Crown prince calls Khashoggi’s son to express condolences for his killing

Saudi Arabia said Sunday that it had formally apologized to the family of the slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi, even as its foreign minister called his killing at a consulate in Istanbul “a rogue operation” and denied that the kingdom’s crown prince or intelligence service had any prior knowledge of the operation.

“This was an operation that was a rogue operation,” the official, Adel al-Jubeir, told Fox News on Sunday. “This was an operation where individuals ended up exceeding the authorities and responsibilities they had.”

Jubeir said neither Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman nor “the senior leadership of our intelligence service” was aware of what had happened to Khashoggi.

“There obviously was a tremendous mistake made, and what compounded the mistake was the attempt to try to cover up,” he said, adding, “That is unacceptable in any government.”

The official Saudi Press Association reported that Crown Prince Mohammed called Kashoggi’s eldest son, Salah Khashoggi, to express his condolences. Jubeir said Saudi Arabia wanted to make sure “those who are responsible are punished, and we want to make sure that we have procedures in place that prevent it from happening again.”

Jubeir also said the Saudis did not know the details of how Khashoggi was killed or where his body is. He added that an investigating team in Turkey found evidence contradicting earlier reports that Khashoggi left the consulate after his visit Oct. 2.

According to Jubeir, the prosecutor determined “that the reports that were originally filed were wrong and that there was something that happened that was criminal.”

The remarks came after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Sunday that he would reveal more about the investigation on Tuesday. The White House said Erdogan and President Donald Trump discussed the case in a telephone call on Sunday.

Saudi Arabia finally acknowledged on Friday that Khashoggi had been killed at the consulate, although the explanation that a “quarrel and fighting by hand” led to his death has been met with international skepticism.

Trump offered sharper criticism of Saudi Arabia’s explanation on Saturday evening, telling The Washington Post: “Obviously, there’s been deception, and there’s been lies.”

But he continued to defend the nation as an “incredible ally” and allowed for the possibility that Khashoggi’s death was not directly ordered by Crown Prince Mohammed.

A Trump ally, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said on Fox News that he did not think the Saudis’ explanation was “credible at all.”

“It’s ridiculous to believe 18 people would go to Turkey to kill Mr. Khashoggi and nobody in the government know about it,” he said.