Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir dismissed a report that the CIA had named Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman as the person who had given the order to kill journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

In an interview with Al Sharq Al Awsat, an Arabic-language newspaper, al-Jubeir dismissed as ‘false’ The Washington Post report which cited sources with knowledge of the case.

“We in the kingdom know that such allegations about the crown prince have no basis in truth and we categorically reject them, whether through leaks or not. There are leaks that have not been officially announced, and I have noticed that they are based on an assessment, not conclusive order,” the foreign minister was cited as saying.

Jubeir also commented on earlier remarks by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that the order came from ‘the highest levels’ of the Saudi government but certainly not from Saudi King Salman:

“We have already asked the Turkish authorities at the highest level about the meaning of these comments, and they confirmed to us categorically that the crown prince is not meant by these comments. The leadership of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, represented by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and the crown prince, is a red line, and we will not permit attempts to harm or undermine them,” he said.

Source: Agencies