Trump eyes oil price as he defends Saudi prince over Khashoggi murder
US President Donald Trump said he supports Saudi Arabia’s claim that journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s murder was carried out by an “enemy of the state”.
Trump said there was “nothing definitive” linking crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the murder of the Washington Post journalist.
“The world is a very dangerous place!” began Trump's written statement. He continued to say that although the CIA had reportedly concluded that the Saudi prince had issued the order to kill Khashoggi, “they didn’t make a determination and have nothing definitive on the perpetrator of the murder”.
Trump wrote: “Our intelligence agencies continue to assess all information, but it could very well be that the crown prince had knowledge of this tragic event – maybe he did and maybe he didn’t!
“That being said, we may never know all of the facts surrounding the murder of Mr Jamal Khashoggi. In any case, our relationship is with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”
Congress on the other hand has a different view to the matter and even fervent Trump supporters such as Republican senator Lindsey Graham said she predicted “strong bipartisan support for serious sanctions against Saudi Arabia, including the appropriate member of the royal family, for this barbaric act that defied all civilized norms”.
In his statement titled “standing with Saudi Arabia”, Trump sought to make out Saudi Arabia as a key ally against Iran and an irreplaceable customer for US arms sales.
Nevertheless, according to The Guardian, the figures provided in his statement are false or unsubstantiated claims. Trump said Riyadh is buying $110bn in US weapons but the total since Trump is in office is of $15bn and the value of actual signed contracts is even lower.
“If you want to go see oil prices go to $150 a barrel, all you have to do is break up our relationship with Saudi Arabia,” Trump insisted in his remarks to reporters.