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July 5, 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

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan (R) and Saudi King Salman shake hands during a ceremony in Ankara, Turkey April 12, 2016. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RTX29KUO

Erdogan courts King Salman as new BFF

Even if Saudi King Salman Abdul-Aziz Al Saud fails to broker a rapprochement between Egypt and Turkey, he still shares many commonalities with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, not least their irritation with the US leadership.

What Hollande’s visit means for Lebanon

French President Francois Hollande is expected to visit Lebanon on April 16 as a part of a tour in the Middle East, although the trip will not achieve a breakthrough in the presidential crisis.

Turkey plays both sides in Iran, Saudi conflict

Does Turkey courting Iran and Saudi Arabia simultaneously mean Ankara is moving away from Sunni-based policies?

People tour a graveyard for Houthi fighters killed in recent fighting, during the first day of a ceasefire in Yemen's capital Sanaa April 11, 2016. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTX29GQ9

US, UN welcome Yemen cease-fire

US officials welcomed a Yemen truce that went into effect April 11 after quiet Saudi-Houthi negotiations had already reduced violence in the year-old conflict, and urged the parties to find a political resolution at April 18 peace talks in Kuwait.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry gives a thumbs-up to Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir after a check of his translation headset before their remarks to reporters alongside the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) ministerial meeting in Manama, Bahrain April 7, 2016. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTSE25F

Will US-Saudi 'special relationship' last?

Despite what many observers see as a strain in US-Saudi relations over very different if not completely opposite foreign policy postures, the two countries' shared interests remain a firm and unchanging foundation for their cooperation.

Saudi-Iran rivalry spills into UN Human Rights Council

While Iran was unhappy with the renewal of Ahmed Shaheed’s mandate as special rapporteur for Iran, it appears to be even more irritated over how Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar voted in favor of the measure at the UN Human Rights Council.

A handout picture provided by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) on April 3, 2016 shows Saudi Interior Minister Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef (L) meeting with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Riyadh.
Modi is on a visit to Saudi Arabia where he will discuss energy, security and trade cooperation with leaders of the world's largest crude exporter.

/ AFP / SPA / STRINGER (Photo credit should read STRINGER/AFP/Getty Images)

Saudi Arabia tilts toward India

Pakistan, after refusing to supply troops for Saudi Arabia's war against Yemen, finds the Gulf kingdom improving relations with Pakistani archenemy India.

Iraq's Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari speaks during a news conference with Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin in Baghdad, Iraq February 11, 2016. REUTERS/Khalid al Mousily - RTX26I5W

Why Iraqi-Saudi ties are backsliding yet again

After Iraq’s foreign affairs minister defended Hezbollah, which is considered a terrorist group by the Gulf Cooperation Council and the Arab League, Gulf-Iraqi ties may worsen.

A Saudi policeman (R) stands watch as muslims touch and pray at the door of the Kaaba and touch and kiss the al-Hajr al-Aswad "Black Stone" during their Umrah Mawlid al-Nabawi "Birthday of Prophet Mohammad" in the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia January 18, 2016. Picture taken January 18, 2016. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh - RTX25AB8

Will Saudi block Iranians from hajj this year?

Iran claims that Saudi officials have refused to issue visas for Iranian officials in order to conduct preparatory talks for Iranian pilgrims.

Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, Kuwait's Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah al Khalid al Sabah, Qatar's Foreign Minister Khaled al-Attiyah, Oman's Foreign Minister Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, Bahrain's Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa and UAE'S Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan (L-R) pose for a group photo during an extraordinary meeting in Riyadh January 9, 2016. REUTERS/Faisal Al N

How united is the GCC?

While Gulf states may all be united under the Gulf Cooperation Council name, their individual policies on foreign intervention vary greatly.

A worker stands at a desalination plant, 35 lm south of Riyadh, May 4, 2011. Long before it understood the value of oil, the desert kingdom of Saudi Arabia knew the worth of water. But the leading oil exporter's water challenges are growing as energy-intensive desalination erodes oil revenues while peak water looms more ominously than peak oil -- the theory that supplies are at or near their limit, with nowhere to go but down. Picture taken May 4, 2011. To match Feature SAUDI-WATER/ REUTERS/Fahad Shadeed

What Saudi Arabia is doing to save water

Saudi Arabia’s self-sufficiency policy has led to the overconsumption of water, a resource that Saudi Arabia critically needs.

Will the Russians be able to help Lebanon get a new president?

Russia’s withdrawal from Syria and the goodwill it generated in Arab circles, may allow it to play the role of mediator in Geneva and to help Lebanon fill its presidential vacuum.