The two Saudis held high posts in the kingdom, but were sacked after Riyadh announced that Jamal Khashoggi had been killed in a "rogue operation". Saudi Arabia insists that no members of the royal family were connected to the crime.

The Turkish Haber Turk TV channel reported that the Istanbul Public Prosecutor's Office has issued arrest warrants for two Saudi citizens — Ahmad Asiri, a former deputy head of Saudi intelligence and Saud al-Qahtani, a former media consultant for the crown prince. According to the TV channel, the Turkish attorney general suspects that the two orchestrated the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.

It remains unclear whether Turkish prosecutors have found any new evidence that led them to believe that Asiri and al-Qahtani were responsible for the murder.

Following the investigation into the disappearance of the Washington Post columnist, Turkish prosecutors announced that a group of Saudi citizens had arrived in Istanbul with the objective to kill the Saudi journalist. Riyadh denounced those in the group as being "rogue agents" who voluntarily murdered Khashoggi — not under orders from the government. Saudi Arabia stressed that no members of the royal family, including the crown prince, were responsible for the killing.

Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on 2 October, 2018. His body was allegedly dismembered and has still not been found. At first Riyadh denied having any knowledge about Khashoggi's fate, but later announced that he had indeed been murdered inside the consulate in a "rogue operation".

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Following an investigation, the Saudi Prosecutor's Office announced that it had ordered the arrest of 22 citizens reportedly responsible for planning the murder. 11 of them have already been charged, with 5 facing the death penalty. On the same day that Riyadh announced the arrests, several high level officials, including Ahmad Asiri, a deputy head of Saudi intelligence, and Saud al-Qahtani, a media consultant for the crown prince, were removed from their positions.