The United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has concluded Saudi's powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was behind the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, US media reported on Friday, citing people close to the matter.
The US assessment directly contradicts the conclusions of a Saudi prosecutor one day prior, which exonerated the prince of involvement in the brutal murder.
But The Washington Post, which broke the story, said the CIA found that 15 Saudi agents flew on government aircraft to Istanbul and assassinated Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate.
Khashoggi, a Post columnist, had gone to the consulate to obtain documents necessary to marry his Turkish fiancee.
Saudi Arabia — which quickly dismissed the reported CIA findings — has repeatedly changed its official narrative of the October 2 murder, first denying any knowledge of Khashoggi's whereabouts and later saying he was killed when an argument degenerated into a fistfight.
In the latest version presented by the Saudi prosecutor on Thursday, a 15-member squad was formed to bring Khashoggi back from Istanbul "by means of persuasion" — but instead ended up killing the journalist and dismembering his body in a "rogue" operation.
The CIA scrubbed multiple intelligence sources, the Post said, among them a phone call between the prince's brother — the Saudi ambassador to the United States — and Khashoggi.
The ambassador reportedly told the late journalist that he would be safe to go to the consulate in Istanbul and get the papers he needed.
'Some things you can't do'
But a Saudi embassy spokesperson said that Ambassador Khalid bin Salman had never discussed "anything related to going to Turkey" with Khashoggi.
"Amb Prince Khalid bin Salman has never had any phone conversations with (Khashoggi)," the statement posted on the ambassador's Twitter account said."The claims in this purported assessment is false," it said.
Meanwhile, the US intelligence agency also said in determining the crown prince's role it considered him a "de facto ruler" in Saudi Arabia: "The accepted position is that there is no way this happened without him being aware or involved," the Post quoted an official as saying.
That official dubbed Prince Mohammed a "good technocrat" — but also someone unpredictable who "goes from zero to 60, doesn't seem to understand that there are some things you can't do".
The New York Times later reported that the CIA findings were also based on calls from the kill team to one of the crown prince's senior aides.
But the paper said that while the intercepts showed Prince Mohammed was working to lure Khashoggi to Saudi Arabia, the crown prince had not said in the calls that he wanted Khashoggi killed.
The NYT cited officials as saying US and Turkish intelligence as of yet has not found direct evidence connecting the prince to Khashoggi's killing.
The CIA conclusions nevertheless threaten to further fray relations between Washington and key ally Riyadh, which has sought to end discussion of the murder and rejected calls for an international investigation.
On Thursday, the US Treasury slapped sanctions on 17 people, including close aides of Prince Mohammed, suggesting a coordinated effort between Riyadh and Washington to pre-empt the threat of harsher actions from an outraged US Congress.
US President Donald Trump has shied from directly blaming the Crown Prince but on Friday agreed with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that "any cover up of the incident should not be allowed"
Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered on October 2 in his country's consulate in Istanbul.
Khashoggi, a Washington Post contributor and critic of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was drugged and dismembered and his remains were then removed from the consulate, the Saudi public prosecutor's office said on Thursday.
Here is what is known about the Saudis accused of involvement in the murder that has provoked an international outcry.
21 suspects
A total of 21 people, all Saudi citizens, are in custody in connection with Khashoggi's killing, the Saudi prosecutor's office said, without identifying them.
Of the 21 suspects, 11 have been indicted while investigations continue into the others.
The prosecutor's office said it was seeking the death penalty against five accused who "are charged with ordering and committing the crime".
5 Saudi officials sacked
On Oct 20, Riyadh announced the sacking of five Saudi officials — two of them part of Prince Mohammed's inner circle — and the detention of 18 suspects, whose names were not released.
General Ahmad al-Assiri, who was fired as deputy head of intelligence, was implicated in the prosecutor's statement, which said that a "former" deputy intelligence chief ordered the "leader of the mission" to "bring back the victim by means of persuasion, and if persuasion fails, to do so by force".
Royal media adviser Saud al-Qahtani has also been fired. Although not named by the prosecutor's office, it said a "former adviser" played a central role in the operation.
Mohammed al-Rumaih, Abdullah al-Shaya and Rashad al-Muhamadi, who all held posts in the kingdom's intelligence service, were also sacked following the killing.
US sanctions 17 Saudis
The United States on Thursday slapped economic sanctions on 17 Saudis allegedly involved in the Khashoggi murder.
Among them are:
Qahtani for "being part of the planning and execution of the operation that led to the killing" of Khashoggi, the US Treasury said.
Maher Mutreb, a close aide to Qahtani, who "coordinated and executed" the operation.
Mohammed al-Otaibi, the Saudi consul in Istanbul, where the journalist was killed.
The Washington Post reported on Friday that the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had concluded Prince Mohammed, the "de facto ruler" of the kingdom, was behind the killing of Khashoggi.
However, The New York Times said that while telephone intercepts showed Prince Mohammed was working to lure Khashoggi to Saudi Arabia, he had not said in the calls that he wanted the journalist killed.
Saudi prosecutor's office spokesman Shaalan al-Shaalan said on Thursday that the prince had "no knowledge" of Khashoggi's murder.
Khashoggi's body
A physical altercation after Khashoggi entered the consulate led to him being "forcibly restrained and injected with a large amount of a drug resulting in an overdose that led to his death, may Allah bless his soul", the prosecutor's office said.
It said his body was then dismembered, "transferred outside the consulate" and handed over to a "collaborator".
What was done with Khashoggi's remains afterwards is still unknown.
