© Reuters/Murad SezerSaudi Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey
but Saudi Arabia remains an important ally, said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Twenty-one Saudi citizens will have their US visas revoked or be declared ineligible for them as part of the response, the State Department said on Tuesday. In a short press conference, Pompeo said the US was "exploring" the option of imposing sanctions as well.
"These penalties will not be the last word on the matter from the United States," the US top diplomat said.
"We're making very clear that the US does not tolerate this kind of ruthless action to silence Mr. Khashoggi, a journalist, through violence."The Saudi journalist who had permanent residence in the US was last seen entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey at the beginning of October. For two weeks, Riyadh denied Turkish accusations that Khashoggi was killed inside the consulate,
only to admit he died "in a fistfight" with several government officials who were reportedly sent to persuade him to return.Khashoggi was an outspoken critic of the current ruling faction at the Saudi court, led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, while championing many of the kingdom's policies such as the partition of Syria in his
Washington Post columns.
Notably, the Post has demanded sanctions not against Saudi Arabia as such, but against "MBS and his cutthroats."
Comment: US targets, threatened in the Iran sanctions edicts, are forced to re-evaluate stagnant concepts of finance, trade and loyalty. The result is a rapid shift in policies and the creation of new ways of doing business. Good thing? Maybe so. A gamble? Time will tell.