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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses Turkish members of parliament during the opening of the parliamentary session at the Grand National Assembly of Turkey in Ankara, on Oct. 1, 2026.

Breaking | Last Updated: November 5, 2026, 3:56 pm

Turkey’s parliament ratifies Mecca pact in boost to Saudi Arabia

Turkey will now decide the scope of military support for Saudi Arabia amid ongoing Iran-backed Houthi attacks on the kingdom.

Cristiano Ronaldo

Culture

What’s next for Cristiano Ronaldo after retirement from Portugal team?

The Portuguese superstar is signed to the Saudi side Al Nassr until 2027, but the Yemen war is impacting the sport in the kingdom.

Latest News

Aramco begins expansion of oil export route bypassing Hormuz

AFP via Getty Images

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

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

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.

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

Obama: 'Iran’s program has not advanced'

US allies puzzled by March deadline for consideration of Senate sanctions bill; Iran’s gesture to Saudi Arabia; Iran’s man in Beirut; Erdogan’s anti-Western pivot; Aleppo’s fuel shortage; Israel reconciling to Hamas?

U.S. President Barack Obama meets with Saudi Arabia's King Salman (R) at Erga Palace in Riyadh, January 27, 2015. Obama is stopping in Saudi Arabia on his way back to Washington from India to pay his condolences over the death of King Abdullah and to hold bilateral meetings with King Salman. REUTERS/Jim Bourg (SAUDI ARABIA - Tags: POLITICS ROYALS) - RTR4N55E

US-Saudi mark 70 years of rocky alliance

Seventy years ago, FDR and Ibn Saud met on a cruiser to initiate an alliance that has persisted ever since.

Ensaf Haidar (C) takes part in a demonstration calling for the release of her husband, Raif Badawi, on Parliament Hill in Ottawa January 29, 2015. Ensaf Haidar, the wife of a Saudi rights activist, who was sentenced to 1,000 lashes last year, said Thursday her husband's health had worsened after the first round of flogging and that he could not possibly survive the full punishment. REUTERS/Chris Wattie (CANADA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CRIME LAW) - RTR4NIK2

Who is Saudi activist Raif Badawi?

The author talks about Saudi activist Raif Badawi, who was sentenced to 1,000 lashes, as he has personally known him.

Hamas's exiled leader Khaled Meshaal (L) holds a joint press conference with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal following a meeting in Riyadh on Januray 3, 2010. Meshaal said that the Egyptian-led talks aimed at reconciling the Palestinian Islamist movement and its rival Fatah were close to bearing fruit. AFP PHOTO/PAUL HANDLEY (Photo credit should read PAUL HANDLEY/AFP/Getty Images)

Hamas reaches out to new Saudi leadership

As Hamas offers its condolences for the death of the Saudi king, it seems to be using "funeral diplomacy" as an opportunity to re-establish ties with the Gulf state.

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah (R) welcomes an Iraqi Shiite cleric at the Royal Palace in the Moslem holy city of Mecca. October 21, 2006. Iraqi Shi'ite and Sunni clerics meeting in Mecca called on Friday for an end to sectarian violence that many fear could lead to civil war in Iraq. REUTERS/Saudi News Agency/Handout (SAUDI ARABIA) - RTR1IJKP

Shiites have mixed reactions to new Saudi king

The death of Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz divided the Shiite community: While many celebrated and rejoiced, others deeply regretted the death of the Saudi monarch who was known for his moderate and reformist attitude.

Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood protesters make the 'four-fingered salute' during a protest against the Egyptian Defense Minister Abdel Fattah al-Sissi as they mark the third anniversary of revolution, in front of the Egyptian embassy in Amman January 25, 2014. REUTERS/Majed Jaber (JORDAN - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX17U9I

Jordan pressured to restrict Muslim Brotherhood

Some in Jordan believe the government will not break its historical ties with the Muslim Brotherhood, while others say there will be a crackdown on the group to keep Gulf aid flowing into the kingdom.

Saudi's newly appointed King Salman (R) shakes hands with US President Barack Obama at Erga Palace in Riyadh on January 27, 2015. Obama landed in Saudi Arabia with his wife First Lady Michelle Obama to shore up ties with King Salman and offer condolences after the death of his predecessor Abdullah. AFP PHOTO / SAUL LOEB (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)

Tough choices ahead for US-Saudi relationship

The longstanding relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia is in need of review, for Saudi human rights abuses and its domestic politics, for instance, are increasingly talked about topics by Americans and the world.

Saudi Arabia's Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef (L) arrives with his uncle King Salman (R) to greet U.S. President Barack Obama at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, January 27, 2015. King Salman's appointment of his nephew Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, 55, as Deputy Crown Prince makes him 2nd in the line of succession and he becomes the first grandson of the kingdom's founding monarch to take an established place in the line of succession. Picture taken January 27, 2015. REUTERS/Jim Bourg (SAU

Saudi King Salman quickly makes his mark

King Salman has shuffled key Cabinet positions to consolidate power in the kingdom.

Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal (L) meets with Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara March 17, 2011. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS ROYALS) - RTR2K0M9

Erdogan's Saudi dilemma

Experts say Ankara will maintain cordial, if not warm, ties with Riyadh, disregarding deep differences over Egypt and the Muslim Brotherhood.

A man walks past Lebanese Army soldiers patrolling a street in the Sunni Muslim Bab al-Tebbaneh neighbourhood, in Tripoli, northern Lebanon October 23, 2012. Four people were killed and 15 wounded in overnight gun battles in the Lebanese city of Tripoli in a second night of fighting between Sunni and Alawite gunmen loyal to different sides in the war in neighbouring Syria, a military source said on Tuesday. The poster in the background depicts Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah. REUTERS/Omar Ibrahim (LEBANON -

Death of Saudi king brings Lebanese leaders together

Several Lebanese officials and delegations, including rivals of the kingdom, have visited Saudi Arabia to pay their condolences for the death of the Saudi king, possibly heralding new breakthroughs in the Lebanese crises.

Oman's Sultan Qaboos bin Said (R) walks with Iran's President Hassan Rouhani upon Rouhani's arrival in Muscat March 12, 2014. REUTERS/Sultan Al Hasani (OMAN - Tags: POLITICS ROYALS) - RTR3GQAH

After Qaboos, who will be Oman's next sultan?

Now that Saudi Arabia has seen its succession through, attention has moved to who will succeed Oman's Sultan Qaboos, who has been in Munich since the summer for unspecified health reasons.

Could Israel’s strike on Hezbollah in Syria spark Iran nuclear talks?

The latest Israel-Hezbollah confrontation might be a catalyst for a nuclear deal between the P5+1 and Iran; Iran can ease Saudi Arabia’s security predicament; Netanyahu sees electoral gain in snubbing Obama.