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

Saudi Arabia cover image

Saudi Arabia

November 5, 2026

Riyadh 8:59 pm

29°C

Cristiano Ronaldo

Culture

What’s next for Ronaldo at Al Nassr after Portugal farewell?

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

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.

Latest News

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.

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

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

A Saudi Arabian Airlines passenger plane is pictured parked at the tarmac of Ninoy Aquino International airport in Pasay city, Metro Manila, Philippines September 20, 2016. REUTERS/Erik De Castro - S1BEUCJDTUAB

Saudi airlines to start domestic flights again

Saudi Arabia has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, but is continuing with plans to reopen despite a significant number of new infections daily.

A Houthi follower carries a mock missile as he shouts slogans during a demonstration against the United Nations in Sanaa, Yemen, July 5, 2015. Hundreds of supporters of the Iran-backed Houthi rebels took to the streets of the Yemeni capital on Sunday to protest against the United Nations and its alleged support of Yemen's exiled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. REUTERS/Mohamed al-Sayaghi - GF10000149438

Missile strike on Yemeni military base kills 7, including top general’s son

The Saudi-backed Yemeni government blamed the attack, which killed the son and nephew of the military's chief of staff, on Houthi rebels.

The Committee to Protect Journalists and other press freedom activists hold a candlelight vigil in front of the Saudi Embassy to mark the anniversary of the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul, Wednesday evening in Washington, U.S., October 2, 2019. REUTERS/Sarah Silbiger - RC1156AFC4B0

Democrats prepare legislation forcing Trump to declassify report on Khashoggi murder

Democrats are drafting new legislation that would force the Donald Trump administration to declassify a report on Khashoggi’s murder, potentially implicating the crown prince.

A Saudi man wearing protective gloves buys vegetables at a supermarket, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia May 11, 2020. REUTERS/Ahmed Yosri - RC2DMG9SBKB9

Saudi Arabia again easing anti-virus restrictions

The Gulf country is still recording more than 2,000 COVID-19 cases per day.

Khashoggi's son says family forgives killers

Those sentenced to death in Jamal Khashoggi's killing can now be reprieved, but criticisms remain of Saudi Arabia's involvement in the murder and its response.

A Saudi money exchanger wears a protective face mask and gloves as he counts Saudi riyal currency at a currency exchange shop in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia March 10, 2020. REUTERS/Ahmed Yosri - RC2ZGF9MUSEW

Saudi Arabia quarantines cash to prevent further coronavirus spread

Saudi Arabia will isolate coins and banknotes for up to 20 days in sealed containers.

Fuel prices are displayed at petrol station of French oil giant Total in Bordeaux, France, September 17, 2019. Picture taken September 17, 2019. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau - RC1E43667350

Global oil prices at highest since March following OPEC cuts

Oil prices have fallen significantly this year as a result of the coronavirus and the Saudi-Russia price war, but Brent crude has now risen past $36.

People enter the State Department Building in Washington, U.S., January 26, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts - RC1D48272C00

Intel: US rescinds ban on British defense firm implicated in Saudi weapons fraud

The US State Department is rescinding a 9-year-old policy that barred it from doing business with the Saudi subsidiary of a British defense firm, which pled guilty to fraud in a multibillion-dollar arms deal in 2010.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks the press at the State Department in Washington, DC, on May 20, 2020. (Photo by NICHOLAS KAMM / POOL / AFP) (Photo by NICHOLAS KAMM/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Intel: Pompeo refused interview on Saudi arms sale investigation before firing Linick

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo refused to give an interview for State Department Inspector General Steve Linick’s investigation into a massive Saudi arms sale deal before asking President Donald Trump to fire the watchdog, Al-Monitor has learned.

Residents hang their laundry off the railing on their balconies at their apartment building, to disinfect them under sunlight, in the city of Dubai on May 17, 2020, during the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by Karim SAHIB / AFP) (Photo by KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images)

Gulf countries increase virus-related restrictions after new cases

The United Arab Emirates and Qatar registered more than 2,000 coronavirus cases between the two of them on Monday alone.

The sun is seen behind high-voltage power lines and electricity pylons at a highway northeast of Cairo, Egypt, March 13, 2019. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh - RC19CACD69D0

Egypt to export electricity to Saudi Arabia

An interconnection power line between Egypt and Saudi Arabia is expected to generate important economic benefits for Egypt and boost its aspiration to become a regional energy hub.

Intel: Saudi arms sale probe factored in Trump's firing of watchdog

President Donald Trump fired State Department Inspector General Steve Linick last week in part because of an investigation into an $8 billion emergency arms sales for Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, a source on Capitol Hill told Al-Monitor.