Saudi Arabia - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Saudi Arabia cover image

Saudi Arabia

November 1, 2026

Riyadh 10:02 pm

28°C

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange at the opening bell, New York City, Sept. 28, 2026.

Oil tops $114 as traders brace for Iran escalation after US midterms

On Friday, BP posted its highest profits in 18 years as a result of the Iran conflict, which has driven up oil and gas margins.

Security forces stand guard in front of a banner showing the Kaaba during a protest by supporters of the Houthi authorities against the Saudi intervention in Yemen and against Saudi Arabia's recent accusation that the Houthis fired at the holy city of Mecca, in Sanaa on Sept. 18, 2026.

Russian satellite data helped Yemen’s Houthis target Saudi Arabia: What to know

A report by The Associated Press found evidence that Russian satellites helped Yemen’s Houthis identify and target specific sites, including energy facilities and military bases, in Saudi Arabia.

A woman walks past a mural bearing the Iranian national flag

Analysis

How wartime urgency pushed Iran to court Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Pakistan

Tehran's push for a regional security order independent of Washington could be gaining diplomatic momentum, but the Islamic Republic has competing, if not conflicting, strategic priorities with the countries it hopes to engage.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

BILAL QABALAN/AFP via Getty Images

Saudi oil infrastructure in crosshairs as Houthis claim Ras Tanura strike

Ras Tanura is home to the kingdom’s largest refinery and one of the world’s most important oil export terminals.

Latest News

Explainer

As parliament approves, what's driving Egypt's 'defensive' support to Saudi Arabia?

Egyptian soldiers man an infantry fighting vehicle

Riyadh airport reopening faces turbulence as Houthis claim new strikes

A man looks at a screen displaying the flight schedule at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka, on Oct. 12, 2026, as Saudi Arabia-bound flights remain canceled a day after a Houthi strike at Riyadh's international airport.

Saudi Arabia’s KBS, top Turkish and Pakistani officials hold rare meeting in Iran: What to know

GEOFFROY VAN DER HASSELT/AFP via Getty Images

Samuel Wendel

Senior Analyst, Middle East Business & Tech

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Adam Lucente

News and Business Correspondent

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

Jack Dutton

Chief Business Correspondent

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

Francesco Schiavi

In Bologna, reporting on security, defense, economy, governance

Sabena Siddiqui

In Karachi, reporting on South Asia, Middle East, Iran

Vanessa Ghanem

In Dubai, reporting on business, energy and politics

<<enter caption here>> on June 21, 2018 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Saudi women entrepreneurs fight cultural conditioning

The Saudi government has changed many practices that were discriminatory against women, but really empowering women requires a profound change of mentality.

Hatice Cengiz, slain Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi's fiancee, attends a press conference calling for the Trump administration to release details about his killing, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, March 3, 2020. - US lawmakers vowed Tuesday to force the release of an intelligence report on the killing of Saudi dissident writer Jamal Khashoggi, accusing President Donald Trump of blocking it to protect the kingdom. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP) (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

Khashoggi murder trial in Riyadh lacked accountability, UN rights office says

A court in Riyadh Monday jailed eight people over the 2018 murder at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

ST PAUL, MN - AUGUST 05: Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) speaks during a press conference outside the DFL Headquarters on August 5, 2020 in St Paul, Minnesota. Omar is hoping to retain her seat as the representative for Minnesota's 5th Congressional District in next week's primary election. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

Intel: House Democrats want answers from Saudi ambassador over jailed female activists

A group of seven congressional Democrats laid into Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the United States on Wednesday for failing to respond to their repeated requests to discuss the kingdom’s continued detention of female rights activists.

An Emirati official stands near an air-plane of El Al, which carried a US-Israeli delegation to the UAE following a normalisation accord, upon it's arrival at the Abu Dhabi airport in the first-ever commercial flight from Israel to the UAE, on August 31, 2020. - A US-Israeli delegation including White House advisor Jared Kushner took off on a historic first direct commercial flight from Tel Aviv to Abu Dhabi to mark the normalisation of ties between the Jewish state and the UAE. (Photo by Karim SAHIB / AFP)

Netanyahu calls opening of Saudi skies 'huge breakthrough’

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi hailed Saudi Arabia's decision to open its airspace to "all countries" following the UAE-Israel deal.

(FILES) A file picture taken on January 6, 2020 during the Dakar 2020 car racing shows a general view of Saudi Arabia's northwestern region, between Neoam and al-Wajh. - A rare revolt by a Saudi tribe has spelt fresh trouble for a planned Red Sea megacity, a lynchpin of the crown princes economic vision already beset by low oil prices. The $500 billion NEOM project, set to be built from scratch along the kingdom's picturesque western coast, is billed as a futuristic cityscape evocative of a sci-fi blockbust

Gulf citizens powerless in face of megaprojects

Local communities in Saudi Arabia often have no say in the strategic infrastructure projects and long-term economic reforms that directly impact them.

Democratic Party platform criticizes possible Israeli annexation of West Bank, Saudi role in Yemen

Parts of the platform approved at the Democratic National Convention this week have been both praised and criticized by Israel- and Iran-focused groups in Washington.

A reinforcement convoy of Yemen's Security Belt Force dominated by members of the the Southern Transitional Council (STC) seeking independence for southern Yemen, heads from the southern city of Aden to Abyan province on November 26, 2019, amid tensions with the forces of Saudi-backed President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi. - Saudi Arabia brokered on November 5 a power sharing agreement between Yemen's internationally recognised government and southern separatists of the STC, in a bid to end infighting that had d

Can new mechanism advance stalled Riyadh Agreement in southern Yemen?

Neither the Riyadh Agreement nor the mechanism for accelerating it can fundamentally end the conflict in southern Yemen, but will rather help suspend it and control its rhythm, according to analysts.

Despite dispute with Riyadh over Kashmir, Saudi-Pakistan ties remain strong

Security and economic bonds mean that Islamabad’s recent disputes with Riyadh are unlikely to impact overall bilateral ties.

What are vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris' views on the Middle East?

Joe Biden's running mate has views on Iran, Israel, Saudi Arabia and Syria that fall in line with the Democratic party establishment.

State Department legally skirted Congress freeze on Saudi arms sales, inquiry finds

An inspector general's report redacted by the State Department says that while the department found ways to legally bypass congressional restrictions on arms sales to Saudi Arabia, measures that Congress had called for were not taken.

TOPSHOT - A photo taken on March 18, 2018, shows a Yemeni child looking out at buildings that were damaged in an air strike in the southern Yemeni city of Taez. / AFP PHOTO / Ahmad AL-BASHA (Photo credit should read AHMAD AL-BASHA/AFP via Getty Images)

Yemen’s southern separatists abandon self-rule to pursue power-sharing plan

The news comes three months after the Southern Transitional Council announced self-rule in parts of southern Yemen.

Bokari amnesty.png

Saudi Arabia jails Yemeni blogger over video calling for LGBT rights

A Saudi court sentenced Mohamad al-Bokari to 10 months in prison over a social media post encouraging gay rights.