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Saudi Arabia

September 4, 2026

Riyadh 8:30 am

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Guests stand at the booth of Saudi artificial intelligence company Humain during the Future Investment Initiative (FII) conference in Riyadh, on Oct. 29, 2025.

Saudi Arabia taps China’s MiniMax for Arabic AI model

The development signals that the kingdom continues deepening AI ties with China while simultaneously pursuing major US technology partnerships, keeping the Gulf state at the center of an intensifying technology race between the superpowers.

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.

Latest News

Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Pakistan set Mecca Alliance into motion

Mecca Alliance

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

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (R) meets with Libyan Prime Minister Fayez Seraj in Moscow, Russia, March 2, 2017. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin - RTS115AB

Can Russia, West cooperate on Libya?

Moscow sees an opportunity to engage with Europe to help solve Libya’s crisis, and the US president seems ready and willing to stay out of it.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Saudi Deputy Crown Prince and Minister of Defense Mohammed bin Salman take their seats for lunch in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, U.S., March 14, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RTX30ZV5

Trump goes to Riyadh

US President Donald Trump may want to learn lessons from previous presidential encounters with Saudi kings if he wants his trip to visit King Salman to be a success.

U.S. President Donald Trump waves as he leaves the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, U.S., before his departure to New York May 4, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Barria - RTS1581R

White House sees wild-card nature as asset in Trump’s first foreign trip

Trump’s first foreign trip as president will be to Saudi Arabia, Israel and Rome, the holy places for Islam, Judaism and Christianity, as he tries to rally the world to unite against extremism and intolerance, aides say.

A ship is docked at the Red Sea port of Hodeidah, Yemen, March 23, 2017. REUTERS/Abduljabbar Zeyad - RTX32F02

In shift, Saudis seek political solution for Yemen port

Hoping signs of progress in talks with Houthi rebels come to fruition, Riyadh is now looking away from military plans and considering a political solution to take a strategic Yemeni Red Sea port.

Saudi Arabia's Deputy Defense Minister Mohammed Al-Ayesh meets U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis (R) next to NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg (L) during a meeting at the Alliance headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, February 15, 2017. REUTERS/Virginia Mayo/Pool - RTSYZVU

Saudis seek renewed relations with US under Trump

The Saudis want US President Donald Trump to reconsider policies made during the Obama administration, especially regarding Iran, which they say has not changed its conduct since the nuclear deal.

U.S. President Donald Trump gives a thumbs-up as he and White House Senior Advisor Jared Kushner depart the White House in Washington, U.S., March 15, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RTX3155P

Trump’s Mideast plan starts taking shape

US President Donald Trump’s Middle East team is exploring the possibility of a double-track initiative for Israeli-Palestinian and Middle East regional talks.

Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir (R) and Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani attend a news conference after an extraordinary meeting of the foreign ministers of GCC, in Riyadh January 9, 2016. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser - RTX21N8K

Why region should prepare for long Saudi-Iranian confrontation

Despite the efforts of smaller players such as Kuwait and Oman to defuse tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran, there is little on the horizon suggesting an end to Riyadh’s determination to directly confront Tehran.

Will Riyadh’s new DC ambassador draw US deeper into Yemen war?

While the new Saudi ambassador to Washington, Khaled bin Salman, wants to convince the Trump administration to get more involved in the war in Yemen, history may deter the US administration.

A member of the Islamist Syrian opposition group Ahrar al-Sham fires against a position of the Committees for the Protection of the Kurdish People (YPG), a militia set up to protect Kurdish areas in Syria from opposing forces, during clashes in the countryside of the northern Syrian Raqqa province on August 25, 2013. Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said on August 27 the UN mission investigating alleged chemical weapons attacks in Damascus has been delayed until the following after rebels failed to gu

Complex deal frees kidnapped Qatari royals, two Saudis

Various versions of a recent hostage deal are circulating that include, potentially, political motivations, millions of dollars in ransom, exchanged military prisoners and relocated civilians.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (L) listens to his Jordanian counterpart Nasser Judeh during a joint news conference in Amman, Jordan January 14, 2014. REUTERS/Mohammad Hannon/Pool (JORDAN - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX17E5V

War of words escalates between Jordan, Iran

Jordan’s 1994 peace treaty with Israel along with its pro-US orientation seems to have put the country on a collision course with Iran.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan addresses his supporters at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Turkey, April 17, 2017. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RTS12NRL

Does Erdogan expect Trump to ditch Syrian Kurds?

US and Turkish presidents talk, agree to meeting in Washington; Saudi-Iraqi ties hit Iranian ceiling; Turkey sees al-Bab as safe haven for displaced Syrians.

Foreign Ministers, Sergei Lavrov (C) of Russia, Walid al-Muallem (L) of Syria and Mohammad Javad Zarif of Iran, attend a news conference in Moscow, Russia, April 14, 2017. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin - RTX35J4R

Russia steps up its game in Mideast diplomacy

The heavy traffic between Moscow and the Middle East after US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson visited Russia last week signals that Russia is looking to quickly solidify its relationships with regional partners.