New York Times: Saudi Officials Discussed Assassinating Enemies By Using Private Companies To Kill Opponents Of The Saudi Government

Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s deputy crown prince, attends a cabinet meeting in Riyadh to approve a broad reform plan known as Vision 2030. Saudi Press Agency via Reuters

New York Times: Saudis Close to Crown Prince Discussed Assassinating Enemies a Year Before Khashoggi Killing

WASHINGTON — Top Saudi intelligence officials close to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman asked a small group of businessmen last year about using private companies to assassinate Iranian enemies of the kingdom, according to three people familiar with the discussions.

The Saudis inquired at a time when Prince Mohammed, then the deputy crown prince and defense minister, was consolidating power and directing his advisers to escalate military and intelligence operations outside the kingdom. Their discussions, more than a year before the killing of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi, indicate that top Saudi officials have considered assassinations since the beginning of Prince Mohammed’s ascent.

Saudi officials have portrayed Mr. Khashoggi’s death as a rogue killing ordered by an official who has since been fired. But that official, Maj. Gen. Ahmed al-Assiri, was present for a meeting in March 2017 in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, where the businessmen pitched a $2 billion plan to use private intelligence operatives to try to sabotage the Iranian economy.

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WNU Editor: I guess this explains why Iran’s Major General Qassem Soleimani and commander of the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps is no longer making public appearances .... Top Saudis discussed assassinating Iran’s General Soleimani in 2017, sources tell NY Times (Press TV).

More News On A New York Times Report Stating That Saudi Officials Discussed Assassinating Enemies By Using Private Companies To Kill Opponents Of The Saudi Government A Year Before Jamal Khashoggi's Murder

Top Saudi officials discussed assassinating enemies prior to Khashoggi killing: report -- The Hill
Saudi officials discussed assassinating enemies before Khashoggi killing: report -- NYPost
Report: Saudi officials sought to use private companies to kill enemies -- Axios