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May 8, 2026

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Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Ankara, May 6, 2026.

Saudi FM in Turkey as Ankara, Riyadh step up coordination amid Iran war

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan’s visit to Ankara comes amid rapidly expanding Turkish-Saudi coordination as the fallout from the Iran war reshapes Gulf security dynamics.

GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

UAE’s OPEC exit rattles cartel as Gulf alliances shift

OPEC's fourth-largest producer will leave the cartel on May 1, marking the most significant departure in the group’s history as the war changes Abu Dhabi's relationship priorities.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Latest News

Why UAE's decision to leave OPEC is major shift for cartel

MUMEN KHATIB/AFP via Getty Images

United Arab Emirates

Analysis

Why Saudi Arabia, Egypt are wary of Turkey’s proposed 4-way defense pact with Pakistan

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan hosted the third meeting of the foreign ministers of Turkey, Egypt, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia on the margins of the 5th Antalya Diplomacy Forum, on April 17, 2026.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

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

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.

Why did the Met Opera lose its Saudi funding deal?

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

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

Firefighters try to extinguish a fire engulfing warehouse of the World Food Programme in Hodeida, Yemen March 31, 2018. REUTERS/Abduljabbar Zeyad - RC141A5A1C40

Concern mounts as coalition forces advance on key Yemeni port

Has the United States lifted its “red light” on an Emirati- and Saudi-backed military operation to take the key Yemeni port?

Kuwait's Emir Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah (L) and U.S. President Donald Trump hold a news conference after their meetings at the White House in Washington, U.S. September 7, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RC182A22B640

Kuwait's careful balancing act with Iran, Saudi Arabia

The muted responses to the US withdrawal from the Iran deal among smaller Gulf Cooperation Council member states reflect careful policies designed to balance ties with Iran and Saudi Arabia.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo walks with Saudi's Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir upon his arrival in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia April 28, 2018. Saudi Press Agency/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY - RC1F96F4FE60

America’s hawkish turn on Iran threatens Gulf alliance

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s new Iran policy announcement could have repercussions on US efforts to save the Gulf Cooperation Council.

Iranian media react to populist cleric's victory in Iraq elections

There is some speculation in Iranian media that populist cleric Muqtada al-Sadr’s election victory is tantamount to a greater Saudi role in Iraq.

Saudi defense spending soars, but not to America's benefit

Saudi Arabia's military spending is not currently benefiting the United States, as no large arms deals are on the table.

An American made Patriot missile launcher of the Kuwait Air Force, used
to shoot down incoming ballistic missiles, is deployed in an undated
file photograph. A U.S. Patriot missile battery may have engaged a
British Royal Air Force aircraft near

the Kuwaiti border on Sunday, a Pentagon spokesman said. REUTERS/Kuwait
Ministry of Defence - RP3DRINEPZAA

Congress nudges Trump toward Gulf missile defense

Congress is trying to revive US-led talks for a GCC-wide missile shield against Iran that have stalled amid tensions with Qatar.

Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud welcomes Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia October 21, 2017. Bandar Algaloud/Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC122DCA3BC0

Saudi Arabia, Iran vie for economic influence in Iraq

Saudi Arabia is seeking to enter the Iraqi market aggressively, along with a political presence, and increase the competition with its opponent Iran in the Iraqi arena.

Tribesmen inspect fragments of a Houthi ballistic missile at a farm after it was intercepted by the Saudi-led coalition's air defence forces in Marib, Yemen February 23, 2018. Picture taken with a fisheye lens. REUTERS/Ali Owidha - RC1974FC90C0

US troops on Yemen border ruffle congressional feathers

Recent revelations that US ground troops are helping Saudi-led coalition forces target Houthi missile stockpiles in Yemen have renewed calls on Capitol Hill for more congressional oversight in the war.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif attends a meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Russia January 10, 2018. REUTERS/Alexander Zemlianichenko/Pool? - UP1EE1A1NCZOZ

Iran’s FM says Qatar 'brought Saudi Arabia to its knees'

Iran’s foreign minister slams the Saudi crown prince over his approach to foreign policy in a speech at a top Tehran university.

Will Russia provide the 'new Kissinger' for Iran-Israel diplomacy?

Moscow works back channels between Tehran and Jerusalem; hard-line Saudi stance toward Iran adheres to Wahhabi line favored by conservative clerics.

Egyptian artist brings Saudi women, men to same stage

The Egyptian theater troupe Masrah Masr enjoys popularity across the region, but can it become a model for Saudi Arabia's performing arts scene?

US President Donald Trump (C-L), Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud (C-R), Jordan's King Abdullah II (3-R), Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (2-R) and other officials pose for a group photo during the Arab Islamic American Summit at the King Abdulaziz Conference Center in Riyadh on May 21, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / MANDEL NGAN (Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Saudi belligerence on Iran threatens US

Saudi Arabia’s anti-Iran and anti-Shiite policy is creating a toxic environment in which the US administration must exercise great care.