Mr Khashoggi, a prominent dissident, disappeared from the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert commented on the case yesterday, saying: “Secretary of State Pompeo spoke today with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. “The Secretary emphasised that the United States will hold all of those involved in the killing of Jamal Khashoggi accountable, and that Saudi Arabia must do the same.”
On Monday, UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt will fly to Saudi Arabia to demand Saudi authorities cooperate fully with a Turkish inquiry into Mr Khashoggi’s death.
He will meet both King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed, who some have suspected of having involvement in Mr Khashoggi’s murder.
Mr Hunt said: “It is clearly unacceptable that the full circumstances behind his murder still remain unclear.
“We encourage Saudi authorities to cooperate fully with the Turkish investigation into his death, so that we deliver justice for his family and the watching world.”
The official Saudi story on what happened to Mr Khashoggi in Istanbul has changed repeatedly.
After initially claiming he left the consulate unharmed, they went on to say he was killed during a brawl inside the building.
They later admitted it had been a premeditated murder, but blamed a “rogue” unit for the incident.
The Saudi authorities arrested 18 of those they claimed were responsible for the act.
President Trump described the Kingdom’s response to Mr Khashoggi’s death as “the worst cover-up ever”.
When asked about the alleged involvement of Crown Prince Mohammed, he said: “He’s running things and so if anyone were going to be informed it would be him.”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan claimed last month that Mr Khashoggi had been murdered in a pre-meditated attack.
More recently he claimed to have passed audio recording relating to Mr Khashoggi’s death to the US, UK, Germany, France and Saudi Arabia.