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Saudi Arabia

July 4, 2026

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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."

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

Explainer

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

Saudi Arabia is still absorbing the war’s security fallout and is widening its circle by leaning more on Beijing as a diplomatic counterweight to Washington and as a partner that can engage Tehran.

Latest News

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

PEDRO PARDO/AFP via Getty Images

Interview

Saudi labor localization will take ‘generation or two': Armada CEO

A student attends a training seminar at the Tourism Ministry Training center in the city of Riyadh on August 30, 2022.

Olivier Badard

CEO of Armada Holding

Explainer

Gulf states push incentives for investors, expats after war dents image

FADEL SENNA/AFP via Getty Images

United Arab Emirates

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

(L to R) EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell shakes hands with Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud during a plenary session titled "Transforming for a New Era", during the Doha Forum in Qatar's capital on March 26, 2022. (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR / AFP) (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR/AFP via Getty Images)

What does EU visa relaxation for Saudi, Bahraini, Omani citizens mean?

Under the new rules, Bahraini, Omani and Saudi Arabian nationals will be eligible for multiple-entry visas, allowing them to visit the Schengen area (the EU’s 27 member states as well as Bulgaria and Romania) and move freely between them.

A man walks past a stranded car on a flooded street in Dubai following heavy rains on April 18, 2024.

Dubai's record rainfall spotlights Gulf’s troubled relation with water

The Gulf’s longterm love–hate relationship with water lies behind a year and a half's worth of rain that fell on Dubai in 24 hours. It includes climate change-induced shifting rainfall patterns, groundwater extractions and unsustainable consumption.

United Arab Emirates

TOPSHOT - Saudi elite aerobatic flying team of the Royal Saudi Air Force Saudi Hawks performs during the aviation event 11th Athens Flying Week over Tanagra air base in Schimatari, north of Athens, on September 3, 2023. (Photo by Theophile Bloudanis / AFP) (Photo by THEOPHILE BLOUDANIS/AFP via Getty Images)

9% spike in Mideast military spending driven by Saudi Arabia, Israel, Turkey

Military spending in the region increased by its largest percentage in a decade, in part due to the Gaza war, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

Muslim worshippers performing the umrah pilgrimage walk between the Marwa and Safa hills at the Grand Mosque on the first day of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, Mecca, Saudi Arabia, March 23, 2023.

Culture

After 9 years, first Iranian pilgrims head to Saudi Arabia for umrah

The flights carrying Iranian pilgrims are the latest sign of rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran after restoring ties last year.

Nuclear energy ambitions near inflection point in the Middle East

Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan (L) and his Pakistan's counterpart Ishaq Dar arrive to address a joint press conference at the foreign ministry in Islamabad on April 16, 2024.

As Iran, Israel trade fire, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan try to forge stability

As Prince Faisal bin Farhan made his way to Pakistan with a high-powered delegation to discuss energy and economic ties, tension in the Middle East overshadowed the discussions.

Can be credited "Courtesy of the Middle East Democracy Center"

Exclusive

2 American activists jailed in Saudi Arabia return home after travel ban

Dual citizens Salah al-Haidar and Bader al-Ibrahim are back on US soil, but the Biden administration is still pushing for the release of several other Americans held under travel bans.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images

Saudi Arabia ramps up regional diplomacy to avert Iran-Israel war

Saudi Arabia has reiterated calls for calm in the region amid rising tensions in the wake of the Iranian attack on Israel this week.

Saudi Defense Minister and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman gestures during a press conference in Riyadh, on April 25, 2016.

Analysis

After Neom cut, Saudi Arabia expected to scale back more Vision 2030 plans

Authorities had originally planned for 1.5 million residents to live in The Line part of Neom, but they scaled back their ambitions to around 300,000.

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan.

White House postpones top delegation to Saudi Arabia on Israel normalization

US national security adviser Jake Sullivan's visit to Saudi Arabia has been postponed due to an injury.

Emloyees walk inside the Maaden Aluminium Factory in Ras Al-Khair Industrial area near Jubail City, 570 kms east of the Saudi capital Riyadh, on November 23, 2016.

Saudi Arabia-South Korea ties grow with industry push, pivot east

Saudi Arabia is seeking to become a hub for traditional and electric vehicles, and the kingdom’s relations with South Korea are growing in several sectors.

A man monitors the board at Tadawul, the Saudi stock exchange, Riyadh, Dec. 12, 2019.

Analysis

Could Saudi Arabia spark tech startup IPO boom in Middle East?

With startups outside the Gulf focused on survival amid a funding drought, the Saudi pipeline could boost investor interest in companies typically seen as too risky.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech