Saudi discussed killing of enemies a year before Khashoggi’s assassination— Report

A report by the New York Times has revealed that Saudi Arabia officials close to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman discussed carrying out covert operations against the kingdom’s enemies a year before Jamal Khashoggi’s assassination.

The paper reveals that Senior Saudi officials, including aides close to General Ahmed al-Assiri, who was fired last month for allegedly ordering the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, also inquired about assassinating prominent Iranian officials and sabotaging Iran’s economy.

Read also: KHASHOGGI: British Foreign Minister Hunt calls on Saudi to cooperate with investigations

New York Times also reveals that during a meeting with private businessmen in 2017, senior aides close to the Crown Prince, also known as MBS, inquired about killing Qassim Suleimani, the leader of the Quds Force of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps.

The revelation is coming hours after head of investigations at the Turkish Sabah newspaper told Al Jazeera that Jamal Khashoggi’s last words were “I’m suffocating … Take this bag off my head, I’m claustrophobic”, according to an audio recording from inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist, was suffocated to death while a plastic bag covered his head, Nazif Karaman told Al Jazeera before his body was dismembered and transported in different suitcases.

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