Iran Press/ Europe: “Part of our reaction will depend on the Saudi reaction, and whether we sense that they are taking it as seriously as we are taking it. But this is a very, very serious matter,” Hunt told BBC radio.
“Our relationship with Saudi is a strategic relationship as well. Our response will be considered... (but) in the end, if these stories are true, we have to be absolutely clear, it would not be consistent with our values,” Reuters reported.
Earlier on Thursday (18 Oct 2018), Liam Fox, the UK trade secretary, and the US Treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin, joined key European partners in pulling out of a major economic forum in Saudi Arabia nicknamed Davos in the desert, in response to the alleged murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi, The Guardian reported.
Reports of Khashoggi’s gruesome murder at the hands of a gang of 15 men with links to the Saudi royal court have already led to many western media firms and bankers pulling out of the Future Investment Initiative (FII) conference in Riyadh next week.
The British withdrawal was announced soon after the French finance minister, Bruno Le Maire, and his Dutch counterpart, Wopke Hoekstra, confirmed they were withdrawing from the event starting on 23 October. The UK made its decision in co-ordination with its allies, but without knowing the precise American decision.
The Washington Post columnist, Jamal Khashoggi, was last seen in public when he entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in Turkey on October 2. Previously, Saudi authorities had maintained Khashoggi left the consulate the same afternoon of his visit, but provided no evidence to support the claim.
Khashoggi was known to journalists as someone who could explain the politics of the House of Saud and its several thousand princes. But with the ascent last year of Bin Salman, who is known for ruthless suppression of any opposition or criticism, Khashoggi became a critic in self-imposed exile.
Related news:
Bin Salman's bodyguard killed critic journalist: Turkish newspaper
Given the evidence and the inability of the Saudi government to provide the necessary evidence that Khashoggi left the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, his murder seems to be decisive.
The Saudi government is seeking to deny responsibility for Khashoggi's killing, and has suggested that rogue elements within the Saudi regime may be responsible for the journalist's murder -- a scenario that US president, Donald Trump, has also backed.
Donald Trump suggested on Monday that "rogue killers" could be behind Khashoggi's disappearance, after a phone call with Saudi Arabia's King Salman about the case.
Read more:
Trump: 'Rogue killers' might have killed Saudi journalist
Commentary: Jamal Khashoggi's disappearance; Is it state terrorism by Saudis?
Pompeo helps Saudis stonewall Khashoggi death investigation
