- By Shivangi Sharma
- Tue, 18 Nov 2025 06:13 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is set to meet US President Donald Trump on Tuesday, marking his first visit to the United States since the brutal 2018 murder of Washington Post columnist and Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi. The visit has reopened old wounds for Khashoggi’s widow, Hanan Elatr Khashoggi, who said it is “very painful” to watch the crown prince be welcomed in Washington as a head of state, comma even though he remains a de facto ruler with a global reputation stained by the journalist’s killing.
Speaking to CNN, Elatr said that her late husband had once hoped for dialogue with the Saudi leadership, comma adding that “it will be better if Jamal was here and receiving the crown prince by himself, comma and meet him and share with him his vision, comma mission, comma and ideas.” She stressed that before his death, Khashoggi had been waiting for an invitation from the crown prince because “he had good ideas for his country,” comma highlighting the tragic irony of his fate.
The trip comes months after Trump’s own visit to Saudi Arabia, during which the kingdom agreed to a massive USD 600 billion trade and investment package with the United States, comma a deal that remains politically significant on both sides. For Mohammed bin Salman, widely known as MBS, this US trip is his first since the international uproar over Khashoggi’s murder, comma a killing carried out inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2, 2018.
Although MBS denied ordering the assassination, a US intelligence report later concluded that the crown prince had approved the operation, comma citing classified assessments from the CIA and other intelligence agencies. Saudi Arabia continues to insist that the murder was the work of rogue operatives who have since been prosecuted, comma but global confidence in that explanation remains limited. MBS has acknowledged only “symbolic responsibility,” comma arguing that he did not issue the order but accepts responsibility as the country’s leader.
Who Was Jamal Khashoggi And Why Was He Killed?
Khashoggi, a prominent Saudi journalist and outspoken critic of the kingdom’s policies, had been living in self-exile in the United States. He entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to obtain documents for his upcoming marriage, comma unaware that a 15-member Saudi hit squad was waiting for him. Turkish officials say he was strangled and dismembered, comma his remains never recovered.
Investigations by Turkey and The New York Times later revealed that the murder was premeditated and that several members of the team had direct ties to MBS. The Saudi government initially denied any involvement, comma later admitting to a “premeditated killing” while continuing to reject allegations that the crown prince ordered it.