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Saudi Arabia

September 4, 2026

Riyadh 4:10 pm

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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

Houthi followers watch as their leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi delivers a speech during a rally commemorating the death of Imam Zaid bin Ali in Sanaa, Yemen October 26, 2016. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah - RTX2QLC8

Is Yemen headed for partition?

An open-ended cease-fire is needed for Yemen, but a de facto partition of the country is more likely.

A gas flare on an oil production platform is seen alongside an Iranian flag in the Gulf July 25, 2005. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi/File Photo - RTX2OBC0

Why OPEC still can’t get Iran to cut oil production

Despite the agreement in principle on output cuts at its September meeting in Algeria, OPEC still has a long way to go in getting Iran to stop its drive to regain market share.

Christian politician and FPM founder Michel Aoun (L) walks next to Lebanon's former prime minister Saad al-Hariri after he said he will back Aoun to become president in Beirut, Lebanon October 20, 2016. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTX2PSCO

Hariri reverses political slide by backing Aoun presidency

Saad Hariri’s success as prime minister will depend on new compact with Michel Aoun and Hezbollah, less so on Saudi Arabia; Al-Monitor breaks news of Russian draft plan for Syrian Kurdish autonomy; United States seeks ground force to isolate Raqqa.

A member from the Iraqi security forces stands guard at a checkpoint during a patrol at the border between Iraq and Saudi Arabia, February 17, 2016. Picture taken February 17, 2016. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani - RTX27OUC

Execution of Saudi prisoners widens gap between Baghdad, Riyadh

Iraq has executed three Saudi prisoners and nine others are on death row, raising the objections of Saudi Arabia that wants Baghdad to transfer the prisoners to the kingdom.

Saudi warships are seen during “Gulf Shield 1” exercise by members of Royal Saudi Navy, east of Saudi Arabia, October 9, 2016. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser - RTSRHDY

Iran unfazed by Saudi flexing in Persian Gulf

Saudi Arabia's large-scale military exercises may be cause for some concern in Iran, but Saudi capabilities in the Persian Gulf can't compare to those of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Flames emerge from a pipeline at the oil fields in Basra, southeast of Baghdad, Iraq October 14, 2016. REUTERS/Essam Al-Sudani - RTSS8IG

How oil is bringing Iraq, Egypt closer

Iraq is planning to supply Egypt with a million barrels of oil as both countries face a deteriorating relationship with Saudi Arabia.

Christian politician and FPM founder Michel Aoun (L) talks during a news conference next to Lebanon's former prime minister Saad al-Hariri after he said he will back Aoun to become president in Beirut, Lebanon October 20, 2016. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir - RTX2PR3I

How Lebanon’s presidential problem turned into opportunity

Lebanon’s former Prime Minister Saad Hariri announced his support for former chief of the army and Hezbollah ally Gen. Michel Aoun as president, which may have been Hariri's last resort as his relationship with Saudi Arabia has been tense.

Egyptian lawyer and leftist opposition figure Khaled Ali (C) stands among people outside the State Council's building, Egypt's highest administrative court, in Cairo on June 26, 2016, after the court postponed to July 3 the hearing of the government's appeal against the decision to block the controversial handover of two uninhabited Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia.
The deal over the islands of Tiran and Sanafir prompted some of the largest public protests in two years when it was signed in April. The countr

Will Cairo reverse decision to transfer islands to Riyadh?

As the Egyptian government defends in court its maritime border agreement with Saudi Arabia that transferred two Red Sea islands to Riyadh, a lawyer for the state provoked controversy after admitting the "islands are still Egyptian."

A view of a municipal board building after it was destroyed by Saudi-led air strikes in the northwestern city of Saada, Yemen, October 2, 2016. REUTERS/Naif Rahma TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTSQEFL

Have Turkey's neo-Ottomans abandoned Yemen?

Turkish media ignores Yemen despite mounting civilian casualties, but hard-core Islamists and secular groups blame the neo-Ottoman government for being a pawn of Western and Saudi interests.

Smoke rises at a community hall where Saudi-led warplanes struck a funeral in Sanaa, the capital of Yemen, October 9, 2016. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTSRFSR

Is US reconsidering its support for Saudi Arabia in Yemen war?

The recent missile attacks on US vessels off Yemen’s coast as well as the limited US response suggest that Washington may be disengaging from the war in Yemen and putting pressure on Saudi Arabia to follow suit.

Protesters and family members of 9/11 victims protest in front of the White House regarding President Barack Obama's threatened veto of the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA) in Washington, U.S., September 20, 2016. REUTERS/Gary Cameron - RTSOMWI

Has JASTA pushed Saudi Arabia and Israel closer?

Riyadh has become convinced more than ever that the closer it gets to Tel Aviv, which it believes has influence in US decision-making circles, the stronger and safer it will become in the face of JASTA.

Moroccan King Mohammed VI (L) meets with his Saudi counterpart, King Abdullah, at the former's palace in Bouskoura on the outskirts of Casablanca on September 11, 2012 AFP / PHOTO / AZZOUZ BOUKALLOUCH (Photo credit should read AZZOUZ BOUKALLOUCH/AFP/GettyImages)

Will warming ties with Iran impact Morocco’s relationship with Saudi Arabia?

Morocco announced the appointment of an ambassador to Tehran, ending a seven-year break in diplomatic ties. But concerns are emerging about the reaction of Saudi Arabia, an ally to the kingdom and enemy of Iran.