White House defends decision not to sanction Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman

White House on Sunday defended its decision not to sanction Saudi's de facto leader Crown prince Mohammed bin Salman over the brutal killing of the dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, saying that under Biden administration, no sanctions would be imposed on the leaders of foreign governments. In a televised interview on CNN’s “State of the Union” program, White House spokesperson, Jen Psaki said that the Democratic and Republican administrations haven't sanctioned leaders of another country owing to the diplomatic ties, adding even in cases where the administration does not hold diplomatic relations. Psaki's remarks come amid the soaring condemnation of the Biden administration from the diplomats and critics for not sanctioning Saudi Arabia’s crown prince despite Biden's claims that he will hold Saudi "accountable for human rights abuses".

In response to Univision journalist Ilia Calderon whether he was going to press sanctions against Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to "comply with human rights" following US intel's newly-declassified report, Biden told the press conference that he "made it clear to him [MBS] that the rules are changing, and we're going to be announcing significant changes today and on Monday [March 1].

Meanwhile, US Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Mark Warner (D-Va.) said Sunday that Biden must consider the possibility of sanctioning the Saudi leader over arbitrary detentions of activists, dissidents, and ordering assassination of those critical of the government. Appearing on “Fox News Sunday,” the Virginia senator said that now that the US intelligence committee made the report "public" there was a need to open additional sanctions against Crown prince Mohammed bin Salman. Detractors, meanwhile, denounced the Biden administration for defending the Saudi leader similarly as former leader Donald Trump. 

Read: Pentagon: Saudi Arabia Remains Strategic Partner

Read: Joe Biden Calls Saudi King Salman Ahead Of Jamal Khashoggi Report

76 Saudi Arabia officials sanctioned

Earlier, the United States Office of the Director of National Intelligence published a report that stated, ‘Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman approved an operation in Istanbul, Turkey to capture or kill Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.’ The report, furthermore, alleged that the Saudi prince ‘approved’ an operation with the direct involvement of a key adviser and members of Muhammad bin Salman's protective detail in the operation’. Following the release of the sensitive document, the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on February 27 sanctioned at least 76 Saudi Arabia officials, according to the US state department, who were “believed to have been engaged in threatening dissidents overseas, including but not limited to the Khashoggi killing.”

Read: Saudi Crown Prince Approved Operation To 'capture Or Kill' Jamal Khashoggi: US Report

Read: Blinken: We Recalibrated Saudi Relationship