Saudi Arabia - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Saudi Arabia cover image

Saudi Arabia

July 5, 2026

Riyadh 6:20 pm

41°C

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

The new pulse of Gulf security

The Iran nuclear deal and the summit between US President Barack Obama and Saudi King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud could signal a turning point in Gulf security.

U.S. President Barack Obama (L) shakes hands with Saudi Arabia's King Salman at the start of a bilateral meeting at Erga Palace in Riyadh January 27, 2015. Obama sought to cement ties with Saudi Arabia as he came to pay his respects on Tuesday after the death of King Abdullah, a trip that underscores the importance of a U.S.-Saudi alliance that extends beyond oil interests to regional security. REUTERS/Jim Bourg (SAUDI ARABIA - Tags: POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR4N5LG

What will US-Saudi summit mean for Iranian policy in the Middle East?

In a meeting Sept. 4 with US President Barack Obama, Saudi King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud was assured that the nuclear deal prevents Iran — whose influence in the region the kingdom is eager to counter — from acquiring a nuclear weapon.

Will King Salman’s visit to Washington reset US-Saudi relations?

The joint statement released following King Salman's meeting at the White House with President Barack Obama Sept. 4 indicates that they discussed the region's most pressing issues including the Iran nuclear deal, the Syrian civil war, the fight against the Islamic State and the war in Yemen.

U.S. President Barack Obama meets with Saudi Arabia's King Salman (R) at Erga Palace in Riyadh, January 27, 2015. Obama is stopping in Saudi Arabia on his way back to Washington from India to pay his condolences over the death of King Abdullah and to hold bilateral meetings with King Salman. REUTERS/Jim Bourg (SAUDI ARABIA - Tags: POLITICS ROYALS) - RTR4N551

What Obama should say to King Salman during his visit

The inaugural visit of Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud to Washington offers US President Barack Obama a unique opportunity to address the long-standing tensions and rivalry between Iran, Iraq and the GCC states.

A Russian Yakovlev Yak-130 Mitten subsonic two-seat advanced jet trainer performs during the MAKS-2015, the International Aviation and Space Show, in Zhukovsky, outside Moscow, on August 25, 2015. AFP PHOTO / KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV (Photo credit should read KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP/Getty Images)

The invisible Saudi king

Though breathless press reports predicted the Saudi leader would attend Russia’s MAKS-2015 air show, it seems that King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud never intended to visit Russia so soon after accepting the invitation to do so and will likely make the trip in the fall.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, left, shakes hands with Saudi Arabia's King Salman at the Royal Court, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Thursday, May 7, 2015. REUTERS/Andrew Harnik/Pool - RTX1BXMV

The king finally comes to town

King Salman of Saudi Arabia won't find solutions to his country's deepest problems during his visit to Washington.

DHAHRAN, SAUDI ARABIA - JULY 2: US and Saudi officials spread debris 29 June on plastic sheets as they continue to gather evidence in the 25 June bombing outside the Khobar Towers complex in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. The explosion killed 19 and injured some 260. AFP PHOTO (Photo credit should read AFP/AFP/Getty Images)

With Khobar bomber's arrest, Saudi Arabia deals blow to Iran

With the recent arrest of the Khobar Tower bomber, Saudi-Iranian tensions have been elevated to new levels.

Iranian ambassador to the UAE: Iran wants to remove tensions with neighbors

Mohammad Reza Fayyaz, the Iranian ambassador to the UAE, blames Saudi Arabia for many of the problems in the region.

U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter meets with Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdul Aziz (R) at Al-Salam Palace in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Wednesday, July 22, 2015. Carter flew into Saudi Arabia for meetings on Wednesday with King Salman and his security leadership to reassure the kingdom of America's support after Washington struck a nuclear deal with its arch-rival Iran. REUTERS/Carolyn Kaster/Pool - RTX1LBXR

Saudi king wants Obama to tackle Iranian 'mischief'

King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud will make clear during his White House visit that Riyadh’s lukewarm support for the Iran nuclear deal depends on the United States keeping Tehran in check.

People shout slogans during a demonstration against corruption, poor services and power cuts in Baghdad, Iraq, August 21, 2015. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad - RTX1P4DI

Protesters in Iraq and Lebanon demand accountability

Demonstrations in Iraq and Lebanon may signal new round of "Arab Springs"; Will Saudi capture of Khobar towers mastermind affect US policy toward Iran?

FBI Director Louis Freeh has had the Khobar Towers bombing case reassigned
to federal prosecutors in Virginia, over strong objections from U.S.
Attorney Wilma Lewis, according to reports in both U.S. News and World
Report, and Time magazine published on March 23, 2001. U.S. News said Freeh
took the unusual step of reassigning the case because he had grown
frustrated by missteps in the investigation of the bombing of the U.S.
military barracks in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia that killed 19 American service
m

Why did it take Saudi Arabia 20 years to catch Khobar Towers bomber?

Reports have emerged that Saudi Arabia is holding Ahmed Ibrahim al-Mughassil, a Saudi Shiite who masterminded the 1996 attack on US military housing in Khobar that left 19 servicemen dead.

RTX1BLUW (1).jpg

Syrian official slams UN envoy's report

According to information a Syrian official shared with Al-Monitor, it doesn’t seem the report on Syria that UN Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura submitted to the Security Council recently will have long-lasting effects on the ground.