Saudi govt calls US report on Jamal Khashoggi murder "negative, false and unacceptable"

The Saudi Arabia government says it "completely rejects" the US assessment report on the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The US intelligence report held Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman responsible for the approval of an operation to capture or kill Khashoggi in 2018.

Khashoggi wrote opinion columns for the Washington Post critical of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s policies.

The Saudi government repeated its previous statements that Khashoggi’s killing was a heinous crime by a rogue group.

Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry said the US report was "negative, false and unacceptable".

“The government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia completely rejects the negative, false and unacceptable assessment in the report pertaining to the Kingdom’s leadership, and notes that the report contained inaccurate information and conclusions,” the Saudi foreign ministry said in a statement.

The ministry reiterated that the relationship between the Kingdom and the US is “a robust and enduring partnership".

In a television interview on Friday, US President Joe Biden said he told Saudi King Salman that Saudi Arabia has to tackle human rights abuses as a precondition to dealing with the United States.

Khashoggi was killed and dismembered by a team of operatives linked to the prince in the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul.