DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia's top diplomat says the global outcry over the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi has become "hysterical," while vowing that the kingdom is determined to bring the perpetrators to justice.

"This issue has become fairly hysterical," Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said. He added that he thinks people have assigned blame to Saudi Arabia with certainty before the investigation is complete.

Al-Jubeir was answering questions from Western journalists at a high-level forum in Bahrain on Saturday.

He says the kingdom has made it "very clear that those responsible will be held responsible."

Khashoggi, a critic of the Saudi crown prince, was killed by Saudi agents at the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2.