The United States has announced plans to penalise 21 Saudi officials it says are responsible for the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
While the US State Department did not specify on Tuesday which Saudi citizens would be affected bythe punitive measures, it said the individuals will have their US visas revoked or be made ineligible to enter the US.
"These penalties will not be the last word on the matter from the United States," US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters.
"We're making very clear that the United States does not tolerate this kind of ruthless action to silence Mr Khashoggi, a journalist, through violence.
"The vast majority of the 21 individuals affected already have US visas, State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert said.
US President Donald Trump said to reporters on Tuesday: "There should have never been an execution or a cover-up because it should have never happened.
"It was a total fiasco," Trump added.
To date, top White House officials have given Saudi Arabia and its de-facto ruler,Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) some leeway over the death of Khashoggi, a Saudi insider-turned-critic and prominent Washington Post columnist who was last seen entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on 2 October.
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