Iran Press/ Middle East: Recordings of Saudi consulate officials in Turkey obtained by Turkish investigators and shared with their US counterparts detail how Jamal Khashoggi was tortured, killed, and dismembered by a Saudi Arabian security team at the country's consulate in Istanbul.
According to Washington Post, It's unclear whether the US has been given direct access to the recordings, but US officials confirmed that the Donald Trump administration was made aware of their contents.
The disclosure of the new evidence concerning Khashoggi came as the Trump administration said it was awaiting a determination regarding the well-known writer and columnist’s fate, but also as Republican and Democrats intensified pressure on the White House to prepare for a “severe” response.
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Khashoggi's disappearance has evolved into a full-fledged international diplomatic crisis for the Saudi government, led by Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. Salman cast himself as a progressive reformer, but the disappearance and possible murder of a critical voice against his government has thrown Salman's relationship with foreign leaders and organizations into question.
This is while Saudi Arabia says it had nothing to do with the journalist’s disappearance.
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US president, Donald Trump indicated that his administration was investigating Khashoggi's disappearance.
"I have to find out what happened. I mean, I do have to find out. And we're probably getting closer than you might think. But I have to find out what happened," Trump said.
Earlier news noted that Trump what's not willing to sour relations with the Saudis over the incident.
It is believed that Khashoggi was assassinated by the Saudis and his dismembered body was then flown back from Turkey to Saudi Arabia in two jets.
Khashoggi, 59, had been both a consummate Saudi insider and a bold critic during his career. He was at one time the editor of a major Saudi newspaper, at another an adviser to Saudi ambassadors in Britain and the United States.
He 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 Prince Mohammed, who is known for ruthless suppression of any opposition or criticism, Khashoggi became a critic in self-imposed exile.
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