Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
A U.S. State Department official said Tuesday that it is “blindingly obvious” that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, according to ABC News.
"The idea that it goes all the way to the top is blindingly obvious," the official -- who spoke on condition of anonymity -- was quoted by ABC News as saying.
Khashoggi, a columnist for The Washington Post, went missing after entering the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2.
Loss-making South African arms maker Denel has a problem as it fights to survive. Its potential saviour is Saudi Arabia, now drawing fierce criticism following the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.But after being mismanaged for years and tainted by a far-reaching influence-peddling scandal, state-owned Denel now needs the kind of help that the deep-pocketed Saudis can provide.Reuters analysed five years of South African arms export data, spoke to former and current Denel employees and obtained internal Denel presentations on plans to rescue the company.What emerged is that Saudi Arabia and its allies account for almost half of South Africa's recent arms exports and a significant portion of future orders.So rejecting Riyadh's $1 billion offer could severely hamper efforts to save Denel, which relies on foreign sales for more than 60 percent of its revenue.Saudi Arabia is seeking a broad partnership with Denel that would include acquisition of the company's minority stake in a joint venture with Germany's Rheinmetall.Faltering malaria fight should refocus on high-risk countries, says WHOThe Saudis - on a drive to build a domestic arms industry as traditional suppliers worry about its human rights record - are keen to close the deal by the end of next month. A source with knowledge of its offer said the kingdom could take its business elsewhere if that does not happen.Some Denel employees are also keen on a tie-up, seeing it as the only way to rescue the firm, which is struggling to pay salaries. But some South African officials are concerned about doing business with Saudi Arabia."Denel depends on the deal. The entire industry depends on the deal," said Helmoed Heitman, a defence analyst. "I think it's 50/50. The pragmatists want to go in, but the Khashoggi thing is bad PR."With President Cyril Ramaphosa and the ruling African National Congress facing an election next year, the deal promises to become a political issue.South Africa's main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, says the Saudi offer should be rejected."Putting our state defence firm at the disposal of a murderous despot would make the whole nation complicit in the human rights atrocities of the regime of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman," said DA lawmaker Stevens Mokgalapa."That there are negotiations to consider this at all is an indictment of the approach of the Ramaphosa government to international human rights violations."Saudi Arabia denies that the crown prince ordered Khashoggi's killing.Cambodian PM says won't allow any foreign military base in his countryApartheid IndustryDenel owes its existence to South Africa's own dark past.Its direct forebear, Armscor, was forced to produce nearly all of its own defence and security hardware in response to sanctions on the apartheid government.It's that expertise that is now so attractive to Saudi Arabia as it seeks to build its own industry, Andreas Schwer, head of the Saudi state defence company, SAMI, told Reuters."South Africa is very integrated in their capabilities because they had to become quite independent," he said last month. "We believe South Africa can offer us more than just products. They can help us on this journey."Denel - formed in 1992 - only started to turn a regular profit from 2011 after being restructured several times. But its financial position remained weak as it used profits from some divisions to subsidise others.In 2016 senior management became embroiled in a corruption scandal involving friends of former president Jacob Zuma, the Gupta brothers. In response, banks pulled lending. The company recorded a 1.7 billion rand ($122 million) loss - its first in eight years - in the financial year that ended in March.Denel's new management is working on a turnaround plan to secure new funding and exit some loss-making business units, like satellite development and its Pretoria Metal Pressings foundry, a presentation seen by Reuters showed.It also wants to cut its salary bill by 20 percent and achieve cost savings of between 157 million and 608 million rand in each of the next five years, the presentation showed.But it missed out on additional state funds in last month's budget, and labour unions reject wage cuts. A cash crunch has become so dire that the company cannot provide toilet paper to some employees, and production lines sometimes stand idle as payments to suppliers fall behind.Members of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa, which represents a quarter of Denel's 4,000-strong workforce, marched to the public enterprises ministry this month to demand a 7 billion rand ($500 million) bailout.Insiders say even that would be little more than a stopgap."The machine has stopped," a former Denel executive told Reuters. "I can't see how Denel can pull itself up by its bootstraps without an equity partner."World Bank re-engages Tanzania on scrapped education plan'Our Common Religion'Ramaphosa appeared open to bringing in a partner to bolster Denel when he acknowledged the Saudi bid earlier this month.Foreign Minister Lindiwe Sisulu said any deliberations over a potential deal would be based on South Africa's values."Our common religion is human rights. We have suffered too long to ever veer away from that religious belief," she told journalists last month.But Khashoggi's death has created a dilemma.Asked about the killing, Ramaphosa told reporters: "We are hoping that they will deal with the matter speedily so that the truth will come out."The United States has announced sanctions against those believed to have been directly involved. Germany is halting arms exports to Saudi Arabia until it explains the killing.It's the kind of backlash that Riyadh - under fire since 2015 over its war against in Yemen - has long feared and it explains why the government is building its own arms industry. It's also why it has turned to South Africa."South Africa's export policy was always stable and robust ... and we need very reliable partners on the political side, on the export policy side. Partners who do not change their minds," SAMI CEO Schwer said before Khashoggi's murder.In 2013, South African sales to coalition allies Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates made up around 9 percent of total arms exports, a Reuters analysis of data shows.Since the Yemen war began, South Africa has sold the two countries military hardware - armoured vehicles, sniper rifles, bombs, mortars and surveillance equipment - worth 4.6 billion rand, or 44 percent of total arms exports.But what might have appeared a natural arrangement to save Denel now appears fraught.Despite apparent government enthusiasm to do business with Saudi Arabia and Denel's pressing need for financial rescue, not everyone is open to the kingdom's overtures.Responding to Reuters publication of details of the Saudi bid, Denel chairperson Monhla Hlahla rejected out of hand a sell-off of Denel's stake in Rheinmetall Denel Munition."The board of Denel is selling neither Denel, or RDM. I want to be clear about that," she told a local television network.News of the Saudi overtures has also provoked an outcry on South African social media, but a senior ANC source said the government would not be rushed into a decision."It's a strategic asset, so I would be wary about dealing with any foreign country, be that the Saudis or anyone else," the source said.But despite Ramaphosa's assertion that Saudi Arabia was only one of several suitors, no others have come forward publicly."A billion dollars over two or three years would turn around Denel," said Heitman, the defence analyst. "The longer we wait, the less Denel is worth. People will leave and that's where the value lies."International community doesn't care about Palestinian cause, say expertsAfrican Union reforms on agenda of leaders' meeting
Khashoggi killing complicates Saudi rescue bid for S.African arms firm
Saudi Arabia had offered shifting explanations for Khashoggi's disappearance before suggesting he was killed during a botched operation by rogue agents.
His body has yet to be returned to his family amid reports that it was chemically dissolved.
"There's overwhelming consensus that the leadership is involved -- no one is debating it within the government," said the official, who saw a version of a CIA report on the issue.
As details of the barbaric murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi continue to draw global outcry, reports surfaced claiming that Riyadh is planning to move its Ankara embassy to a different location following previous accounts that said the Kingdom is mulling a possible move of its Istanbul consulate, where the killing had taken place.Following the murder, Saudi officials sent a chemist and a toxicologist to Istanbul with the task of cleaning the scene of the consulate before Turkish detectives could investigate, wiping the floors and some of the walls with a certain “chemical” to hide traces of the vicious murder.Saudi crown prince ordered Khashoggi hit: UK think-tankAfter Khashoggi murder, some Saudi royals turn against king’s favorite sonThe Turkish Foreign Ministry last week said that it did not receive any official request by Saudi Arabia to move its consulate in Istanbul."It is understood that there is such an intention. However, no official request reached our ministry," the Foreign Ministry said in a written response to the question whether Saudi Arabia will move its consulate.The ministry's statement followed media reports which claimed that Saudi Arabia wanted to move its Istanbul consulate following the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.Khashoggi, a frequent contributor to The Washington Post, was killed on Oct. 2 inside the consulate.After weeks of denying involvement, the kingdom admitted Khashoggi had been killed inside the consulate but claimed the Saudi royal family had no prior knowledge of any plot to murder the journalist.So far, 18 people -- including security officers -- have been arrested in Saudi Arabia in connection with the murder.
After consulate, Saudi said to be also mulling moving Ankara embassy
On Nov. 17, The Washington Post also reported that the CIA concluded that the killing was ordered by the Saudi crown prince.
"The CIA’s assessment, in which officials have said they have high confidence, is the most definitive to date linking Mohammed [bin Salman] to the operation and complicates the Trump administration's efforts to preserve its relationship with a close ally," the Post wrote.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on the issue that he had not been briefed on the CIA’s conclusions, but that he would speak with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the CIA officials about the issue.
Avenues of escape for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman are disappearing after last month’s killing of a journalist at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, said a Turkish opposition party leader on Tuesday."The circle is tightening around the crown prince, paths to escape and salvation are closed," said Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli, accusing bin Salman of responsibility for the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi."What is the difference between the Saudi administration and the mentality of Osama bin Ladin?" he asked in a speech to his party's parliamentary group, referring to the late al-Qaeda terrorist leader.Saudi Crown Prince to attend G20 in Argentina"What separates this country from al-Qaeda?" he added.Bahceli also said that the culprits in the Khashoggi killing should be tried in Turkey, or if not there, “in an international trial after an international investigation."Khashoggi, a columnist for The Washington Post, went missing after entering the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2.After weeks of saying he had left the consulate alive, the Saudi administration admitted he was killed there, claiming it was the work of a rogue exfiltration team.Saudi crown prince ordered Khashoggi hit: UK think-tankUS senator urges report from spy agencies on Khashoggi killingAfter Khashoggi murder, some Saudi royals turn against king’s favorite sonTrump defends Saudi prince despite Khashoggi murder
Walls closing in on bin Salman: Turkish party leader
The order to kill Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was given by Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman, Azzam al-Tamimi, director of the London-based Institute of Islamic Political Thought, has told Anadolu Agency.According to the Palestinian researcher, bin Salman issued the order because Khashoggi was undermining Saudi efforts to market the crown prince as a “liberal” and “reformist” to western audiences.Khashoggi’s frequent contributions to The Washington Post, al-Tamimi said, “had been attracting considerable attention”.“Intellectuals in the U.S. viewed Jamal as an insider vis-à-vis the Saudi administration,” he explained. “And his criticisms were counteracting the propaganda on which the Saudi lobby was spending millions of dollars.”“Now, for the first time, the international media is focusing on a single issue,” al-Tamimi continued. “Not only because a prominent journalist was brutally killed, but because it took place inside a diplomatic mission.”According to al-Tamimi, the Turkish government has handled the issue in a very competent manner.US senator urges report from spy agencies on Khashoggi killingSaudi crown prince to attend G20 summit in ArgentinaAfter Khashoggi murder, some Saudi royals turn against king’s favorite son“They [the Turks] shared the information gradually, thus keeping the issue on the [international] agenda,” he said.What’s more, al-Tamimi said, Khashoggi had not concealed his position regarding the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings, which Saudi Arabia had actively worked to subvert.“He therefore drew the ire of the Saudi royal court, which ultimately led to his demise,” he said."I believe the Saudis hatched the plan, but it failed, after which they tried to blame Ankara for Khashoggi’s disappearance,” al-Tamimi asserted. “But God ruined their plans.”He added: “Without a doubt, bin Salman ordered the murder.”“He [bin Salman] enjoys the support of U.S. President Donald Trump and the White House, and now he’s looking to them to evade responsibility,” he said. “But the murder has become an international incident and this [U.S. support] will not save him.”Al-Tamimi believes that if the crown prince escapes prosecution, “this will be the beginning of the end of the House of Al Saud”.But if bin Salman is removed from a position of leadership, he added, “the dynasty may yet survive”.“He [bin Salman] is the one who declared war on Yemen, imposed a blockade on Qatar and detained [dissident] scholars,” al-Tamimi said.He also noted the close relationship between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), especially during the bin Salman era.“There are strong ties between bin Salman and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed [Al Nahyan],” he said. “Bin Zayed is largely seen as a spiritual godfather to his Saudi counterpart.”While some have questioned whether bin Zayed played a role in Khashoggi’s murder, al-Tamimi, for his part, does not believe this to have been the case.
Saudi crown prince ordered Khashoggi hit: UK think-tank
Democratic U.S. Senator Ron Wyden on Monday called on U.S. intelligence officials to publicly release a summary of their findings on the killing of Saudi Arabian journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Wyden said in a statement to Reuters.In the wake of published reports that the Central Intelligence Agency believed Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had personally ordered Khashoggi's murder in Turkey in October, Wyden said U.S. spy chiefs should "come out and provide the American people and the Congress with a public assessment of who ordered the killing."The CIA, relying mainly on circumstantial evidence and their experts' conclusion that the crown prince tightly controlled Saudi government actions, last week briefed Congress on its assessment that the prince ordered Khashoggi's assassination, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.Turkish authorities have leaked details of what they said were audio recordings of Khashoggi's murder inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2, where he went to collect documents for his forthcoming marriage. Some U.S. officials, including CIA Director Gina Haspel, have been given access to the recordings, the sources said.U.S. President Donald Trump has said he has not listened to what he described as a "suffering tape" and has said the crown prince told him he had nothing to do with Khashoggi's murder.Officials have said the Trump administration may issue a more formal statement on Tuesday about what U.S. agencies know about Khashoggi's killing and who was behind it. Khashoggi, a critic of the Saudi government, was a U.S. resident who wrote for the Washington Post.At the United Nations on Monday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu discussed Khashoggi's murder with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, but made no formal request for a U.N. investigation, a U.N. diplomat familiar with the conversation said. Saudi crown prince to attend G20 summit in ArgentinaAfter Khashoggi murder, some Saudi royals turn against king’s favorite son
US senator urges report from spy agencies on Khashoggi killing
Amid international uproar over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, some members of Saudi Arabia's ruling family are agitating to prevent Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman from becoming king, three sources close to the royal court said.Dozens of princes and cousins from powerful branches of the Al Saud family want to see a change in the line of succession but would not act while King Salman - the crown prince’s 82-year-old father - is still alive, the sources said. They recognise that the king is unlikely to turn against his favourite son, known in the West as MbS.Rather, they are discussing the possibility with other family members that after the king's death, Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz, 76, a younger full brother of King Salman and uncle of the crown prince, could take the throne, according to the sources.Prince Ahmed, King Salman’s only surviving full brother, would have the support of family members, the security apparatus and some Western powers, one of the Saudi sources said.Prince Ahmed returned to Riyadh in October after 2-1/2 months abroad. During the trip, he appeared to criticise the Saudi leadership while responding to protesters outside a London residence chanting for the downfall of the Al Saud dynasty. He was one of only three people on the Allegiance Council, made up of the ruling family's senior members, who opposed MbS becoming crown prince in 2017, two Saudi sources said at the time.Neither Prince Ahmed nor his representatives could be reached for comment. Officials in Riyadh did not immediately respond to requests from Reuters for comment on succession issues.The House of Saud is made up of hundreds of princes. Unlike typical European monarchies, there is no automatic succession from father to eldest son. Instead the kingdom’s tribal traditions dictate that the king and senior family members from each branch select the heir they consider fittest to lead.Senior U.S. officials have indicated to Saudi advisers in recent weeks that they would support Prince Ahmed, who was deputy interior minister for nearly 40 years, as a potential successor, according to Saudi sources with direct knowledge of the consultations.These Saudi sources said they were confident that Prince Ahmed would not change or reverse any of the social or economic reforms enacted by MbS, would honour existing military procurement contracts and would restore the unity of the family.One senior U.S. official said the White House is in no hurry to distance itself from the crown prince despite pressure from lawmakers and the CIA’s assessment that MbS ordered Khashoggi’s murder, though that could change once Trump gets a definitive report on the killing from the intelligence community.The official also said the White House saw it as noteworthy that King Salman seemed to stand by his son in a speech in Riyadh on Monday and made no direct reference to Khashoggi’s killing, except to praise the Saudi public prosecutor.President Donald Trump on Saturday called the CIA assessment that MbS ordered Khashoggi's killing "very premature" but "possible", and said he would receive a complete report on the case on Tuesday. A White House official referred Reuters to those comments and had "nothing else to add at this time".The Saudi sources said U.S. officials had cooled on MbS not only because of his suspected role in the murder of Khashoggi. They are also rankled because the crown prince recently urged the Saudi defence ministry to explore alternative weapons supplies from Russia, the sources said.In a letter dated May 15, seen by Reuters, the crown prince requested that the defence ministry "focus on purchasing weapon systems and equipment in the most pressing fields" and get training on them, including the Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile system.Neither the Russian defence ministry nor officials in Riyadh immediately responded to Reuters requests for comment.U.S. ROLE KEYThe brutal killing of Khashoggi, a prominent critic of the crown prince, in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul last month has drawn global condemnation, including from many politicians and officials in the United States, a key Saudi ally. The CIA believes the crown prince ordered the killing, according to U.S. sources familiar with the assessment.Saudi Arabia’s public prosecutor has said the crown prince knew nothing of the killing.The international uproar has piled pressure on a royal court already divided over 33-year-old Prince Mohammed's rapid rise to power. Since his ascension, the prince has gained popular support with high-profile social and economic reforms including ending a ban on women driving and opening cinemas in the conservative kingdom.His reforms have been accompanied by a crackdown on dissent, a purge of top royals and businessmen on corruption charges, and a costly war in Yemen.He has also marginalized senior members of the royal family and consolidated control over Saudi’s security and intelligence agencies.He first ousted then-powerful crown prince and interior minister Mohammed bin Nayef (MbN), 59, in June 2017. Then he removed Prince Miteb bin Abdullah, 65, son of the late King Abdullah, as head of the National Guard and detained him as part of an anti-corruption campaign.Some 30 other princes were also arrested, mistreated, humiliated and stripped of their wealth, even as MbS splashed out on palaces, a $500 million yacht, and set a new record in the international art market with the purchase of a painting by Italian Renaissance engineer and painter Leonardo Da Vinci.The entire House of Saud has emerged weakened as a result.According to one well-placed Saudi source, many princes from senior circles in the family believe a change in the line of succession "would not provoke any resistance from the security or intelligence bodies he controls" because of their loyalty to the wider family."They (the security apparatus) will follow any consensus reached by the family."Officials in Riyadh did not respond to a request for comment.The United States, a key ally in economic and security terms, is likely to be a determining factor in how matters unfold in Saudi Arabia, the Saudi sources and diplomats say.Trump and his son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner have cultivated deep personal relationships with the crown prince. One Saudi insider said MbS feels he still has their support and is willing to "roll some heads to appease the U.S."But Trump and top administration officials have said Saudi officials should be held to account for any involvement in Khashoggi’s death and have imposed sanctions on 17 Saudis for their alleged role – including one of MbS's closest aides.U.S. lawmakers are meanwhile pushing legislation to punish Riyadh for the killing, and both Republican and Democratic senators have urged Trump to get tough on the crown prince.King Salman, 82, is aware of the consequences of a major clash with the United States and the possibility that Congress could try to freeze Saudi assets.Those who have met the king recently say he appeared to be in denial about the role of MbS in what happened, believing there to be a conspiracy against the kingdom. But they added that he looked burdened and worried.Pakistani journalists protest Khashoggi's killingÇavuşoğlu, Guterres discuss Khashoggi murderTrump defends Saudi prince despite Khashoggi murderALLEGIANCE COUNCILWhen the king dies or is no longer be able to rule, the 34-member Allegiance Council, a body representing each line of the ruling family to lend legitimacy to succession decisions, would not automatically declare MbS the new king.Even as crown prince, MbS would still need the council to ratify his ascension, one of the three Saudi sources said. While the council accepted King Salman's wish to make MbS crown prince, it would not necessarily accept MbS becoming king when his father dies, especially given that he sought to marginalise council members.Officials in Riyadh did not respond to a request for comment.The Saudi sources say MbS has destroyed the institutional pillars of nearly a century of Al Saud rule: the family, the clerics, the tribes and the merchant families. They say this is seen inside the family as destabilising.Despite the controversy over Khashoggi's killing, MbS is continuing to pursue his agenda.Some insiders believe he built his father a new but remote Red Sea palace in Sharma, at the Neom City development site -- thrown up in a record one year at a cost of $2 billion -- as a gilded cage for his retirement.The site is isolated, the closest city of Tabouk more than 100 km (60 miles) away. Residence there would keep the king out of the loop on most affairs of state, one of the sources close to the royal family said.Officials in Riyadh did not respond to a request for comment.
After Khashoggi murder, some Saudi royals turn against king’s favorite son