Al-Monitor | Makram Najmuddine: During his life, Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was an outspoken critic of Iran’s regional role. Indeed, Khashoggi used every occasion to criticize Tehran’s growing footprint in Syria, Iraq and Yemen, whether on television, in articles, and sometimes in front of Iranian academics and political analysts at conferences around the world.

Since his murder in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul Oct. 2, Iranian media have treated the case as a top story. Newspapers from different sides of the internal political game, as well as the state broadcaster, have dedicated their front pages to the case on several occasions. The interest shown prompted one Iranian journalist to tweet, “If only Jamal Khashoggi knew the amount of coverage the state media gave him, he might have changed his view on Iran a bit, but unfortunately we can’t know what he thinks since he’s not with us right now to tweet.”

The attention given to Khashoggi's case by the media wasn't reciprocated on the official political front. Only on Oct. 24 did the Iranian government adopt a clear stance. President Hassan Rouhani told his Cabinet that he didn't “believe any country would dare commit such a crime without the support of the US.”

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