Iran FM visits Saudi Arabia
Welcome back to the Daily Briefing.
This is Beatrice Farhat, filling in for Gabrielle.
In today’s edition:
- Iran’s FM visits Saudi Arabia as kingdom makes push for regional diplomacy
- Turkey blocks access to some Grok content
- Chinese premier lands in Egypt for talks on relations
- White House upbeat about Gaza deal as Hamas reports impasse
Thanks for reading,
Beatrice (@beatricefarhat)
Iran FM visits Saudi Arabia as kingdom makes push for regional diplomacy
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan received Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on July 8, 2025, in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. — Saudi Foreign Ministry
On his way back from the BRICS summit in Brazil, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stopped in Saudi Arabia Tuesday and met Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan as well as Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman.
The Saudi government said Crown Prince Mohammed expressed hope in the meeting that the US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Iran will “enhance security and stability in the region.” In a statement, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said that Araghchi “expressed his gratitude to the kingdom for its position in condemning the Israeli aggression.”
Araghchi's stop in Saudi Arabia — his second visit to the kingdom since May — follows high-level Saudi visits to both the United States and Russia aimed at powering diplomatic engagement on the Iranian nuclear file and the Gaza war. Read Rosaleen Carroll’s report.
In first AI crackdown, Turkey blocks access to some Grok content
An illustration of GROK is seen in France, March 7, 2025. — RICCARDO MILANI/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images
Turkish authorities on Wednesday blocked access to content generated by Grok, the AI chatbot developed by Elon Musk’s platform X, following a criminal investigation into posts allegedly insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, modern Turkey’s founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, and religious values.
The move marks the first known case of AI content censorship in Turkey. One of X’s lawyers, Gonenc Gurkaynak, confirmed the investigation, while cyber rights advocate Yaman Akdeniz said roughly 50 posts were involved and called Turkey “the first country to censor @grok.”
It remains unclear whether X or Musk will comply with demands to remove the flagged content. The platform has previously drawn criticism for cooperating with Turkish censorship, including blocking the account of jailed opposition leader Ekrem Imamoglu and restricting access to hundreds of accounts during protests.
The Grok controversy comes amid broader concerns about the tool’s content, after it generated antisemitic posts and praise for Adolf Hitler earlier this week. xAI said it has since updated the model to better prevent hate speech. Read Ezgi Akin’s report.
China's premier in Egypt to discuss strategic partnerships
Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (L) greets Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) during a signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People on December 23, 2014 in Beijing, China. — Greg Baker - Pool/Getty Images
Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang arrived in Egypt on Wednesday for an official visit as the two countries continue to boost partnerships across various fields including defense, trade, tech and infrastructure.
Li is scheduled to hold talks with Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly.
“China and Egypt, as important members of the Global South, should further strengthen strategic coordination to safeguard their common interests,” Li said in remarks upon landing in Cairo.
The visit is expected to produce agreements in numerous sectors.
Egyptian-Chinese relations have been deepening steadily. Egyptian Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy Mahmoud Esmat visited Chinese telecom giant Huawei’s Global Digital Energy and Renewables Division in Shenzhen last month to discuss cooperation in digital transformation and renewable energy. The two countries also held their first-ever joint air force drills in April.
White House upbeat about Gaza deal as Hamas reports impasse
A Palestinian boy searches for things to rescue at a garbage waste dump in the Al-Bureij camp in the central Gaza Strip on July 7, 2025. — EYAD BABA/AFP via Getty Images
As the Trump administration voiced optimism that a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip was within reach, a senior Hamas official told Al-Monitor’s Elizabeth Hagedorn there had been no progress in the group’s indirect negotiations with Israel.
For the past three days, delegations from Hamas and Israel have met with mediators in Doha, Qatar, for proximity talks on ending the 21-month war and freeing the remaining 50 hostages held by the Palestinian militant group, at least 20 of whom Israeli authorities believe could still be alive.
Speaking to reporters Tuesday, President Donald Trump said he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would discuss how to “solve” the Gaza war during their meeting later that day.
Netanyahu, in Washington for his third visit since Trump returned to office in January, said he reaffirmed Israel's objectives during his talks with Trump on Tuesday: “the release of all of our hostages — the living and the deceased — and the elimination of Hamas's military and governing capabilities, thereby ensuring that Gaza will never again constitute a threat to Israel.”