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Saudi Arabia

November 12, 2026

Riyadh 10:58 am

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ankers are seen at the Khor Fakkan Container Terminal, the only natural deep-sea port in the region and one of the major container ports in the Sharjah Emirate, along the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway through which one-fifth of global oil output passes, on June 23, 2025.

Explainer

UAE selling Saudi oil highlights new Gulf energy realities

News surfaced on Nov. 10 that the UAE has reportedly marketed 1.87 million barrels of Saudi crude salvaged from a damaged supertanker for sale, marking an exceptional example of energy cooperation between Gulf rivals.

United Arab Emirates

ANDY BUCHANAN / AFP via Getty Images

GCC to build military command center in Kuwait as region simmers: What to know

GCC countries have stepped up their joint defense efforts with the announcement of a new forward command center to be headquartered in Kuwait, as tensions between Iran and the US continue to escalate.

Latest News

Analysis

Syria denies sending troops to fight Houthis in return for Saudi loans

Saudi Arabia's Deputy Foreign Minister Waleed el-Khereiji (R) speaks with Syria's interim foreign minister Asaad al-Shaibani

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Iraq, Saudi Arabia face attacks as Trump pursues Iran deal

Samuel Corum/Getty Images

Analysis

Gulf’s $3 trillion US investment drive faces post-midterm Trump reckoning

WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 18: Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia and U.S. President Donald Trump shake hands during a dinner in the East Room at the White House on November 18, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump is hosting the Crown Prince for meetings aimed at strengthening economic and defense ties, including the U.S. sale of F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Samuel Wendel

Senior Analyst, Middle East Business & Tech

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

A Saudi money exchanger counts Saudi riyals in Riyadh August 4, 2008. Saudi Arabia's annual inflation rose 10.6% in June to a 30-year high due primarily to increases in food and housing costs, official data released on Sunday showed. The cost of living index for the largest Arab economy rose to 115.5 points on June 30 from 115 points in May, the Saudi Press Agency cited a report by the Ministry of Economy and Planning's Central Department of Statistics. REUTERS/Fahad Shadeed (SAUDI ARABIA) - RTR20M01

Costs of Saudi economic failures show up in electric bills

Saudis are complaining openly about their electricity bills that have doubled overnight, a dire sign for their economic future.

Saudi Arabia's Deputy Crown Prince and Minister of Defense Mohammed Bin Salman (L) arrives at the Oval Office of the White House for a meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington, U.S., June 17, 2016. REUTERS/Carlos Barria - RTX2GS4R

Lobbying 2016: Saudis spend big to stabilize rocky relationship with United States

U.S. President Barack Obama and Saudi King Salman (R) walk together following their meeting at Erga Palace in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia April 20, 2016. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RTX2AU9Y

Saudis expect little from next US leader

As the regional security situation deteriorates around them, the Saudis are not optimistic about either candidate for the US presidency, with Hillary Clinton likely to continue current policies and Donald Trump a frightening wild card.

A boy looks as he attends a gathering held by tribesmen loyal to the Houthi movement to show support to a political council formed by the movement and the General People's Congress party to unilaterally rule Yemen by both groups in Sanaa, August 14, 2016. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah - RTX2KP2M

Yemeni conflict goes back to square one

Yemen’s internationally recognized government and Houthi rebels and their allies continue to engage in divisive efforts rather than attempting to end their conflict.

Female driver Azza Al Shmasani alights from her car after driving in defiance of the ban in Riyadh June 22, 2011. Saudi Arabia has no formal ban on women driving. But as citizens must use only Saudi-issued licences in the country, and as these are issued only to men, women drivers are anathema. An outcry at the segregation, which contributes to the general cloistering of Saudi women, has been fuelled by social media interest in two would-be female motorists arrested in May.REUTERS/Fahad Shadeed (SAUDI ARABI

Will Saudi women break chains of male guardianship?

Saudi women recently launched a hashtag calling for an end to male guardianship, which has been behind many of the physical and moral violations they face in Saudi society.

Egypt’s Dar al-Kiswah — a monument turned into a dump

After Egypt stopped producing the Kaaba’s kiswah in 1961, the centuries-old site of production now lies in a state of utter neglect amid calls for renovation by nearby residents and experts.

Protesters carry Al-Qaeda flags during an anti-government protest after Friday prayers in the town of Marat Numan in Idlib province, Syria, March 11, 2016. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi - RTSAD3X

Iranian military official: We will 'uproot' Jabhat al-Nusra

Jabhat al-Nusra's rebranding as independent of its parent organization al-Qaeda has not raised eyebrows in Tehran, where officials say only the group’s name has changed.

A journalist takes photos of a school destroyed by a Saudi-led air strike in the southwestern city of Taiz, Yemen July 27, 2016. REUTERS/Anees Mahyoub - RTSJWDA

Saudi Arabia may keep playing 'Iran card' to defer decision on Yemen

Yemen victim of Saudi-Iran hostility; Islamic State tries, and fails, to recruit Kurds; Al-Monitor resumes series on lobbying by Middle East governments.

Tribesmen hold up their weapons during a gathering to show support to the Houthi movement in the northern city of Saada, Yemen August 2, 2016. REUTERS/Naif Rahma - RTSKOS5

Saudi Arabia's moment of truth in Yemen

Saudi King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud has three options to choose from on Yemen, none of them good.

Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal speaks during an interview with Reuters in Doha October 16, 2014. Meshaal on Thursday called on Muslims to defend the al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem, saying Israel was trying to seize the site, revered in Islam and Judaism and focus of a Palestinian uprising in 2000. REUTERS/Fadi Al-Assaad (QATAR - Tags: POLITICS RELIGION) - RTR4AH1S

Saudi visit to Israel angers Hamas

The Hamas movement is worried that a Saudi general's visit to Israel signifies a rapprochement between the two countries at the expense of Gaza relief efforts.

Were Saudis behind Abbas-MEK meeting?

A meeting between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Mujahedeen-e-Khalq leader Maryam Rajavi in Paris has sparked both Iranian and Palestinian suspicion about Saudi Arabia's ties to the Palestinian Authority.

Egyptian activists shout anti-President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and government slogans during a demonstration protesting against the government's decision to transfer two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia, in front of the Press Syndicate in Cairo, Egypt, April 13, 2016. The sign reads, "The two Islands Tiran and Sanafir are the Egyptians". REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh - RTX29RVO

Will Egypt hold popular referendum on islands transfer?

In an interview with Al-Monitor, former Egyptian presidential candidate and lawyer Khalid Ali discusses the case he brought before the administrative court to challenge Cairo’s decision to transfer ownership of two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia.