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Saudi Arabia

July 6, 2026

Riyadh 7:22 pm

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Oil tankers and cargo vessels are anchored off the coast of Oman after being stranded for days as congestion at Port Sultan Qaboos has prevented them from docking on June 23, 2026 in Muscat, Oman. The Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route for the region's oil and gas, was effectively blockaded since the outbreak of war between the United States and Iran in late February. This week's provisional peace deal between the countries was meant to reopen the waterway to shipping traffic, but the pace of that reo

Oil prices ease as OPEC+ increases production, Hormuz traffic rebounds

Brent crude, the international benchmark, fell 0.15% to $71.87 a barrel as of 8:07 a.m. EDT after dropping as low as $71.09 earlier in the session, its lowest level since before the US-Israel-Iran war began on Feb. 28.

A man walks past the flags of the countries attending the Gulf Cooperation Council summit at Bayan palace in Kuwait City on Dec. 5, 2017.

Analysis

How Iran war shaped divergent paths to security among GCC states

The Iran war left the Gulf more fragmented than united, with competing security strategies replacing any prospect of a common regional defense.

Sabena Siddiqui

By Sabena Siddiqui

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

Oil drilling near Dakhiliyah in the desert region of Hasakah, Syria, Jan. 25, 2026.

Syria launches gas project with Saudi firm in latest Gulf energy partnership

The project is the latest in a series of Gulf-backed investments aimed at rebuilding Syria's energy sector after the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.

Crude oil tankers, bulk carriers and vessels sit anchored around Qaboos Port on June 22, 2026, in Muscat, Oman.

Oil falls below $71 as US-Iran talks continue, Gulf exports rebound

Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson said in an X post on Wednesday that Iran and the United States had made "positive progress."

Latest News

Explainer

Saudi FM concludes China visit amid Trump-MBS friction: What to know

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) shakes hands with Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud before a family photo for the attendees of a meeting of foreign ministers from Arab and Muslim-majority nations at the Diaoyutai State Guest House in Beijing on November 20, 2023. The international community must take urgent action to stop the "humanitarian disaster" unfolding in Gaza, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told visiting diplomats from Arab and Muslim-majority nations on Novembe

Saudi Arabia's FM heads to China amid differences with US on Iran war

PEDRO PARDO/AFP via Getty Images

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

Saudi new King Salman stands during the arrival of US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on January 27, 2015. Obama landed in Saudi Arabia to shore up ties with new King Salman and offer condolences after the death of his predecessor Abdullah. AFP PHOTO / SAUL LOEB / AFP / SAUL LOEB (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

Saudi King Salman hospitalized in Riyadh

The 84-year-old monarch suffered from gallbladder inflammation, according to a statement from the royal court.

Employees wearing protective equipment work at the production line of Russia's biotech company BIOCAD, which is developing its own vaccine against the new coronavirus and working on another one in cooperation with the country's virus research centre in Siberia, Vektor, in Strelna on May 20, 2020. (Photo by OLGA MALTSEVA / AFP) (Photo by OLGA MALTSEVA/AFP via Getty Images)

Russia considers Saudi Arabia as trial site for COVID-19 vaccine

The two countries are also discussing having Saudi Arabia manufacture the drug.

Saudi Arabia permanently cancels license of Qatar's beIN Sports

The popular Doha-based sports network had been officially blocked in Saudi Arabia since the 2017 diplomatic row between the two Gulf countries.

Saudi Arabia announces steep fines for hajj trespassers

Fines of 10,000 riyals will be issued to anyone entering the holy sites without a permit.

A billboard displaying an advert for Aramco is pictured in the Saudi capital Riyadh on November 10, 2019. - From robots to sniffer drones, Saudi Aramco has ramped up spending on technological innovation while its rivals cut back amid soft oil prices, but the energy giant risks losing its edge after its much-anticipated IPO. Saudi Arabia is offering a sliver of the company, touted as the kingdom's crown jewel, in its upcoming initial public offering that is the bedrock of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's a

R&D potential could be key to spark Saudi economy

The impact of COVID-19 and low oil prices has led to even further expected declines in Saudi Arabia's gross domestic product, but research and development could hold the key to an economic reset.

Will formation of new government in Yemen lay groundwork for peace?

Despite agreeing to a cease-fire in south Yemen, it seems the chances of ending the conflict between the Saudi-backed government forces and the UAE-backed southern separatists and forming a new government are dim.

Workers take down a Belt and Road Forum panel outside the venue of the forum in Beijing on April 27, 2019. - Chinese President Xi Jinping urged dozens of world leaders on April 27 to reject protectionism and invited more countries to participate in his global infrastructure project after seeking to ease concerns surrounding the programme. (Photo by GREG BAKER / AFP) (Photo credit should read GREG BAKER/AFP via Getty Images)

China’s 'Belt and Road' push brings risks, rewards to Mideast

China's digital and satellite advances offer new regional opportunities and challenges for the United States in countering Beijing's economic influence in the region.

Smoke billows following an airstrike by Saudi-led coalition in the Yemeni capital Sanaa, on June 16, 2020. - Yemen is wracked by a war which has killed tens of thousands of people and led to the world's worst humanitarian crisis, according to the United Nations.
The war between Huthi rebels and pro-government forces escalated in 2015 when a Saudi-led military coalition intervened against the rebels who control large parts of Yemen including the capital Sanaa. (Photo by MOHAMMED HUWAIS / AFP) (Photo by MOHAM

Congress revives bid to pull US out of Yemen war

The Democratic-held House is taking another stab at ending US support for the Saudi coalition’s war against Yemen’s Houthis.

<<enter caption here>> on March 17, 2017 in Beijing, China.

Has China gained an edge on the US in the Gulf?

China has upped the ante, but the United States holds the winning hand; Oman weighs risks and benefits of Gulf bailout; will migrant workers return to GCC?

TOPSHOT - A trader walks by beneath a stock display board at the Dubai Stock Exchange in the United Arab Emirates, on March 8, 2020. - Saudi's stock exchange fell 6.5 percent and other Gulf markets tumbled to multi-year lows at the start of trading after OPEC and its allies failed to clinch a deal over oil production cuts. (Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE / AFP) (Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images)

IMF official: Gulf economies to contract by 7.6% in 2020

The International Monetary Fund official's predictions are worse than earlier ones as the Gulf deals with oil price drops and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Smoke billows following an airstrike by Saudi-led coalition in the Yemeni capital Sanaa, on June 16, 2020. - Yemen is wracked by a war which has killed tens of thousands of people and led to the world's worst humanitarian crisis, according to the United Nations.
The war between Huthi rebels and pro-government forces escalated in 2015 when a Saudi-led military coalition intervened against the rebels who control large parts of Yemen including the capital Sanaa. (Photo by MOHAMMED HUWAIS / AFP) (Photo by MOHAM

Houthis state readiness to talk peace with Saudis as missiles continue to rain

By escalating military operations against Riyadh, the Houthis are seeking to build themselves a position of strength for public negotiations with Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Colonel Turki bin Saleh al-Malki (Center-L) shows US Assistant Secretary of Near Eastern Affairs David Schenker (C) reportedly Iranian weapons seized by Saudi forces from Yemen's Huthi rebels, during a visit to a military base in Al-kharj in central Saudi Arabia, on September 05, 2019. (Photo by Fayez Nureldine / AFP) (Photo credit should read FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images)

Intel: Saudi-led coalition says it intercepted Iranian weapons bound for Yemen

The Saudi-led coalition intercepted a boat carrying light weapons of Iranian origin bound for war-wracked Yemen, Saudi and US officials said today.