Jamal Khashoggi Disappearance: Saudi Arabia Warns Against Sanctions
Riyadh dismissed threats of sanctions over the disappearance of Khashoggi and vowed Saudi Arabia would retaliate against any such action.
Almost two weeks on since journalist Jamal Khashoggi walked into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul and never came out, the world is no closer to the truth of what happened to him. Turkey has accused Saudi Arabia of masterminding a plan to capture and kill the veteran Saudi journalist.
Intelligence reports shared by Turkey with U.S. intelligence agencies have said there are video and audio recordings of Khashoggi’s murder which has led the Trump Administration to threaten sanctions against anyone found involved in this awful scene. U.S. President Donald Trump who has backed Saudi Arabia’s King Salman has threatened his ally with 'severe punishment' if Khashoggi, who has been critical of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was found to have been killed inside its Istanbul consulate.
However, Riyadh dismissed threats of sanctions over the disappearance of Khashoggi and vowed Saudi Arabia would retaliate against any such action.
"The kingdom affirms its total rejection of any threats or attempts to undermine it whether through threats to impose economic sanctions or the use of political pressure," an official source said, quoted by state news agency SPA.
"The kingdom also affirms that it will respond to any action with a bigger one," the source said.
However, this incident has had immediate repercussions on how foreign investors are looking at Saudi Arabia.
Business barons including British billionaire Richard Branson and Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, as well as media powerhouses like Bloomberg and CNN, have pulled out of next week's Future Investment Initiative (FII) in Riyadh, dubbed 'Davos in the desert'.
Saudi Arabia's Tadawul All-Shares Index (TASI) lost more than 500 points on the first trading day of the week on Sunday, wiping out all the gains it had made since the start of the year.
TASI is the largest Arab bourse and has shed almost $50 billion of its capital value, dropping to $450 billion.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 15, 2018 07:31 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).