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Saudi Arabia

September 3, 2026

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A commercial vessel passes through an international shipping lane off Yemen's Hanish Island in the Red Sea on July 27, 2026.

Saudi oil exports hit nine-year low as tanker attacks threaten recovery

The country’s oil exports were around 3 million barrels per day in August.

Mecca Alliance

Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Pakistan set Mecca Alliance into motion

The three countries are moving to formalize military coordination under the newly named Mecca Alliance amid renewed hostilities between Iran and the US.

Latest News

Iraq reinforces Saudi border security amid militia tensions: What to know

Iraqi army troops patrol the Iraq-Saudi Arabia border

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 man sits in front of a house destroyed by air strikes in Sanaa, Yemen June 6, 2018. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah - RC1182083EA0

UN war crimes report threatens US support for Yemen war

A UN report alleging that the anti-Houthi coalition may have carried out war crimes could further erode support for US bomb sales and military support.

Saudi troops march as they take part in Pakistan Day military parade in Islamabad, Pakistan, March 23, 2017. REUTERS/Faisal Mahmood - RC1CF21EB9E0

Saudi Arabia, Iran battle for influence in Pakistan

As Iran and Saudi Arabia compete for influence in the Islamic world, Pakistan represents a crucial sphere of influence, but the country's new prime minister has been a critic of the Saudi-led war on Yemen.

What Israel wants from Qatar

By signing an arrangement with Hamas, and meeting Qataris, Israel opens the door for Qatari and Iranian influence in the Gaza Strip, and even in the West Bank.

US decision to cut aid could be opening for flagging Saudi approach to Syria

Syria stabilization will instead likely depend on Putin’s shuttle diplomacy with Ankara and Damascus.

Humanitarian aid is prepared to be delivered to Syria, in the town of Ramtha, Jordan, July 2, 2018. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RC12927A2020

US outsources Syria aid to Gulf

In an apparent win for the Donald Trump administration, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have agreed to pick up the tab to stabilize Syria.

People walk past a house destroyed by an air strike in the old quarter of Sanaa, Yemen August 8, 2018. Picture taken August 8, 2018. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah - RC1116261260

Trump, Democrats face off over Yemen war

President Donald Trump is spurning Congress’ bipartisan bid to exert more control over the war in Yemen despite signing key oversight provisions into law.

Saudi Arabia’s diplomacy has costs

Saudi Arabia's diplomatic decisions since King Salman took over the rule of the kingdom in 2015 have caused much controversy, with the bombing of a school bus in Yemen and the row with Canada over a tweet as recent examples.

Cairo breathes sigh of relief as Saudi oil exports resume through Bab el-Mandeb

Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Falih announced that his country resumed oil exports via the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, amid Egyptian fears that a decrease in traffic in the popular shipping corridor could impact Suez Canal revenues.

U.S. President Donald Trump signs the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018 at the White House in Washington D.C., U.S. December 12, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Barria - RC1DBA301210

US defense bill could impact arms exports to Middle East

This year’s US defense authorization bill calls for reforming America’s high-tech exports even as weapons sales to the region boom.

Will Riyadh-Tehran rivalry kill Iraqi Kurdistan's investment drive?

A visit to Erbil by a Saudi trade delegation in late July has the potential to bear fruit in advancing economic cooperation and investment in the region, helping ease its current financial crisis, but the Saudis' move has raised eyebrows in Tehran.

Dismissal of electricity minister fails to quell protests in Iraq

After a month of protests in Iraq over the lack of electricity and other public services, the Iraqi prime minister dismissed the minister of electricity, without any clear vision for a solution to the crisis.

People walk on a railway track as Egyptian army troops are deployed outside the of the presidential palace in Cairo on December 12, 2012, one day after thousands of Egyptians protested against the upcoming referendum on the new draft constitution. Egypt's powerful army has called for President Mohamed Morsi and the secular opposition to meet later in the day to stop a crisis over an imminent constitutional referendum from tearing the country apart. AFP PHOTO/GIANLUIGI GUERCIA (Photo credit should rea

Will public opposition stop proposed Egypt-Israel railway dead in its tracks?

Egyptian media outlets are making a fuss about a recent meeting between Israel's ambassador to Cairo, David Govrin, and the director of the Ibn Khaldun Center for Development Studies, Saad Eddin Ibrahim, discussing a railway between Egypt and Israel.