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Saudi Arabia

July 6, 2026

Riyadh 8:19 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

Oman weighs costs of bailout from Gulf neighbors

Gulf countries might step up to keep Oman’s public finances afloat, but experts warn strings may be attached.

Houthi rebels in Yemen fire missiles into Saudi capital

Houthi officials said the missiles hit military targets, but Saudi Arabia said it intercepted the missiles.

GCC faces possible setback with exodus of skilled professionals

The coronavirus pandemic coupled with the oil crisis is pushing foreign workers to exit the Gulf states, perhaps shaping future labor policies.

Muslims perform the Friday prayers inside the Masjid Al-Nabawi while practicing social distancing, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Madina, Saudi Arabia June 5, 2020. Saudi Press Agency/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC213H9U7LRF

Saudi Arabia to reopen Mecca mosques as cases surpass 150,000

Saudi health officials confirmed an additional 4,301 cases of the virus Friday, raising the case count to more than 150,000.

People walk at the scene of an air strike that hit a gas station near a hospital in Kutaf district of the northwestern province of Saada, Yemen March 28, 2019. REUTERS/Naif Rahma - RC1B84944380

Saudi-led coalition in Yemen denies civilians targeted in Saada airstrike

The Houthi group said 13 civilians, including four children, were killed in a coalition airstrike Monday.

An ampoule of Dexamethasone is seen during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in this picture illustration taken June 17, 2020. REUTERS/Yves Herman/Illustration - RC23BH9ZVDAF

Saudi Arabia approves dexamethasone as coronavirus treatment

The kingdom's Ministry of Health has begun using the cheap drug on critically ill patients.

Saudi-led coalition in Yemen intercepts ballistic missile blamed on Houthis

A spokesperson for the coalition said the missile was among more than 300 launched by the rebels since 2015.

A view of the Central Bank of Yemen in Aden, Yemen December 13, 2018. Picture taken December 13, 2018. REUTERS/Fawaz Salman - RC1E76E38540

Intel: Yemen separatists capture government convoy hauling cash to Aden

Fighters affiliated with Yemen’s Southern Transitional Council hijacked a convoy carrying billions of foreign-printed Yemeni riyals near the port of Aden on Saturday.

Saudi defence ministry spokesman Colonel Turki Al-Malik displays remains of the missiles which Saudi government says were used to attack an Aramco oil facility, during a news conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia September 18, 2019. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed - RC152BBF8970

Intel: Missiles that struck Saudi Arabia last year 'of Iranian origin,' UN says

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the drones and cruise missiles that struck Saudi Arabia’s oil refineries and an international airport last year came from Iran.

Football players enter the pitch as the stands are seen empty after the decision of the Saudi Ministry of Sports, following an outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), during the Saudi Professional League soccer match between AL-Hilal and Al-Ettifaq at King Saud University Stadium, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia March 7, 2020. Picture taken March 7, 2020. REUTERS/Ahmed Yosri - RC2MFF9J8T68

Saudi soccer to resume this summer

Matches will resume with health measures in place, after they had stopped in March due to the coronavirus outbreak.

U.S. State Department Inspector General Steve Linick departs after briefing House and Senate Intelligence committees at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., October 2, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RC18378F57D0

Intel: State Department official 'tried to bully' watchdog reviewing Saudi arms sale

The independent watchdog ousted by President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that a high-ranking State Department official “tried to bully” him in part because of his review of last year’s emergency arms sale for Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

A Saudi man wearing a protective face mask performs the Friday prayers inside the Al-Rajhi Mosque, after the announcement of the easing of lockdown measures amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia June 5, 2020. REUTERS/Ahmed Yosri - RC233H910J1J

Saudi Arabia puts Jeddah under 15-day curfew after virus spike

Beginning Saturday, residents of Jeddah must adhere to a curfew from 3 p.m. to 6 a.m.