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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

Trump administration weighs immunity for Saudi crown prince

Saad al-Jabri alleged that Mohammed bin Salman has led an attempt to lure him back to the kingdom and kill him.

US show of force in Persian Gulf ahead of anniversary of Soleimani killing

A guided-missile submarine and two cruisers are the Pentagon's latest warning to Iran.

Saudi passengers observe a safe distance as they wait their fligts at terminal 5 in the King Fahad International Airport, designated for domestic flights, in the capital Riyadh on May 31, 2020, after authorities lifted the ban on flights within the country. (Photo by FAYEZ NURELDINE / AFP) (Photo by FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images)

Saudi Arabia pauses international umrah, flights over new coronavirus strain

The kingdom has also suspended entry through its land and seaports for one week.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal (2nd R) welcomes US Vice President Joe Biden (C) at the Riyadh airbase on October 27, 2011, upon his arrival in the Saudi capital with a US official delegation to offer condolences to the King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz following the death of his brother, Crown Prince Sultan. AFP PHOTO/STR (Photo credit should read -/AFP via Getty Images)

Saudi Arabia makes major regional moves as Biden administration arrives

By modifying its foreign policy goals, the kingdom is bracing itself for the approaching change of administration in Washington.

A picture taken on March 26, 2020, shows the main King Fahd road empty in the Saudi capital Riyadh, after the Kingdom began implementing an 11-hour nationwide curfew, on the day of an emergency G20 videoconference, to discuss a response to the COVID-19 crisis. - G20 nations pledged a "united front" Thursday in the fight against coronavirus, saying they were injecting $5 trillion into the global economy to counter the pandemic amid forecasts of a deep recession. US President Donald Trump and Russian Presiden

Germany to fund alternative energy plant in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia is focused on developing alternatives to oil as prices remain low amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Saudi Arabia seeking 20-year sentence for jailed women’s activist

Loujain al-Hathloul's sister said the state prosecutor is seeking the maximum sentence in a trial rights groups say is grossly unfair.

A worker inspects bottles of milk on on the producion line at a dairy factory at Baladna farm in the city of al-Khor, 60 kilometers north of the Qatari capital on October 26, 2019. - The cows of Qatar's Baladna farm, housed in climate-controlled farms in the desert, exemplify the lengths to which Qatar has gone to resist what it calls an economic "blockade" enforced by its Saudi-led neighbours. (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR / AFP) (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR/AFP via Getty Images)

Gulf economies face major challenges in post-COVID 19 world

Signals indicate the embargo imposed on Qatar could come to an end, but can the Gulf Cooperation Council play a coordinating role vital to diversify Gulf economies post-pandemic?

TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY JENNY VAUGHAN - Ethiopian immigrants returning from Saudi Arabia arrive at Addis Ababas Bole International Airport on December 10, 2013. Ethiopia has repatriated over 120,000 in the last month the largest human airlift in recent history after a seven-month amnesty period for undocumented Ethiopians expired last month, on December 10, 2013. At least 150,000 in total are expected, though numbers continue to swell daily. Ethiopia said three of its citizens died in clashes with police

Migrants allege abuse, degrading conditions in Saudi deportation center

A new report from Human Rights Watch describes squalid conditions at a facility detaining mostly Ethiopian migrants in Riyadh.

Doha named 2030 Asian Games host, Riyadh gets 2034

Gulf rivals Qatar and Saudi Arabia were both vying for 2030 hosting rights.

Yachts are moored at the marina in Egypt's Red Sea resort town of Hurghada on August 24, 2018. (Photo by AFP) (Photo credit should read /AFP via Getty Images)

Egypt embarks on ambitious Red Sea yacht harbor project

Egypt has begun construction of a yacht harbor in Dahab to promote yacht tourism with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries.

Saudi court hands Saudi-American doctor Walid al-Fitaihi 6-year sentence

The Harvard-trained doctor is reported to have been sentenced over tweeting his support for the 2011 Arab Spring protests and for obtaining US citizenship.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, right, listens to Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud speaks during their meeting at the State Department, October 14, 2020, in Washington, DC. - US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on October 14, 2020 encouraged Saudi Arabia to recognize Israel, in what would be a massive boost for the Jewish state amid normalization by two other Gulf Arab kingdoms. (Photo by Manuel Balce CENETA / POOL / AFP) (Photo by MANUEL BALCE CENETA/POOL/AFP via Getty Image

A new page in Israeli-Saudi relations? Not so fast

With US President Donald Trump soon out of the picture, the Saudis prefer to take things slow with Israel, and await the new Biden administration.