Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham called Saudi Arabia’s crown prince “unstable and unreliable” and said several U.S. lawmakers are considering placing sanctions on the U.S. ally, Bloomberg reports.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman became the center of international scrutiny and outrage after the death of journalist and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. Khashoggi was killed shortly after entering the Saudi embassy in Turkey. (RELATED: Kahshoggi’s Sons Request Their ‘Courageous’ Father’s Remains)
“[Salman] has been unstable and unreliable and I don’t see the situation getting fixed as long as he’s around,” Graham told Bloomberg.
“I am of the opinion that the current leadership, the MBS leadership, has been a disaster for the relationship and the region, and I will find it very difficult to do business as usual with somebody who’s been this unstable,” Graham continued, referring to Salman’s regime.
Graham’s comments come after news broke that CIA Director Gina Haspel reviewed a recording of an agent in the team that killed Khashoggi telling someone over the phone to “tell your boss” that Khashoggi is dead. The “boss” is suspected to be Salman, U.S. intelligence officials told The New York Times.
The news of the recording has been treated as another piece of evidence further linking Salman to the killing as international business partners and world leaders continue to distance themselves from Saudi Arabia.
![U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, U.S. March 20, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst](https://cdn01.dailycaller.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Mohammed_bin_Salman_Reuters.jpg)
U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, U.S. March 20, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
Graham blasted Salman in October, saying he “had never felt more used.”
“I introduced him when he was in Washington,” Graham said.
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