US President Joe Biden spoke on phone with King Salman of Saudi Arabia and "affirmed the importance" the US "places on universal human rights and the rule of law", the White House said. BBC reported that Biden made the call after reading a forthcoming US report into the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The report, due to be released shortly, is expected to implicate the king's son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The naming of the crown prince would put further stress on the US-Saudi relationship.