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

Saudi Arabia cover image

Saudi Arabia

November 5, 2026

Riyadh 10:05 am

27°C

AFP via Getty Images

Aramco begins expansion of oil export route bypassing Hormuz

The kingdom plans to expand the East-West Pipeline’s capacity to carry crude to as much as 10 million barrels per day.

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.

Latest News

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

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.

Analysis

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

A woman walks past a mural bearing the Iranian national flag

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Saudi oil infrastructure in crosshairs as Houthis claim Ras Tanura strike

BILAL QABALAN/AFP via Getty Images

Explainer

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

Egyptian soldiers man an infantry fighting vehicle

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

Could Iran-Saudi conflict provide Turkey 'graceful exit' from Syria?

Turkish reactions to the Jan. 2 execution of Saudi Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr are quite telling for the future of Ankara’s regional policy.

Oman's Sultan Qaboos bin Said (R) meets with Iran's President Hassan Rouhani in Muscat March 12, 2014. REUTERS/Sultan Al Hasani (OMAN - Tags: POLITICS ROYALS) - RTR3GQ5T

Oman, stuck between Saudi Arabia and Iran

With a long history as a regional mediator and close ties with both Riyadh and Tehran, will Oman be able to cool the recent Saudi-Iranian tensions following the execution of Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr?

Supporters of Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr shout as they stand near a burning tyre during a demonstration against the execution of Shi'ite Muslim cleric Nimr al-Nimr in Saudi Arabia, in Baghdad, Iraq January 4, 2016. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani - RTX20ZMU

The Saudi predicament

The execution of a prominent Shiite cleric jeopardizes already fragile international efforts to end the wars in Syria and Yemen.

What did Saudi Embassy attackers want?

Some in Iran suspect the "rogue elements" who attacked Saudi Arabia's embassy intended to sabotage the administration's foreign policy goals of improving relations with foreign countries post-nuclear deal.

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan (R) shakes hands with Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz during a luncheon ahead of the G20 summit in Belek in the Mediterranean resort city of Antalya, Turkey, November 14, 2015. REUTERS/Kayhan Ozer/Pool - RTS6ZYF

Has Turkey’s regional power grab come to an end?

Turkey is forfeiting its claims for regional supremacy by joining the Saudi-led Sunni alliance and making friendly overtures toward Israel.

Shi'ite Muslims living in Greece hold pictures of Shi'ite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr and shout slogans during a demonstration against his execution in Saudi Arabia, outside the embassy of Saudi Arabia in Athens, Greece, January 6, 2016. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis - RTX219TK

Brother of executed Saudi cleric says Nimr is 'martyr against injustice'

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Mohammed al-Nimr, the brother of the Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr, who was executed by Saudi Arabia, speaks about his family’s reaction, responses inside and outside Saudi Arabia and the fate of his brother’s body.

Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir attends a meeting for Gulf states Foreign Ministers in Riyadh, December 7, 2015. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser - RTX1XLV1

What are the real goals of Riyadh’s new Islamic coalition?

The Saudi-led Islamic coalition was not formed to only combat IS, but also to determine the future of Sunni areas in the conflict areas in Syria and Iraq.

A Sudanese farmer works on his corn farm on the banks of the river Nile in Khartoum November 11, 2009. For centuries, farmers like Berhanu Gudina have eked out a living in Ethiopia's central lowlands, tending tiny plots of maize, wheat or barley amid the vastness of the lush green plains. Now, they find themselves working cheek by jowl with high-tech commercial farms stretching over thousands of hectares tilled by state-of-the-art tractors -- and owned and operated by foreigners. Picture taken November 11,

Will Saudi agricultural investments in Sudan leave Egypt high and dry?

Experts say Egypt can’t afford to remain stoic about Sudan’s ever-rising water needs.

Relatives of journalist Abdul Kareem al-Khaiwani attend his funeral procession in Sanaa March 24, 2015. Assailants on a motorbike last week shot dead al-Khaiwani, one of Yemen's top journalists who is also an activist close to the country's dominant Houthi group, police sources said. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah - RTR4UO9O

Will Yemen’s journalists fare better in 2016?

In 2015, some journalists in Yemen suffered so much harassment and abuse that they quit their jobs and fled the country.

Muslim pilgrims pray around the holy Kaaba at the Grand Mosque ahead of the annual haj pilgrimage in Mecca September 21, 2015. REUTERS/Ahmad Masood - RTS24CV

Will Iran suspend hajj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia?

After Riyadh severed diplomatic relations with Tehran and suspended direct flights between the two countries, some are wondering if Iranian pilgrims will be banned.

Shi'ite protesters carry posters of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr during a demonstration in front of Saudi Arabia's Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, January 3, 2016. REUTERS/Osman Orsal - RTX20V2E

Saudi-Iranian crisis complicates Ankara’s regional plans

Islamists and secularists alike want Turkey to stay out of the Iranian-Saudi conflict.

How will Saudi-Iranian crisis affect the region?

As relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran reach their worst levels yet following the Saudi execution of Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr, the United States, Russia and the European Union are exerting all possible efforts to avoid a spillover to other countries where these parties wield influence.