According to a declassified US intelligence report released on 26 February Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had directly approved the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul in October 2108.

The report, issued by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence,  was written a year ago after Congress passed a law mandating that intelligence agencies’ conclusions be declassified.

US President Jo Biden’s decision to release the report in the first week of his presidency was widely interpreted as showing that he is making good on campaign promises that he will hold Saudi Arabia accountable for the death of Jamal Khashoggi.

The intelligence report states that an elite team of operatives helped carry out the killing. The report further states that the team reported directly to Prince Mohammed who cultivated a climate of fear that made it impossible to act without his consent.

The report states: ‘Since 2017 the Crown Prince has had absolute control of the Kingdom’s security and intelligence organizations, making it highly unlikely that Saudi officials would have carried out an operation of this nature without the Crown Prince’s authorisation.’

The Biden administration has not taken any direct action against Khashoggi yet.

During his 2020 presidential campaign Biden described Saudi Arabia as a ‘pariah state’ with ‘no redeeming value.’

Punitive action

Shortly after the release of the report Jo Biden announced that the US will impose financial and travel  sanctions on 76 Saudi Arabians involved in the killing.

But on Friday officials declared that the cost of breaching the relationship between America and Saudi Arabia, which is one of the US’ key Arab allies, is too high. It is considered unlikely that Biden will take direct punitive action against Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Lawmakers from both major US political parties have praised the release of the report. Some democratic senators have criticised the Biden administration for not taking stronger action against Mohammed bin Salman.