed recordings made on his Apple Watch purportedly indicating he was tortured and killed.However, it was not clear whether data from Khashoggi's watch could have been transmitted to his phone outside, or how investigators could have retrieved it without obtaining the watch themselves.Apple Inc. declined to comment on these claims.Saudi currency at weakest in two years on Khashoggi caseTechnology experts say it is highly unlikely the watch could have recorded actions inside the embassy and uploaded them to an iCloud account. Most models of the watch require that it be within 30 to 50 feet (9-15 meters) of the iPhone it is paired with to upload data to Apple's iCloud, they said.Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist and columnist for The Washington Post, has gone missing since he entered the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2.On that same day 15 other Saudis, including several officials, arrived in Istanbul on two planes and visited the building while Khashoggi was also inside, Turkish police sources said. All of the identified individuals have since left Turkey.Saudi authorities have yet to give a clear explanation of Khashoggi’s fate, while several countries -- particularly Turkey, the U.S., and the U.K -- are pressing for the case to be cleared up as soon as possible.Saudi King orders public prosecutor to open internal probe into Khashoggi caseTurkey to search Saudi consulate in Istanbul for missing journalist on Monday
Turkish experts try to crack passwords of Khashoggi’s iPhones