US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Thursday it would take a "handful more weeks" before the United States has enough evidence to impose sanctions in response to the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
Speaking in an interview with KMOX radio in St. Louis and quoted by Reuters, Pompeo said President Donald Trump had made it clear Washington would respond to the killing.
Pompeo added that the administration is "reviewing putting sanctions on the individuals that we have been able to identify to date that ... were engaged in that murder."
Khashoggi was last seen on October 2 entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. The Turkish government has accused Saudi Arabia of murdering the dissident journalist and chopping his body into pieces.
Saudi Arabia admitted for the first time several weeks ago that Khashoggi was killed after entering the consulate in Istanbul, after previously denying Turkish claims that he was murdered.
The case has sorely strained relations between Saudi Arabia and the West. Trump derided the killing as "one of the worst cover-ups" in history.
The United States later revoked the visas of 21 Saudi nationals implicated in the crime.