Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Tuesday that the U.S. is "taking appropriate actions" against Saudi Arabia in response to the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Those actions including revoking visas, entering visa lookouts and other measures, Pompeo said, as well as working with the Treasury Department to consider slapping Magnitsky sanctions on those involved in the dissident journalist's slaying.
Pompeo's remarks at the press briefing offered a stark shift in language from his comments after a boomerang trip to Saudi Arabia and Turkey last week.
The Trump administration's top diplomat said at that time that he advised the president during a post-trip briefing to give the Saudis a "few more days to complete" their investigation into Khashoggi's disappearance. The kingdom had insisted that Khashoggi left the Istanbul Consulate shortly after he arrived.
Days later, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir admitted that Khashoggi had indeed been killed inside the Consulate on Oct. 2, saying it was a "tremendous mistake" but denying that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had ordered it.
Turkish officials have told news outlets that they possess audio evidence proving Khashoggi was tortured and killed. They also allege that Khashoggi was dismembered with a bone saw and removed from the Consulate.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday that evidence corroborated the claims that Khashoggi was the victim of a "vicious, violent murder," according to a translation of his remarks.
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