King salman

"He grabs her hand, and kisses her, mwah, mwah, mwah. And I go, hey, King, lay off, that's enough—three kisses!" Donald Trump reportedly said.

"This will have negative effects on the Middle East peace process and security and stability in the region," the kingdom said in an official statement.

"Let's start with the fact that instead of solving Middle East peace, Jared nearly put us into a war in the region," Vicky Ward, author of "Kushner, Inc.," alleged.

Trump's unwavering support for Saudi Arabia has raised significant bipartisan criticism from lawmakers in Washington.

The Jamal Khashoggi "episode shows you the degree to which this administration has gone all in on Saudi Arabia," John Kirby said.

President Donald Trump called Saudi Arabia a "great ally" despite the murder of Khashoggi, defending his stance by citing multi-billion-dollar arms agreements.

The material reportedly encouraged violent jihad against nonbelievers and urged the death penalty for women who have an affair.

"We do know of course he has openly bragged about how many millions he makes from Saudi Arabia," the California Democrat pointed out. "Is his personal financial interest driving U.S. policy in the gulf?" he asked.

"The expectation that Trump as president will be starkly different from Trump as candidate is a false hope at best," Jamal Khashoggi wrote in 2016.

Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif tweeted that his country gets blamed for any problem the president can think of.

Despite Trump's continued support of the Saudi prince, leading Republican and Democratic lawmakers have taken a markedly different position.

Prince Ahmed, 76, who is the king's only living brother, would reportedly have the support of the family as well as Western nations and the kingdom's security apparatus.

Although allegations linking Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the killing are unconfirmed and denied by Saudi officials, many analysts suggest that evidence increasingly points to his involvement.

"All what we want right now is to bury him in Al-Baqi in Medina with the rest of his family,"  the grieving son added. "I talked about that with the Saudi authorities and I just hope that it happens soon."

There's an emerging geopolitical chess-match between Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Iran for hegemony of the Middle East.

Images of the crown prince meeting with Khashoggi's son and shaking his hand have been circulated online.

Trump made his comments Thursday in an interview with The New York Times, admitting that he believes intelligence reports pointing to a top Saudi official are accurate.

The top diplomat had been dispatched by President Donald Trump to Saudi Arabia in the wake of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi's alleged murder.

"Trump had seen then-President Barack Obama bow to the king and had no intention of doing the same," a Washington Post columnist wrote.

The 29-year-old has been detained since 2015 for involvement in anti-government protests.

The kingdom executed 146 people last year, the third highest figure of any country.

Two men were arrested for burning Salma al-Sharif's car, but officials said it was an isolated incident.

"The new era of [Mohammed bin Salman] replaced mosques with movie theaters."

Iranian media has speculated that the crown prince was killed in a coup attempt last month.

Photos and videos show what appears to be gunfire near the royal palace in Riyadh.

Mohammed bin Salman was reportedly worried that his mother opposed the power grab that made him the appointed successor to the Saudi throne.

The publication has said it is "impossible to know definitively who gave how much to whom when."

The arrests were carried out by an elite force loyal to Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman, Saudi media reported.

Why we can't afford to be wide-eyed over the Crown Prince's promises of change

U.S. Central Command confirm "multiple ground operations" by American forces in the country.