Pompeo Warns MBS His Future as King Is In Peril over Khashoggi

Local Editor

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's smiling photo op with Saudi Arabia's crown prince disguised the reality of a blunt, tough meeting in which the top US diplomat told the royal his future as king depends on his handling of Jamal Khashoggi's suspected murder.

A source familiar with Pompeo's Tuesday meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told the CNN that the smiling photo-op between the two should not be read as an indication that the meeting was friendly.

Instead, Pompeo told bin Salman in no uncertain terms that he had to "own" the situation, and "that every fact is going to get out," said the source, who added that the smiles between the two men ended when the photo op did.

The source presented this view of a tougher White House approach to the situation amid growing bipartisan criticism of US President Donald Trump administration's handling of the suspected murder of the Washington Post journalist at the hands of a Saudi hit squad in Istanbul on October 2.

The source said Pompeo made it clear to the crown prince that the Saudis had to get their investigation done very quickly. He also stressed that time is short and that the Saudis have to deal with the people involved sharply.

Pompeo went on to tell the prince "bluntly that if they don't, the US will have to deal with this," the source said, and "will take action because the world will demand it and that President Trump's hand will be forced by the global pressure."

The Trump administration is relying on Saudi Arabia for a slew of crucial foreign policy priorities, from funding for Syria's reconstruction and the fight against extremists there, to getting Saudi financial support for a Middle East peace plan. Most crucially, the White House needs Saudi Arabia to keep international oil markets steady as they confront Iran and introduce new energy sanctions against countries that purchase Iranian oil starting November 4.

Publicly, Pompeo hasn't given the impression that he pushed the Saudis hard on Khashoggi. When asked Wednesday whether Saudi officials had told him whether Khashoggi was dead or alive, he responded: "I don't want to talk about any of the facts, and they didn't want to either."

Speaking to reporters in Brussels about Saudi pledges to investigate what has happened, Pompeo said that it was "reasonable to give them a handful of days more to complete" their own investigation "so they get it right, so that it's thorough and complete."

He added that "sooner is better than later" for getting it completed.

The source told CNN that Pompeo also told bin Salman he had to "own" what happened "even if the crown prince didn't know about it beforehand."

Source: CNN, Edited by website team