Power, oil and a $450m painting - insiders on the rise of Saudi's Crown Prince

The British Broadcast Company reports new details on the Saudi crown prince's ascent to power and the killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Jamal Ahmad Khashoggi (October 13, 1958 – October 2, 2018) was a Saudi journalist, dissident, author, and columnist for Middle East Eye and The Washington Post.

Khashoggi was assassinated at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul by agents of the Saudi government just days before his 60th birthday. His death came at the direction of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

At the time, President Donald Trump brushed aside findings from U.S. intelligence agencies as his administration prioritized the sale of U.S. weapons to the Saudi government.

Khashoggi’s death set the stage for two major reveals in both the United States and Saudi Arabia:

1. The death of Khashoggi exposed the Saudi crown prince’s ability to conduct successful assassinations on foreign soil.

2. The death of Khashoggi laid bare Trump’s fondness for dictators and his disdain for American values like a free press.

The death of Khashoggi cast a dark shadow over Trump’s administration, offered insight into his unorthodox approach to foreign policy, and the inability of his White House aides to contain the fallout. In this investigative report, BBC broadcaster and writer Jonathan Rugman describes Crown Prince bin Salman’s rise to power and the paranoia within his court.

According to the Washington Post, months before the assassination in Istanbul, a United Arab Emirates agency infected his wife, Hanan Elatr’s iPhone with Pegasus spyware.