The US does not believe the official Saudi version of the murder of the Washington Post columnist and dissident Jamal Khashoggi is credible, a senior administration official has said.

UN chief Antonio Guterres called Sunday for a "credible" probe into journalist Jamal Khashoggi's murder in Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo defended the Trump administration's handling of the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi on Wednesday, stressing Saudi Arabia's importance as a US ally against Iran.

Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was murdered in October at his country's Istanbul consulate, was named Time magazine's "Person of the Year" Tuesday, an honor he shared with other persecuted journalists dubbed as "guardians" of the truth.

Istanbul's chief prosecutor has filed warrants for the arrest of a top aide to Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler and the deputy head of its foreign intelligence on suspicion of planning the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, two Turkish officials said on Wednesday.

Hundreds of Tunisian protesters marched through the capital Tunis in opposition to a planned visit Tuesday by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, urging justice over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Donald Trump's comments about Jamal Khashoggi's killing show the US president will turn a blind eye to the issue no matter what investigators uncover, Turkey's foreign minister said on Friday.

Tunisian activists are calling for protests over the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi when Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman visits next week.

Turkey accused the United States on Wednesday of trying to turn a blind eye to the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul, and dismissed comments from President Donald Trump on the issue as "comic".

The CIA believes Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul, sources familiar with the matter said on Friday.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his US counterpart Donald Trump agreed Friday that no cover up of journalist Jamal Khashoggi's murder should be allowed, a Turkish presidential source said after a phone call between the two leaders.

Qatar Media Corporation CEO HE Sheikh Abdulrahman bin Hamad al-Thani has rejected the latest statements of Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubair, stating that "the Qatari media was not the one who committed the crime of killing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.."