President Donald Trump has promised that Saudi Arabia would face "severe punishment" if the kingdom's leadership was behind the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
The writer and Saudi dissident has not been seen since October 2, when he entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to deal with paperwork required to marry his Turkish fiancee.
World leaders have demanded an explanation from Riyadh after US and Turkish media reports that authorities believe Khashoggi, a legal resident, was killed in the consulate. Saudi Arabia denies accusations it was behind his disappearance and has claimed that Khashoggi left the building before he went missing.
"We are going to get to the bottom of it and there will be severe punishment" if Saudi Arabia killed him, Trump told CBS News in an interview released Saturday.
Asked if Khashoggi was killed on the order of the Saudi government, Trump replied: "It's being investigated, it's being looked at very, very strongly, and we would be very upset and angry if that were the case."
"As of this moment, they deny it, and they deny it vehemently. Could it be them? Yes," he said.
But Trump said he was reluctant to cancel a $110 billion arms deal with the Saudis, even if Riyadh is found responsible.
"I don't want to hurt jobs. I don't want to lose an order like that. And you know what, there are other ways of punishing – to use a word that's a pretty harsh word – but it's true."
Khashoggi, a critic of the Saudi government, Khashoggi published his work in Western media outlets including the Washington Post.
Tribune Content Agency
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