On a trip to reset relations with a country he had called a pariah after Khashoggi's killing in 2018, Biden said the crown prince, known as MbS, denied involvement in the murder and said he had held those responsible to account.

U.S. intelligence says the crown prince approved an operation to capture or kill Khashoggi, a Saudi insider-turned-critic, who was murdered and dismembered by Saudi agents inside the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul. Biden said what happened to Khashoggi was outrageous.

"He basically said that he was not personally responsible for it," Biden said of the crown prince's response during their meeting. "I indicated that I thought he was."

The president said they also discussed energy and that he expected to see action from Saudi Arabia, a major oil producer, on energy in the coming weeks.

As a presidential candidate, Biden had said the kingdom should be made a "pariah" on the world stage because of Khashoggi's murder. He said on Friday he did not regret that comment.

With the body language being watched closely, at the start of Biden's Middle East trip officials had said he would avoid close contact, such as shaking hands, as a precaution against COVID-19. But the president ended up engaging in hand-shaking during the Israel leg of the tour, too.