Saudi Arabia's crown prince, accused in a U.S. intelligence report of approving an operation to capture or kill a prominent journalist, crushed dissent and sidelined rivals in a push for power that has delighted admirers, unsettled Riyadh's traditional foreign allies and shocked human rights advocates.

A declassified U.S. intelligence assessment released on Friday said Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman approved the operation against Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a royal insider-turned-critic who was killed at the kingdom's Istanbul consulate in 2018 and his body dismembered.

The disclosure poses a fresh challenge to the 35-year-old prince's reputation as the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden places Saudi Arabia's human rights record under close scrutiny.