Questions swirled on Wednesday over how much Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman knew about the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, as the international community piled pressure on Riyadh to conduct a thorough investigation.
Here are the latest updates on the story.
What does Saudi Arabia say?
US President Donald Trump spoke on Tuesday with Prince Mohammed, who denied Riyadh was in any way involved in Khashoggi's disappearance.
Khashoggi, a strong critic of the crown prince, was last seen entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2. Turkish sources claim he was killed inside the building and his body dismembered and removed.
Screenshot of Donald Trump's Twitter feed
In a tweet however, Trump said the prince – often referred to as MBS and depicted as the face of reform in conservative Saudi Arabia – "totally denied any knowledge of what took place in their Turkish Consulate".
The prince added Riyadh had launched "a full and complete investigation into this matter", Trump said.
This came as US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited Riyadh with instructions to find out what happened to the missing journalist.
Pompeo met with King Salman, Prince Mohammed and Foreign Minister Ahmed al-Jubeir, and concluded from their talks that "there is serious commitment to determine all the facts and ensure accountability, including accountability for Saudi Arabia's senior leaders or senior officials."
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (L) walks alongside Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir after arriving in Riyadh, October 16, 2018. /VCG Photo
The Saudi side had vowed to "deliver" on a comprehensive probe and this would be conducted "with full transparency for the world to see", he said.
On Wednesday, Pompeo arrived in Turkey to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Turkish leaders.
Was MBS involved?
Washington's position was far from united however.
In an interview with Fox News, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham rejected Prince Mohammed's claim that he knew nothing about Khashoggi's disappearance.
"Nothing happens in Saudi Arabia without MBS knowing it," Graham said, calling him a "toxic" figure and a "rogue crown prince", in reference to Trump's earlier comments that "rogue killers" may be responsible for what happened to Khashoggi.
"He had this guy murdered in a consulate in Turkey," Graham went on, adding that he would recommend that the US "sanction the hell out of Saudi Arabia".
Turkish crime scene investigation team members leave after searching the Consulate General of Saudi Arabia in Istanbul, Turkey, October 16, 2018. /VCG Photo
Other members of Congress advocated reevaluating Washington's traditionally close relationship with Riyadh.
"I can't imagine if what we think happened, that we would take no action," Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell told Bloomberg News.
"If this was a state-sanctioned assassination, which it may prove to be, then there will have to be a fundamental rethinking of our relationship vis-a-vis the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Absolutely," Republican Representative Jeb Hensarling told Reuters.
US media on Monday said Saudi Arabia was preparing a report admitting that Khashoggi died during an interrogation gone wrong, with one source alleging the operation was ordered by the crown prince himself.
The New York Times meanwhile reported on Tuesday that a special team that Turkish sources say was sent by Riyadh to take care of Khashoggi included at least one man who was part of Prince Mohammed's security team, while others had close links to Saudi security service and the government.
Where are we on the investigation?
Erdogan told reporters on Tuesday that investigators were looking into "toxic materials" and materials that had been "removed by painting them over", after conducting a nine-hour search at the Saudi consulate overnight.
Saudi investigators enter the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, October 15, 2018. /VCG Photo
A planned probe at the consul's residence on Tuesday however was called off.
UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet called on Saudi Arabia to waive the immunity and inviolability of its officials and premises, considered Saudi territory under international law.
"Two weeks is a very long time for the probable scene of a crime not to have been subjected to a full forensic investigation," she said.
"Immunity should not be used to impede investigations into what happened and who is responsible."
According to Turkish media, the Saudi consul general to Turkey left the country to return to Riyadh on Tuesday.
What are the latest international reactions?
Far beyond Istanbul, Khashoggi's fate remained a source of concern.
(From L) IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son attend the Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, October 24, 2017. /VCG Photo
G7 foreign ministers said in a joint statement they were "very troubled" and urged a "thorough, credible, transparent and prompt investigation".
"Those bearing responsibility for his disappearance must be held to account," they said.
The CEOs of several top banks, including Credit Suisse, HSBC, BNP Paribas and Standard Chartered, as well as the head of the London Stock Exchange David Schwimmer, meanwhile pulled out of a major investment conference in Riyadh next week.
High-profile names from Google, Viacom, Uber and JP Morgan, as well as media organizations like CNBC, Bloomberg, The Economist and the Financial Times, had previously canceled their appearance at the Future Investment Initiative (FII).
IMF chief Christine Lagarde has also deferred a trip to the region that would have included her attending the FII, the International Monetary Fund said. Lagarde previously said she was "horrified" by the news about Khashoggi.
(With inputs from agencies)
(Cover: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman attends a meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, DC, March 20, 2018. /VCG Photo)