With roughly one week left before the US reimposes sanctions on Iranian exports that could hamper Iranian crude-oil exports, Hassan Rouhani, the president of the Islamic Republic, accused the US of officially sanctioning the murder of Saudi journalist-turned-critic Jamal Khashoggi, arguing that no country would carry out such a heinous crime "without the protection of America."

While the US probably won't bother to dignify Rouhani's allegations with a response, reports that US intelligence agencies had intercepted communications about the plot to ambush Khashoggi suggest that the US had an idea that Khashoggi might be killed upon returning to the consulate. And knowing this, they did nothing to warn Khashoggi or the Saudis, despite Khashoggi's status as a US resident writing for a prominent national newspaper.