Two United Nations officials said Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos was likely hacked using a WhatsApp account associated with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in an attempt to influence news coverage of the kingdom.

The Wednesday release by the U.N. of details from a forensic analysis—commissioned by Mr. Bezos, the founder of Amazon.com—of the alleged hack of his phone threatened to renew tensions between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia over the brutal killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi officials...