Saudi Consulate Vehicle Discovered in Istanbul Garage

Turkish police believe that a vehicle parked in a garage in Istanbul may be a clue to uncovering the truth about the death of a Saudi journalist at the Saudi consulate. The head of the American CIA also traveled to Turkey to investigate Khashoggi’s death.

Early Tuesday morning, November 1st (October 23rd), Turkish police announced that they had obtained permission to search a vehicle belonging to the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul with approximately 24 hours delay. The vehicle had been discovered early Monday morning in a garage in Istanbul, but the Saudi Arabian representative did not allow it to be searched.

Turkish police believe that this vehicle may be important in finding the truth about the death of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist.

According to Turkish officials, Khashoggi was killed on October 2nd at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

Saudi Arabia says the journalist, a critic of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, died in an altercation with officials at the consulate.

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President of Turkey, intends to reveal the “bare facts” related to the case of Jamal Khashoggi’s death on Tuesday.

CIA Chief’s Trip to Turkey

According to The Washington Post on Monday, Gina Haspel, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), traveled to Turkey.

The Washington Post wrote that Haspel’s trip was to assess information that the Turkish government has released in connection with the killing of the Saudi journalist.

Based on the newspaper’s report, American intelligence officials are skeptical of Saudi Arabia’s account of how the journalist was killed.

“Preventing Iran’s Influence”

Around the same time as Haspel’s trip to Istanbul, Steve Mnuchin, US Treasury Secretary, also traveled to Saudi Arabia and met and spoke with Mohammed bin Salman.

The meeting between the two officials took place behind closed doors. Saudi media reported that Mnuchin and Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince emphasized the “importance of strategic cooperation” between the two countries.

Source: DW