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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

U.S. President Barack Obama hosts a working session of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) at Camp David in Maryland May 14, 2015. Flanking Obama are U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (R) and Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah (L) the Emir of Kuwait. Obama will seek to convince Saudi Arabia and other Gulf allies on Thursday that the United States is committed to their security despite deep concern among Arab leaders about U.S. efforts to broker a nuclear deal with Iran. REUTERS/Kevin Lama

Will Camp David spur regional cooperation?

The signing of the nuclear deal between Iran and the P5+1 can open the door to cooperation between Middle East countries.

Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu attends the opening of the Geneva-2 peace conference in Montreux January 22, 2014. Syria's government and opposition, meeting face to face for the first time at a U.N. peace conference, angrily spelled out their hostility on Wednesday as world powers also restated contrasting views on the future of President Bashar al-Assad. REUTERS/ Jamal Saidi (SWITZERLAND - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX17PGV

The Turkey-Saudi axis against Damascus

Will the US support the gains of Islamist opposition in Syria?

Senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh (R) speaks with Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah at Haniyeh's house in Gaza City October 9, 2014. Hamdallah arrived in the Hamas-dominated Gaza Strip on Thursday and convened the first meeting of a unity government there since a brief civil war in 2007 between Hamas and forces loyal to the Fatah party. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR49J6X

Hamas, Fatah ignore Carter's reconciliation attempt

Hamas and Fatah are focusing on trivial issues instead of taking advantage of former President Jimmy Carter’s efforts to achieve reconciliation between the two Palestinian movements.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, left, accompanied by Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, right, speaks at a joint news conference at the Chief of Mission Residence, Paris, France, Friday, May 8, 2015, following a meeting with the foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council. REUTERS/Andrew Harnik/Pool - RTX1C5BX

US works to assure Gulf allies

US Secretary of State John Kerry has been in Paris to try and ease tensions with Gulf allies over the prospective Iran nuclear deal ahead of the GCC meeting in Washington.

Hamas's exiled leader Khaled Meshaal (L) holds a joint press conference with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal following a meeting in Riyadh on Januray 3, 2010. Meshaal said that the Egyptian-led talks aimed at reconciling the Palestinian Islamist movement and its rival Fatah were close to bearing fruit. AFP PHOTO/PAUL HANDLEY (Photo credit should read PAUL HANDLEY/AFP/Getty Images)

Hamas courts Saudis

Hamas is seeking a rapprochement with Saudi Arabia to improve its leverage in Palestinian reconciliation talks, which might not please Egypt, which has long brokered the discussions, or Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas.

EDITOR'S NOTE: REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE CONTENT OF THE VIDEO FROM WHICH THIS STILL IMAGE WAS TAKEN.
Al Qaeda's second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahri speaks from an unknown location, in this still image taken from video uploaded on a social media website June 8, 2011. Osama bin Laden's longtime lieutenant, Ayman al-Zawahri, said the United States faces rebellion throughout the Muslim world after killing the al Qaeda leader, according to a 28-minute YouTube recording posted on Wednesday. I

Al-Qaeda emir's silence prompts suspicion

Al-Qaeda's usually outspoken emir, Ayman al-Zawahri, has remained uncharacteristically silent through the course of recent al-Qaeda successes, leading many to question what may come next.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Martin Dempsey (not pictured) speak to reporters at the Pentagon in Washington April 16, 2015. REUTERS/James Lawler Duggan - RTR4XNHW

Carter: Syria 'safe zones' would be 'major combat mission'

US secretary of defense tells Congress no-fly zone would be "difficult thing to contemplate"; state institutions collapse as result of war in Yemen; Obama administration rejects direct arms to Iraqi Kurdistan.

Turkish army tank takes position near Mursitpinar border crossing on the Turkish-Syrian border in the southeasternTurkish town of Suruc in Sanliurfa provincee, October 18, 2014. A U.S.-led military coalition has been bombing Islamic State fighters who hold a large swathe of territory in both Iraq and Syria, two countries involved in complex multi-sided civil wars in which nearly every country in the Middle East has a stake.. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach (TURKEY - Tags: MILITARY POLITICS CONFLICT) - RTR4ANT

Turks fear Saudi alliance will drag country into Syria

Opposition politicians in Turkey have charged President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with leading Turkey to war in Syria.

Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz (C) walks surrounded by security officers to receive Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa (unseen) upon the latter's arrival in Riyadh to attend the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit on May 5, 2015. AFP PHOTO / FAYEZ NURELDINE (Photo credit should read FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP/Getty Images)

King Salman needs total victory in Yemen

The new Saudi king must reassure his domestic audience that his aggressive foreign policy will safeguard the kingdom.

Oman's Foreign Minister Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah (C) arrives to attend the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, April 30, 2015. Leaders from the GCC group of countries arrive in Saudi Arabia to discuss the ongoing conflict in neighbouring Yemen, Iran's nuclear programme and prepare for a summit with U.S. President Barack Obama next month. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser - RTX1AZJK

Oman breaks from GCC on Yemen conflict

Oman sees Saudi Arabia's strategy in Yemen as misguided and dangerous for the Gulf region.

Houthi militants ride on a patrol truck at the international airport of Yemen's capital Sanaa, April 29, 2015. Jets from a Saudi-led alliance destroyed the runway of Yemen's Sanaa airport on Tuesday to prevent an Iranian plane from landing there, Saudi Arabia said, as fighting across the country killed at least 30 people. Airport officials said the strikes set a civilian aircraft operated by Yemeni Felix Airways ablaze. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah - RTX1ATYY

Is Iran really to blame for Yemen conflict?

Yemen's conflict is homegrown and the only way to stabilize the country's descent into civil war is through a political deal.

Prince Mohammed bin Nayef (C), Saudi Deputy Crown Prince, takes part in the funeral of Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz in Riyadh January 23, 2015. King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz died early on Friday and his brother Salman became king of the world's top oil exporter. King Salman moved swiftly to appoint Mohammed Deputy Crown Prince on Friday, hours after he took the throne following the death of King Abdullah. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser (SAUDI ARABIA - Tags: ROYALS RELIGION OBITUARY) - RTR4MMDK

Saudi re-reshuffle turning point for relations with Tehran

King Salman's recent reshuffling of key positions and statements by the grand mufti and Iran's supreme leader point to strife between Iran and Saudi Arabia.