WASHINGTON - Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia approved the plan for operatives to assassinate the journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, according to a previously classified intelligence report released on Friday, a step by the Biden administration to remind the world of the brutal killing and temper relations with the Saudi government.

Much of the evidence the C.I.A. used to draw that conclusion remains classified, including recordings of Mr. Khashoggi’s killing and dismemberment at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul that were obtained by Turkish intelligence. But the report does outline who carried out the killing, describe what Prince Mohammed knew about the operation and lay out how the C.I.A. concluded that he ordered it and bears responsibility for Mr. Khashoggi’s death.

The release of the report also signaled that President Biden, unlike his predecessor, would not set aside the killing of Mr. Khashoggi and that his administration intended to attempt to isolate the crown prince, although it will avoid any measures that would threaten ties to the kingdom. Administration officials said their goal was a recalibration, not a rupture, of the relationship.

President Biden will not penalize Saudi crown prince over Jamal Khashoggi’s killing, fearing a breach with a key ally, officials said.

The decision came after weeks of debate in which Mr. Biden's newly formed national security team advised him that there was no way to formally bar Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman from entering the U.S., or to weigh criminal charges against him, without breaching the relationship with one of America’s key Arab allies.