Saudi Arabia - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Saudi Arabia cover image

Saudi Arabia

April 26, 2026

Riyadh 8:12 am

25°C

Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan (L) disembarks from an airplane upon his arrival at the Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut on Jan. 23, 2025.

In Lebanon, Saudi Arabia pursues quiet diplomacy as Trump pushes Israel normalization

Saudi Arabia has been engaged in intense diplomacy in Lebanon in recent days, leading up to the extension of a ceasefire with Israel.

A person walks past the closed Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center on Jan. 7, 2021, in New York City.

Why did the Met Opera lose its Saudi funding deal?

The deal, announced as a nonbinding memorandum of understanding last September, would have seen the PIF inject up to $200 million into the opera institution over the next eight years.

A picture shows the Ras Laffan Industrial City, Qatar's principal site for production of liquefied natural gas and gas-to-liquid, administrated by Qatar Petroleum, some 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of the capital Doha, on Feb. 6, 2017.

Analysis

Gulf energy deals face Iran war stress test as global expansion meets oil shock

ADNOC, Aramco and QatarEnergy have aggressively expanded their international portfolios in recent years, a strategy facing new constraints as the US-Israel-Iran war impacts Gulf production and exposes structural risks.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Latest News

Syria’s Sharaa makes fourth visit to Saudi Arabia, first since Iran war: What to know

Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrives ahead of a meeting with Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer at 10 Downing Street in central London on March 31, 2026.

MBS hosts Sudan's Burhan in Jeddah as $1.5B Saudi-backed arms deal stalls

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meets with Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan in Jeddah, on April 20, 2026.

Analysis

Pakistan’s quiet fighter jet deployment to Saudi Arabia signals Gulf anxiety

Pakistan Air Force J-10 fighter jets over Islamabad, March 23, 2025.

Sabena Siddiqui

By Sabena Siddiqui

In Karachi, reporting on South Asia, Middle East, Iran

Samuel Wendel

Senior Market Research Analyst

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

Visitors stop at the Aramco exhibition section at the Misk Global Forum on innovation and technology held in the Saudi capital Riyadh on November 13, 2019. - The Misk non-profit foundation was established by Saudi Arabia's powerful crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman to empower Saudi youths through cultivating learning and leadership. (Photo by FAYEZ NURELDINE / AFP) (Photo by FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images)

Saudi Aramco pivots investment plans as deals beckon in key Asian growth markets

Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

A man poses for video outside a Starbucks coffee shop in a market area in Dubai on May 18, 2023.

US firm mulls stake in Starbucks Middle East franchise as local competition heats up

Apollo Asset Management's reported interest comes after the coffee chain said boycotts related to the Gaza war had hurt its regional business.

A sign for the London Metal Exchange (LME).

London Metal Exchange to build delivery centers in Saudi Arabia

Investors and mining companies are bracing for a wave of exploration licenses awarded in Saudi Arabia after the kingdom nearly doubled its untapped mineral estimate to $2.5 trillion and announced new incentives for miners in January.

FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images

Saudi inks $3.2B missile defense deal with South Korea as Iran attends expo

The World Defense Show has yielded deals between Saudi Arabia and South Korea and may lead to the strengthening of the kingdom’s ties with Iran, the United States and others.

Milkor 380 drone.

South Africa’s Milkor gets go-ahead to produce drones in Saudi Arabia

The Gulf country is bolstering its defense capabilities amid increasing instability in the Middle East.

ISMAILIA, EGYPT - JANUARY 10: A ship transits the Suez Canal towards the Red Sea on January 10, 2024 in Ismailia, Egypt. In the wake of Israel's war on Gaza after the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, Houthi rebels in Yemen pledged disruption on all ships destined for Israel through the Red Sea's Suez Canal. The disruption on world trade is evident in the number of companies using this container ship route - a 90 per cent decline compared to figures one year ago. (Photo by Sayed Hassan/Getty Images)

Red Sea attacks push global firms to seek overland shipping alternatives

An Israeli company is sending goods overland from the United Arab Emirates through Saudi Arabia and other firms are looking at different arrangements as US strikes fail to deter Houthi attacks.

Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Meshal al-Ahmad al-Sabah gestures as he delivers a speech during the opening ceremony of the 17th parliamentary term at the National Assembly in Kuwait City on Oct. 18, 2022.

Kuwait emir travels to Saudi Arabia for first foreign visit

Relations with Saudi Arabia are a priority for Kuwait's new emir.

GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images

Why has Saudi Arabia ordered Aramco to halt its plan to raise oil production?

The move may be simply a cost-cutting strategy, or it could be driven by a new, less optimistic outlook from the world's largest crude producer on future oil demand.

Lebanese bartender Hadi Ghassan prepares a drink behind the counter at "Meraki Riyadh", a pop-up bar offering non-alcoholic bellinis and spritzes, served in chilled cocktail glasses, in Riyadh on January 23, 2024. The bar's success highlights widening acceptance of more daring non-alcoholic fare even as booze itself remains strictly off-limits in the Gulf kingdom, home to Islam's holiest sites. (Photo by Fayez Nureldine / AFP) (Photo by FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images)

What does Saudi's first-ever alcohol store say about new Gulf culture?

Alcohol-free 'mocktails' are also becoming increasingly popular across the region.

Saudi FM

Saudi FM: No Israel normalization without ‘irreversible path’ to Palestinian state

Saudi Prince Faisal bin Farhan said the kingdom would not finance the rebuilding of the enclave unless there is a viable path to a two-state solution.

Foreign labourers work on the construction of new luxury houses in the Saudi capital Riyadh on April 13, 2019. - Housing is a potential lightning rod for public discontent in a country where affordable dwellings are beyond the reach of many, posing a key challenge for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as he seeks to overhaul the oil-reliant economy. (Photo by FAYEZ NURELDINE / AFP) (Photo credit should read FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images)

Saudi Arabia bolsters expat incentives as war complicates efforts to lure foreign talent

Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyhu attends the funeral for First Sergeant Major Gal Meir Eisenkot in Herzliya, Dec. 8, 2023.

Analysis

'Hallucination' or realpolitik? Netanyahu's long shot at Israel-Saudi normalization

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu still hopes to normalize ties with Saudi Arabia after rejecting US proposals for Palestinian control of Gaza and the West Bank.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense