The government of Saudi Arabia on Sunday vowed to retaliate with “greater action” if the Trump administration punishes the country for the apparently preplanned murder of a dissident earlier this month inside its Turkish Embassy.
"There will be severe punishment." In his first 60 Minutes interview since taking office, President Trump tells Lesley Stahl that if Saudi Arabia is found to be responsible for journalist Jamal Khashoggi's death, there will be consequences. https://t.co/BRZfIPHbNY pic.twitter.com/s6X98AylBR
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) October 13, 2018
Jamal Khashoggi, who wrote columns in the Washington Post critical of the Saudi government, entered the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul October 2 and disappeared. Trump has said the U.S. would be “very upset and angry” if the Saudi government was behind it and, in an interview with “60 Minutes,” he clarified that there would be “severe punishment.”
“The Kingdom affirms its total rejection of any threats and attempts to undermine it, whether by waving economic sanctions, using political pressure, or repeating false accusations,” the country said in a statement released by the Saudi Press Agency.
“The Kingdom also affirms that if it receives any action, it will respond with greater action, [and] that the Kingdom’s economy has an influential and vital role in the global economy,” the statement continued. – READ MORE