The Biden administration is defending its decision to not personally sanction Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, despite a US intelligence report concluding Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler was complicit in the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. 

“We are very focused on future conduct,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price told reporters on Monday. “We feel that we can have the most influence over this partnership when it is cast as a recalibration, not a rupture.”

“Were there to be something more dramatic, something more drastic than what we have talked about, I think the influence that we would have over any foreign leader — be it Mohammed bin Salman or any other world leader in question — would be greatly diminished,” Price added. 

The long-awaited declassified report released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence on Friday concluded that the crown prince, commonly referred to by his initials MBS, had “approved" the October 2018 operation that killed Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Given his control over decision-making in the kingdom, the intelligence summary said it was “highly unlikely” that Saudi officials would have acted without his authorization.