President Donald Trump said in an interview with 60 Minutes the Saudis could be behind the disappearance of missing journalist and Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi, and if so, the U.S. would inflict "severe punishment." In a clip broadcast on CBS This Morning earlier, Mr. Trump said there is a lot at stake "and maybe especially so because this man was a reporter." 
 
 The interview is his first with 60 Minutes since his post-election conversation with Lesley Stahl in November 2016. 
 
 Mr. Trump said the Saudis denied "in every way you can imagine" having anything to do with Khashoggi's disappearance when his son-in-law Jared Kushner spoke with Saudi Arabia's crown prince. But Mr. Trump said the country may still be responsible and an investigation is ongoing. "Could it be them? Yes," the president said. 
 
 When asked what kind of punishments he may pursue if Saudi Arabia is found to be behind the disappearance, Mr. Trump wouldn't commit to sanctions or cutting sales of military equipment to Saudi from American companies. 
 
 "I'll tell you what I don't want to do," Mr. Trump said, "I don't want to hurt jobs. I don't want to lose an order like that. And you know what, there are other ways of punishing." 
 
 "There's a lot at stake," Mr. Trump continued. "And, maybe especially so because this man was a reporter. There's something, you'll be surprised to hear me say that, there's something really terrible and disgusting about that if that were the case. We're going to get to the bottom of it and there will be severe punishment." 
 
 Stahl interviewed Mr. Trump at the White House on Thursday. Their discussion also touched on controversial tariffs, China, North Korea, Russia, NATO and global warming. 

 FILE - In this Oct. 7, 2008 file photo, the shadow of a Saudi trader is seen on a stock market monitor in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The Saudi stock market sharply fell Sunday after President Donald Trump... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - In this Oct. 7, 2008 file photo, the shadow of a Saudi trader is seen on a stock market monitor in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The Saudi stock market sharply fell Sunday after President Donald Trump threatened "severe punishment" over the disappearance of Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi.... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - In this Oct. 7, 2008 file photo, the shadow of a Saudi trader is seen on a stock market monitor in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The Saudi stock market sharply fell Sunday after President Donald Trump threatened "severe punishment" over the disappearance of Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi.... (Associated Press) FILE - In this Oct. 7, 2008 file photo, the shadow of a Saudi trader is seen on a stock market monitor in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The Saudi stock market sharply fell Sunday after President Donald Trump... (Associated Press) 
 
 DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The Latest on the disappearance of a Saudi writer who Turkish officials fear was killed inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul (all times local): 
 
 7:10 p.m. 
 
 Germany, France and Britain are calling for a "credible investigation" to establish what happened to Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi and seek a "complete and detailed" Saudi response. 
 
 Khashoggi went missing when he visited the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. Turkish officials fear Khashoggi was killed and dismembered, allegations Saudi officials call "baseless." 
 
 The German, French and British foreign ministers said in a joint statement Sunday that defending freedom of expression and ensuring protection for journalists are key priorities and that they are "treating this incident with the utmost seriousness." 
 
 They said there must be a credible investigation to establish the truth and "if relevant" identify those responsible for Khashoggi's disappearance. 
 
 "We encourage joint Saudi-Turkish efforts in that regard, and expect the Saudi government to provide a complete and detailed response," they added. 
 
 ___ 
 
 3:15 p.m. 
 
 Saudi Arabia says it rejects any "threats" of economic sanctions or political pressure after President Donald Trump's comments on the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi. 
 
 The statement carried by the state-run Saudi Press Agency on Sunday also warned that the kingdom will respond to any steps taken against it. 
 
 This statement came after the Saudi stock market plunged by nearly 7 percent at one point on Sunday. 
 
 The statement did not directly acknowledge Khashoggi's disappearance, which happened Oct. 2 when he visited the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. 
 
 Turkish officials fear Khashoggi was killed and dismembered. Saudi officials call the allegations "baseless," but have offered no evidence Khashoggi ever left the consulate. 
 
 ___ 
 
 1 p.m. 
 
 The Saudi stock market has dropped more than 6.8 percent after President Donald Trump threatened "severe punishment" over the disappearance of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. 
 
 The drop in the Tadawul exchange in Riyadh happened Sunday, the first day of trading. 
 
 In an interview to be aired Sunday, Trump told CBS' "60 Minutes" that "We're going to get to the bottom of it and there will be severe punishment." 
 
 Turkish officials say they fear Saudi agents killed Khashoggi after he entered the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2. The kingdom has called the allegations "baseless," but has offered no evidence the writer ever left the consulate.
– Saudi Arabia says it rejects any "threats" of economic sanctions or political pressure regarding the disappearance of a Saudi writer—and European nations are calling for an investigation, the AP reports. In a statement carried by the state-run Saudi Press Agency on Sunday, the Saudi government said it will respond to any steps taken against it over the vanishing of Jamal Khashoggi. Saudi stocks plunged nearly 7% Sunday after President Trump went on 60 Minutes and said that "we're going to get to the bottom of it, and there will be severe punishment" if US officials find that Riyadh ordered Khashoggi's murder. Khashoggi went missing when he visited the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. Turkish officials fear Khashoggi was killed and dismembered, allegations rejected by Saudi officials. Meanwhile, Germany, France, and Britain are calling for a "credible investigation" to establish what happened to Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi and seek a "complete and detailed" Saudi response. The German, French, and British foreign ministers said in a joint statement Sunday that defending freedom of expression and ensuring protection for journalists are key priorities and that they are "treating this incident with the utmost seriousness." They said there must be a credible investigation to establish the truth and "if relevant" identify those responsible for Khashoggi's disappearance. "We encourage joint Saudi-Turkish efforts in that regard, and expect the Saudi government to provide a complete and detailed response," they added.