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Saudi Arabia

November 7, 2026

Riyadh 8:14 pm

29°C

WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 18: Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia and U.S. President Donald Trump shake hands during a dinner in the East Room at the White House on November 18, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump is hosting the Crown Prince for meetings aimed at strengthening economic and defense ties, including the U.S. sale of F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Analysis

Gulf’s $3 trillion US investment drive faces post-midterm Trump reckoning

A sweeping midterm election victory by Democrats on Nov. 3 is cause for concern among Gulf states that eagerly embraced Trump's White House and pledged huge investment commitments.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

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.

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

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

US Deputy Secretary of State William J. Burns listens during a press conference at the US Department of the Treasury July 11, 2013 in Washington, DC. Officials from the United States and China are meeting to discus the two world powers' relationships during the 5th United States and China Strategic and Economic Dialogue. AFP PHOTO/Brendan SMIALOWSKI (Photo credit should read BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images)

Burns to Al-Monitor: 'No illusions' about nuclear diplomacy with Iran

In an exclusive interview, Deputy Secretary of State William Burns discusses leading the US back channel to Iran, the upcoming Geneva II conference on Syria, the role of secret diplomacy and 32 years in the US foreign service.

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (L) attends a joint conference with Lebanon's caretaker Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour in Beirut January 13, 2014. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX17CRS

Zarif trip to Lebanon includes signal to Saudi Arabia

Iran and Hezbollah's abrupt change toward the formation of a Lebanese government might be part of a regional settlement.

Ahmad Jarba, leader of Syria's opposition National Coalition (L-R), French Foreign Affairs Minister Laurent Fabius, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Egypt's Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry attend a news conference at the French foreign ministry during a "Friends of Syria" meeting ahead of Geneva II peace talks, in Paris, January 12, 2014. The "Friends of Syria", an alliance of mainly Western and Gulf Arab countries who oppose Syrian President Bashar al-As

The new pulse of Geneva II

The trend in the Geneva II process shifts to cooperation on humanitarian and counterterrorism issues; Erdogan under fire in Turkey.

Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Saud al-Faisal bin Abdulaziz al-Saud speaks during a news conference with Sartaj Aziz, Pakistan's prime minister Nawaz Sharif's adviser on foreign affairs, at Foreign Ministry in Islamabad January 7, 2014. REUTERS/Mian Khursheed (PAKISTAN - Tags: POLITICS ROYALS) - RTX1753R

Saudi strategy includes alliance with Pakistan

Saudi Arabia considers Pakistan a pivotal ally, both to contain Iran and to further Riyadh’s leadership bid in the Arab world.

Lakhdar Brahimi (C), the U.N. envoy on Syria, speaks with members of the French delegation prior to a meeting at the United Nations offices in Geneva December 20, 2013. REUTERS/Fabrice Coffrini/Pool (SWITZERLAND - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX16PMV

Geneva II must achieve peaceful solution

The Syrian government, the Syrian opposition and the world must take advantage of the opportunities afforded by Geneva II to bring peace to Syria.

Yemen-Saudi love story highlights political tensions

The recent story of a Yemeni man and a Saudi woman who fell in love and fled to Yemen highlights long-standing political and social tensions between their two neighboring states.

Saudi Arabia's Prince Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saoud (R) welcomes French President Francois Hollande (L) at the Saudi Royal palace in Riyadh December 29, 2013. REUTERS/Kenzo Tribouillard/Pool (SAUDI ARABIA - Tags: POLITICS ROYALS) - RTX16WSG

Saudi Arabia, France make their move in Lebanon

Hezbollah reacts to Saudi Arabia providing $3 billion in aid to the Lebanese army to buy French weapons.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry walks to his plane with Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Saud al-Faisal bin Abdulaziz al-Saud at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh January 5, 2014. REUTERS/Brendan Smialowski/Pool (SAUDI ARABIA - Tags: POLITICS ROYALS) - RTX1738Z

The Saudi challenge to US Syria policy

Saudi Arabia proposes a military force to deter Iran and assist rebel forces to overthrow the Syrian government.

Ethiopian migrants walk on the side of a road during their journey from the Red Sea Yemeni town of Medi to Haradh town on the border with Saudi Arabia March 22, 2012. Some 12,000 migrants, mostly from the Horn of Africa, are stranded in Haradh, which they use as a stepping stone to reach Saudi Arabia, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM). REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah (YEMEN - Tags: POLITICS SOCIETY IMMIGRATION) - RTR2ZPE5

Saudi labor reform opens new opportunities for economy

Recent reforms enacted by the Saudi government aim to crack down on illegal immigrants and curb the use of migrant laborers.

A man gestures as he holds a wounded girl at the site of an explosion in Beirut's southern suburbs, January 2, 2014. A car bomb killed four people in Hezbollah's southern Beirut stronghold on Thursday, security and medical sources said, the latest in a series of deadly attacks on Shi'ite and Sunni targets in Lebanon. REUTERS/Issam Kobeisi (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX17039

Was Thursday’s Beirut blast linked to Sidon attack?

A security source said that Thursday’s explosion in Beirut may have been prepared in a hurry and may be linked to the attack on a Lebanese army checkpoint in Sidon on Dec. 15, 2013.

A woman reacts during a mass funeral for former Lebanese minister Mohamad Chatah, who was killed in a bomb blast on Friday, at Al-Amin mosque in Martyrs' Square, downtown Beirut, December 29, 2013. Chatah, who opposed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, was killed in the attack which one of his political allies blamed on Lebanon's Shi'ite Hezbollah militia. REUTERS/Jamal Saidi (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST OBITUARY) - RTX16WB3

Chatah's assassination marks rise of extremism

In Lebanon, Syria and Iraq, the forces of moderation are being displaced by the forces of extremism.

Saudi Arabia's Gulf Union project includes military dimension

Saudi Arabia begins 2014 with an assertive plan for regional leadership.