File photoThe Biden administration announced sanctions and visa bans on Friday targeting Saudi Arabian citizens over the 2018 killing of journalist 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. "Those involved in the abhorrent killing of Jamal Khashoggi must be held accountable," Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement. Riyadh eventually admitted that Khashoggi was killed in a “rogue” extradition operation gone wrong, but it denied any involvement by the crown prince. Asked about any debate about applying sanctions against the crown prince, the first US official said that the United States has not generally applied sanctions "on the highest leadership of countries."

Source: Otago Daily Times February 26, 2021 20:26 UTC