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July 6, 2026

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A man walks past the flags of the countries attending the Gulf Cooperation Council summit at Bayan palace in Kuwait City on Dec. 5, 2017.

Analysis

How Iran war shaped divergent paths to security among GCC states

The Iran war left the Gulf more fragmented than united, with competing security strategies replacing any prospect of a common regional defense.

Sabena Siddiqui

By Sabena Siddiqui

In Karachi, reporting on South Asia, Middle East, Iran

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."

Latest News

Explainer

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

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

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

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

Saudi activist Loujain al-Hathloul's sentence upheld in Riyadh court

The women's rights activist had appealed her probation, which reportedly includes a five-year travel ban.

Intel: US sends B-52 bombers back to Middle East amid attacks by Iran-linked proxies

Following drone and missile strikes on Saudi Arabia this weekend, it is not clear that the Pentagon's deterrence tactic is paying off.

Smoke billows following a reported airstrike by the Saudi-led coalition in the Yemeni capital Sanaa, on March 7, 2021. - The Saudi-led military coalition mounted air strikes on Yemen's Huthi-controlled capital after it intercepted 10 drones launched by the Iran-backed rebels, state media reported. "The military operation targets Huthi military capabilities in Sanaa and a number of other provinces", the coalition was quoted as saying by the official Saudi Press Agency. (Photo by MOHAMMED HUWAIS / AFP) (Photo

Saudi renews bombing of Yemen's capital following Houthi attacks

The Biden administration's push to end the war has been stalled by a recent escalation.

A picture taken on June 19, 2018 shows debris of Iranian-made Ababil drones displayed Abu Dhabi, which the Emirati armed forces say were used by Houthi rebels in Yemen in battles against the coalition forces led by the UAE and Saudi Arabia. - The United Arab Emirates has US-trained troops fighting alongside the Yemeni army against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels. (Photo by KARIM SAHIB / AFP) (Photo credit should read KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images)

Saudi-led coalition downs 6 armed drones launched by Houthis

The spate of attacks comes a day after the Houthis claimed a missile attack on a Saudi oil facility in Jeddah.

Republicans challenge Biden's Pentagon policy nominee on Iran

Colin Kahl said he supports the Abraham Accords and continued pressure on Tehran.

A general view of Saudi Aramco's Abqaiq oil processing plant on September 20, 2019. - Saudi Arabia said on September 17 its oil output will return to normal by the end of September, seeking to soothe rattled energy markets after attacks on two instillations that slashed its production by half. The strikes on Abqaiq - the world's largest oil processing facility - and the Khurais oil field in eastern Saudi Arabia roiled energy markets and revived fears of a conflict in the tinderbox Gulf region. (Photo by Fay

Are Gulf oil giants ready to go green?

As European and American oil companies face increased pressure and scrutiny on new climate restrictions, the Gulf has so far been avoided the heat.

Report says US officials met with Yemen’s Houthis in bid to end war

Timothy Lenderking sat down with the Houthis' lead negotiator late last month.

A Saudi man waits for the arrival of relatives at King Khalid International Airport in the Saudi capital Riyadh on the first commercial flight from Qatar, on January 11, 2021. - Following a Gulf diplomatic thaw, air travel between Qatar and Saudi Arabia has been resumed according to the countries' airlines, a major landmark as Doha's former Gulf rivals normalise ties under a landmark agreement. (Photo by FAYEZ NURELDINE / AFP) (Photo by FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images)

Saudi Arabia to require COVID-19 vaccine for this year's hajj

The Saudi government is mandating pilgrims be vaccinated but hasn't yet said whether attendance will be limited.

US State Department spokesman Ned Price gestures as he speaks during the daily press briefing at the State Department in Washington, DC, on February 25, 2021. (Photo by NICHOLAS KAMM / POOL / AFP) (Photo by NICHOLAS KAMM/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

US 'focused on future conduct’ amid calls to sanction MBS

State Department spokesperson Ned Price responded to criticism that the administration has failed to hold Saudi Arabia's crown prince accountable for Jamal Khashoggi's murder.

Turkey silent as US Khashoggi report emerges

Ankara's silence following the declassification of a US intelligence report implicating the Saudi crown prince in journalist Jamal Khashoggi's killing speaks to its own contradictions on the issue.

limpet mine us navy.png

Israeli-owned cargo ship rocked by explosion in Gulf of Oman

The blast came just hours after US airstrikes hit an Iran-linked militia in Syria

(FILES) This file photo taken on December 26, 2019 shows a general view of the construction works at the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), near Guba in Ethiopia. - The Nile, Egypt's lifeline since Pharaonic days, faces massive strain from pollution, over-use and climate change -- and now the threat of a colossal dam being built far upstream in Ethiopia. When its London-sized reservoir starts to fill this summer, Egypt fears the mega-project will spell an existential threat to its teeming population of

Saudi Arabia wants in on Nile dam dispute

Saudi Arabia has stated its step into the deadlock between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia over Addis Ababa’s controversial dam on the Nile River, but just what Riyadh has new to offer is unclear.