Hawzah News Agency - Declining to say whether Salman was complicit in the brutal murder of Khashoggi, Trump has instead emphasized the importance of the kingdom for the U.S.

"He's the leader of Saudi Arabia. They've [Saudi Arabia] been a very good ally [to us]," Trump said in an interview with Reuters in the Oval Office.

Answering a question whether standing by the kingdom meant standing by MBS, Trump responded, "Well, at this moment, it certainly does."

"I just haven't heard that. Honestly, I can't comment on it because I had not heard that at all. In fact, if anything, I've heard that he's very strongly in power," Trump said about the speculations claiming that some members of Saudi Arabia's ruling family are trying to prevent MBS from becoming king, and believe that the U.S. and Trump could play a determining role in such a scenario.