Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said Sunday that if a vote to cut arms sales to Saudi Arabia were to take place in the next couple weeks, such a measure would pass "overwhelmingly."

During a "Fox News Sunday" interview on Fox, Paul was reacting to the disappearance of Dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who has been missing for weeks after he entered a Saudi consulate in Istanbul earlier this month.

Turkish officials believe Khashoggi was murdered and dismembered by an assassination squad by the order of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The Saudis blame the death of Khashoggi on an argument that escalated between the journalist and unidentified men inside the Saudi consulate and have set up a commission, led by the crown prince, to investigate the death.

Paul rejected the Saudis' explanation, saying he "absolutely" does not believe it. Paul also said sanctions "don't go far enough."

[New: After Jamal Khashoggi disappeared, a Saudi agent left the consulate wearing his clothes]

Earlier this month, as the first reports of Khashoggi's potential murder came rolling in, Paul announced that he would attempt to force a vote to reject arms sales. The dovish senator was more confident than ever Sunday that such a push would be successful.

"I think if we were to have a vote in the next couple of weeks on whether or not to sell arms to Saudi Arabia, we would win overwhelmingly," he said, before adding a caveat. "I think the powers that be will try to prevent us from having that vote. They have to announce a specific case of arms being sold and my prediction is they will avoid doing that as long as possible."

President Trump has been reticent to act without a full accounting of Khashoggi's fate, and said that a "tremendous" $110 billion Saudi arms deal would create hundreds of thousands of jobs.

Paul dismissed concerns about a blow to the job market.

"With regard to jobs, I don't think arms should ever be seen as a jobs program," he said. "Our arms, our military arms ... are part of our national defense. These aren't something that are just owned by private companies, they are owned by the country and I think we should never sell arms to any country in less it's in national security interest."

He further said that Saudi Arabia's intervention with Yemen "actually increases our national risk."

Editor's note: Story corrected to show the interview aired on Fox, not Fox News.