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Saudi Arabia

November 7, 2026

Riyadh 9:08 pm

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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

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari speaks at the Diplomatic and Political Joint Coordinating Committee meeting hosted by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry at the State Department in Washington August 15, 2013. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX12MHG

Iraqi Official: Rouhani 'Means Serious Business' With US

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari says the Iranian leadership could have prevented Hassan Rouhani from becoming president if it wanted to continue hard-line policies toward the United States.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin (R) and Secretary General of Saudi Arabia's National Security Council Prince Bandar Bin Sultan meet in Moscow, August 2, 2007. REUTERS/Alexander Natruskin (RUSSIA) - RTR1SGI2

Saudi Arabia and The Illusory Counterrevolution

Washington and Riyadh no longer share the same assessment of the threat and the need for reform in the region.

An honour guard carries coffins of military personnel killed after tribal militants shot down a military helicopter In Marib province, 173 km east of the capital Sanaa. August 7, 2013. REUTERS/Mohamed al-Sayaghi (YEMEN - Tags: MILITARY OBITUARY) - RTX12CV5

Saudi Arabia Keeps Tight Grip on Yemen

Saudi Arabia is treading carefully in Yemen, especially following the overthrow of Mohammed Morsi in Egypt.

U.S. President Barack Obama sits next to Qatar Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thaniat (not pictured) as he speaks in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, April 23, 2013. REUTERS/Larry Downing (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTXYXDL

Back to the Future for US Policy In Egypt and Syria

The Obama administration gives priority to containing Islamic extremism, not promoting democracy, in the Middle East.

A supporter of deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi hangs a poster of him on a wall during a march from the Al-Fath Mosque to the defence ministry, in Cairo July 30, 2013. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX124W1

Saudis Divided Over Egypt

Saudi fears of a democratic Egypt are deferred as long as Egypt is crippled by post-revolutionary turmoil.

Graduating soldiers from the Saudi special forces' anti-terror unit demonstrate their skills in protecting VIPs under attack in Riyadh May 17, 2009. REUTERS/Fahad Shadeed (SAUDI ARABIA POLITICS) - RTXI8T2

Muslim World Must Declare Zero Tolerance for Militant Jihadists

It is Muslims, not the West, who are paying the highest price for Islamist militancy.

A Free Syrian Army member inspects his weapon beside a checkpoint to siege the Kurdish city of Afrin, which is under the control of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), in the Aleppo countryside June 30, 2013. REUTERS/Hamid Khatib (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTX117H8

The Struggle for Syrian Kurdistan

Al-Monitor covers Syrian Kurdistan, the rebel siege of Aleppo, maids in Saudi Arabia and the Iraqi sex trade.

A supporter carries a campaign poster for Iranian presidential candidate Hassan Rohani on the streets of Tehran June 12, 2013. Picture taken June 12, 2013. REUTERS/ISNA/Mehdi Ghassemi (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS PICTURE IS DISTRIBUTED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS - RTX10M6A

Iran-Saudi Relations Under Rouhani

President-elect Hassan Rouhani's expected pursuit of pragmatic foreign and regional policies should lead to improved relations and cooperation with Saudi Arabia.

Indonesian workers ready to fly to Saudi Arabia to work as maids wait at a shelter during a police inspection in Bekasi, Indonesia's West Java province, June 22, 2011. Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono decide to apply a moratorium on sending Indonesian workers to Saudi Arabia be effect on August 1 after a 54-year-old Indonesian maid was beheaded on Saturday, convicted of murdering her Saudi employer, Yudhoyono said on Thursday on a live TV broadcast. Picture taken June 22, 2011. REUTERS/Sulth

Maid in Saudi Arabia

Human trafficking and abuse of domestic workers continue in the kingdom.

An Egyptian Air Force F-16 fighter jet flies low over thousands of anti-government protesters gathered at Tahrir square in Cairo January 30, 2011. Egyptian air force fighter planes buzzed low over Cairo on Sunday, helicopters hovered above and extra troop trucks appeared in a central square where protesters were demanding an end to President Hosni Mubarak's rule. REUTERS/Yannis Behrakis (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST MILITARY) - RTXXAH3

US Should Not Cut Aid to Egypt’s Military

US military aid can sustain American leverage and assist Egypt’s democratic transition.

Grooms take part in a mass wedding ceremony in Tabuk, 1500 km (932 miles) from Riyadh, May 2, 2012. Governor of Tabuk Prince Fahad Bin Sultan bin Abdul-Aziz and a local group organised the mass wedding for about 1600 couples to help youths who are unable to afford expensive ceremonies because of the rising cost of living. REUTERS/Mohamed Alhwaity (SAUDI ARABIA - Tags: SOCIETY) - RTR31J6Q

Saudi Women in the Masculine State

A Review of "A Most Masculine State" by Madawi Al-Rasheed.

Egypt's President Mohamed Mursi waves at the end of his visit to the Mosque of Prophet Mohammed in Madinah July 12, 2012. REUTERS/Saudi Press Agency/Handout (SAUDI ARABIA - Tags: POLITICS RELIGION) FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS - RTR34VN8

Saudi Arabia Pleased With Morsi’s Fall

Saudi Arabia has a vested interest in the Muslim Brotherhood’s failure in Egypt and the message it sends to sympathetic audiences in the region.