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Saudi Arabia

February 19, 2026

Riyadh 1:09 pm

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Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, US President Donald Trump's nominee to be ambassador to Israel, testifies during his Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing at the Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, March 25, 2025.

Interview

Huckabee confirms US-Israel alignment on Iran, says Hamas will disarm 'sooner or later'

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee told Al-Monitor in an interview that the 2025 strike on Iranian nuclear sites was only a preview of what the US military is capable of.

FADEL SENNA/AFP via Getty Images

Unfazed by Saudi pressure, UAE unveils solar investment in Somaliland

The UAE also has other significant investments in Somaliland, including around $442 million in funding from logistics company DP World to modernize the port of Berbera.

United Arab Emirates

UAE President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan today received Lindsey Graham, member of the US Senate. During the meeting at Qasr Al Shati in Abu Dhabi,

UAE’s MBZ appears with Lindsey Graham, dismissing health rumors

Graham pushed back against what he called “false narratives” about the UAE leader, making the remarks after days of online rumors regarding the president’s health.

United Arab Emirates

This photograph taken on Jan. 20, 2026, organized by the Saudi-backed Yemeni government, shows Saudi-backed Yemeni forces in the city of Mukalla in Yemen's coastal southern Hadhramaut province.

Saudi-UAE rift complicates Israel's counter-Iran efforts, normalization

Israel fears that the rivalry between the UAE and Saudi Arabia will further push Riyadh toward countries that espouse political Islam policies.

Latest News

Analysis

Turkey courts Saudi Arabia on Kaan, but stealth fighter deal faces hurdles

Photo of a waving Turkish flag in the sky with a jet flyover behind, and a crowd below holding flags, captured on Izmir's liberation anniversary.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Analysis

What’s behind Saudi outreach to Ethiopia amid UAE rift?

Ethiopian Prime Ministry

By Rosaleen Carroll

In Washington, DC, US, reporting on the Middle East

Meet Fahad Al-Saif, PIF exec and Saudi Arabia's new investment minister

Fahad

Saudi Arabia names new investment minister as Vision 2030 funding lags

Crown Prince and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman looks on during a meeting with US President Donald Trump (not pictured) in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC on November 18, 2025. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman arrived at the White House to fanfare and a jet flyover Tuesday, in his first visit to the United States since the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP) (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Ima

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

Tom Brady and head of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, Turki al-Sheikh, unveil the flag football tournament in Las Vegas on Sept. 17, 2025.

Saudi sports push targets NFL with flag football series featuring Tom Brady

The Public Investment Fund is not yet investing in the National Football League amid restrictions on state entities, but is eyeing flag football as the sport grows in the region.

Head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani meets with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh on Sept. 16, 2025.

Iran’s Larijani meets MBS, Saudi defense chiefs in Riyadh: What to know

The trip is Ali Larijani’s third since he returned to head the Supreme National Security Council and follows Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian calling for greater unity in the region.

A general view during the Red Sea International Film Festival 2024 on December 12, 2024 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Ernesto S. Ruscio/Getty Images for The Red Sea International Film Festival)

Culture

Saudi Arabia dreams of Hollywood as $150M epic 'Desert Warrior' debuts

Backed by government funding, the kingdom aims to become a global filmmaking hub with the $150 million epic 'Desert Warrior' and other high-profile productions.

MURAT KOCABAS/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

KFC’s Turkey relaunch tests Western brands’ resilience in Gaza boycott era

From KFC to Carrefour, the Middle East's consumer brand landscape is undergoing significant shifts as the two-year anniversary of boycotts linked to the Gaza war approaches.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Saudi Arabia's Bayan Sadagah (C-L) celebrates her goal during a friendly football match between Saudi Arabia and Bhutan at Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz stadium in Abha on September 24, 2022. (Photo by AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

Saudi Arabia launches 24-hour women’s sports channel: What to know

The launch coincides with the start of the Saudi Women’s Premier League season, which will see the soccer competition broadcast nationally and globally for the first time.

Foreign laborers work on the construction of new luxury houses in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, on April 13, 2019.

Saudi crown prince vows to ground soaring property prices: What to know

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman vowed to implement policies aimed at reducing real estate costs and providing a wider range of housing options.

Guests attend a policy dialogue on Embracing Emerging Opportunities in times of Economic Uncertainty during the 10th Belt and Road Summit in Hong Kong, China, Sept. 10, 2025.

Hong Kong inks agreements with Gulf partners at BRI Summit

Some 36 business agreements covering finance, technology, logistics, professional services and education were set to be signed at the event.

A worker fits solar panels onto frames during construction at South Africa's first municipally owned solar plant, during International World Environment Day, on June 5, 2025, in Atlantis near Cape Town.

Saudi firm to pump $700M into economic zone developer in Africa

The kingdom's Vision Invest will invest in pan-African developer Arise Integrated Industrial Platforms, which will use the funds to expand across the continent and develop green industrial ecosystems.

An MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) is parked in an aircraft shelter at Creech Air Force Base on November 17, 2015 in Indian Springs, Nevada.

Trump aims to crack Gulf's armed drone market with looser export restrictions

Washington's latest reinterpretation of the 35-nation MTCR agreement is expected to open the door for a potential major sale of advanced aerial weaponry to Saudi Arabia.