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Saudi Arabia

November 11, 2026

Riyadh 3:29 pm

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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.

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

Analysis

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

The Saudi Fund for Development and Syria’s Finance Ministry recently inked more than $403 million in concessional loan agreements, fueling speculation that Damascus agreed to provide military support to Saudi Arabia in exchange for financial aid.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Latest News

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

Turkey’s parliament ratifies Mecca pact in boost to Saudi Arabia

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses Turkish members of parliament during the opening of the parliamentary session at the Grand National Assembly of Turkey in Ankara, on Oct. 1, 2026.

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

This picture taken December 12, 2019 shows a man monitoring the board at the Stock Exchange Market (Tadawul) bourse in Riyadh. - Energy giant Saudi Aramco's market value soared above $2 trillion as its share price surged again on its second day of trading. The valuation milestone was sought by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman when he first floated the idea of selling up to five percent of Aramco, the world's largest oil firm, about four years ago. Aramco shares jumped another 9.7 percent to 38.60 riya

Mideast passes stress test as Iran-Israel trade blows, but economic challenges remain

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (C) speaks with Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan (R) as they walk past portraits of the founding leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council during the Joint Ministerial Meeting of the GCC-US Strategic Partnership discussing the humanitarian situation in Gaza, at the GCC Secretariat in Riyadh on April 29, 2024. (Photo by EVELYN HOCKSTEIN / POOL / AFP) (Photo by EVELYN HOCKSTEIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Saudi Arabia 'very, very close' to US security pact tied to Palestinian state

In separate comments on Monday, the Saudi and US top diplomats said bilateral agreements on security and defense cooperation — which Riyadh is seeking if it agrees to normalize ties with Israel — were imminent.

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - APRIL 02: The many pylons that provide power to Dubai are seen in the desert on April 2, 2007 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Commerce and Industry is currently thriving in Dubai and Indian and Pakistani expatriot workers are the backbone of the workforce, sending money back to their families at home. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

Gulf telcos flexing investment might amid drive to become global brands

Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

An Austrian soldier guards the entrance to the OPEC headquarters on October 4, 2022 on the eve of the 45th Meeting of the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee and the 33rd OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting held on October 05, in Vienna, Austria. - The OPEC+ oil cartel will meet in Vienna for the first time since Covid curbs were introduced in 2020. The face-to-face meeting of the 13 OPEC members led by Saudi Arabia and its 10 allied members headed by Russia will be the first in the Austrian capital si

Can OPEC survive the energy transition?

Kate Dourian

In Dubai, reporting on energy

Saudi-UK tech hub

Interview

Saudi Arabia's giga-projects to offer 'testing ground' for British technology

Saudi startups and fintech firms are looking to tap into the United Kingdom's $1 trillion tech market.

Matt Jones

Matt Jones

Saudi British Joint Business Council Project Officer

(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