The White House announced sanctions and visa bans targetting Saudi Arabian citizens over the 2018 killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi but stopped short of imposing sanctions on Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman himself. That's because of the important interests that we do share," the senior Biden administration official said. The US Treasury Department placed sanctions on the former deputy Saudi intelligence chief, Ahmed al-Asiri, and announced a sanctions designation on the Saudi Royal Guard's rapid intervention force, or RIF. Riyadh eventually admitted that Khashoggi was killed in a “rogue" extradition operation gone wrong, but it denied any involvement by the crown prince. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has already held talks with the 35-year-old crown prince.

Source: Mint February 27, 2021 03:32 UTC