The senior official met with King Salman and the Crown Prince in the United Arab Emirates days after President Donald Trump came within minutes of targeting Iran with air strikes. The two parties discussed the flammable situation with Tehran and strategised over maritime security – but one key issue was off the table. A senior official simply said that the controversial issue of Mr Khashoggi's murder did not come up – echoing Mr Trump’s answer after his call with Mohammed bin Salman on Friday.
Following a scarring UN report last week that called for the Saudi Crown Prince to be investigated for the murder of the journalist, many called on the US to take a harder stance on Saudi Arabia.
However, Mr Trump, citing the nation as an ally, dismissed the report outright due to Washington’s relationship with the nation.
He said: “Saudi Arabia is a big buyer of (American) product.
“That means something to me. It’s a big producer of jobs.”
MBS never brought up the Khashoggi murder, according to Trump (Image: GETTY)
Trump and bin Salman have enjoyed warm relations (Image: GETTY)
Despite some members of the Trump administration pressing the Saudis to show progress in holding Mr Khashoggi’s killers accountable, the Kingdom has been dismissive and uncooperative.
This has led many to believe that the order to kill the dissident journalist came from the very
