US President Donald Trump has called Saudi Arabia’s response to the murder of Saudi Journalist Jamal Khashoggi “the worst cover-up ever”.
He added that whoever organized the plot “should be in big trouble”.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said, shortly afterward, that the US “will punish those responsible” and is revoking visas of twenty-one identified suspects.
The US has faced pressure to toughen its stance on Saudi Arabia, a key ally.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Mr. Trump said: “They had a very bad original concept, it was carried out poorly and the cover-up was the worst in the history of cover-ups.”
The Saudi kingdom had provided conflicting reports of what happened to Mr. Khashoggi, a US resident, and Washington Post contributor. After weeks of maintaining he was still alive, the authorities now say the fifty-nine-year-old was murdered in a rogue operation after visiting the Saudi consulate in Turkey.