Democratic congressman urges Biden to sanction Mohammed bin Salman and calls for US and UK to halt arms sales to Saudi Arabia

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Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has increasingly tightened his grip on power (VIA REUTERS)

A Democratic congressman has urged Joe Biden to sanction Saudi Arabia’s powerful crown prince, and called for the US and UK to halt arms sales to Riyadh which is using them for a devastating war in Yemen.

Last December, the US Congress controversially voted to permit the Biden administration to license the sale of some arms to Saudi Arabia, after a number of legislators called for a complete ban.

Earlier in 2021, Mr Biden also controversially announced his government would not personally sanction Saudi’s crown prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), despite American intelligence concluding he had overseen the 2018 killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said “the relationship with Saudi Arabia is bigger than any one individual”.