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Saudi Arabia

September 6, 2026

Riyadh 5:14 am

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Guests stand at the booth of Saudi artificial intelligence company Humain during the Future Investment Initiative (FII) conference in Riyadh, on Oct. 29, 2025.

Saudi Arabia taps China’s MiniMax for Arabic AI model

The development signals that the kingdom continues deepening AI ties with China while simultaneously pursuing major US technology partnerships, keeping the Gulf state at the center of an intensifying technology race between the superpowers.

A commercial vessel passes through an international shipping lane off Yemen's Hanish Island in the Red Sea on July 27, 2026.

Saudi oil exports hit nine-year low as tanker attacks threaten recovery

The country’s oil exports were around 3 million barrels per day in August.

Latest News

Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Pakistan set Mecca Alliance into motion

Mecca Alliance

Iraq reinforces Saudi border security amid militia tensions: What to know

Iraqi army troops patrol the Iraq-Saudi Arabia border

Samuel Wendel

Senior Analyst, Middle East Business & Tech

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

Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah addresses his supporters during a rare public appearance at an Ashoura ceremony in Beirut's southern suburbs November 3, 2014. REUTERS/Khalil Hassan (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS RELIGION) - RTR4COLH

Recent events a good sign for Lebanon

Developments among parties in Lebanon as well as between Iran and the P5+1 might ultimately lead to solutions to Lebanon's current political stalemate.

A street vendor chews qat, a mild stimulant, as he sits by his vegetable stall at a market place in the Old Sanaa city March 19, 2014. Qat dominates life in Yemen, where most men spend half the day chewing it, even at work, and experts say it is ravaging Yemen's frail economy and sucking up precious water. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah (YEMEN - Tags: SOCIETY ENVIRONMENT) - RTR3HSAZ

Development plan needed for peace in Yemen

The Gulf Initiative has failed to bring peace to Yemen, prompting the need for a new initiative that is more realistic and includes a long-term economic and development plan.

Kuwaiti cartoonist battles IS death threats, US bigots

Naif al-Mutawa, creator of comic book series "THE 99," spoke with Al-Monitor about the recent death threat by the Islamic State and how US President Barack Obama's enemies became his.

Muslim pilgrims walk on a bridge as they head to cast stones at pillars symbolizing Satan during the final day of the annual haj pilgrimage in Mina on the third day of Eid al-Adha, near the holy city of Mecca, October 6, 2014. Muslims around the world celebrate Eid al-Adha to mark the end of the haj pilgrimage by slaughtering sheep, goats, camels and cows to commemorate Prophet Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son, Ismail, on God's command. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed (SAUDI ARABIA - Tags: RELIGION) - RTR4

Turkish politician calls for Vatican-like administration of Mecca

A Turkish parliamentarian calls for a joint Muslim administration in Mecca and Medina, arguing the Saudis have failed to ensure smooth hajj pilgrimage for Muslims.

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi (L) looks past his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu during the opening of a ministerial meeting in the Saudi Red Sea city of Jeddah, by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on May 13, 2013. The OIC urged its member states to make generous contributions at this week's main donors conference on Mali to be held in Brussels, which aims to raise funds to repair the damage caused by the war against Islamists in the African country. AFP PHOTO/STR (Photo

Slow progress in Saudi-Iranian ties

Although Saudi and Iranian officials have cemented talks in recent months, this is not significant enough to alter ties between the two foes.

Shi'ite Houthi rebels ride a patrol truck in Yareem town of Yemen's central province of Ibb October 22, 2014. Houthi fighters clashed with supporters of the Sunni Muslim Islah party in Yareem, earlier this week, residents and local officials said, raising the spectre of a wider sectarian confrontation in the country, which shares a long border with the world's top oil exporter, Saudi Arabia. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah (YEMEN - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR4B6F7

Iran, Saudi Arabia jockey for power in Yemen

Yemen has become a stage for the conflict between Iran and Saudi Arabia on religious, economic, political and military levels.

An Iraqi Shi'ite youth smokes a water pipe while sitting on a motorcycle in Sadr City in Baghdad April 27, 2014. Iraq is now gripped by its worst violence since the heights of its 2005-2008 sectarian war, and Sunni Islamist insurgents who target Shi'ites have been regaining ground in the country over the past year. But despite the instability, daily life continues in poor Shi'ite neighbourhoods of Baghdad such as Al-Fdhiliya and Sadr City - a sprawling slum marred by poor infrastructure and overcrowding. Pi

Yemen’s Houthis draw the attention of Iraqis

The Houthis in Yemen recently made the Iraqi headlines, as some consider that there are measures to direct the media toward the support of Shiite parties outside Iraq after internal failures.

A protester holds up a picture of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr during a rally at the coastal town of Qatif, against Sheikh Nimr's arrest July 8, 2012. Sheikh Nimr, a prominent Shi'ite Muslim cleric who was wanted by the police, was detained in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province on Sunday over calls for more rights for the minority Muslim sect in the Sunni monarchy, his brother and an activist said. REUTERS/Stringer (SAUDI ARABIA - Tags: CIVIL UNREST RELIGION POLITICS) - RTR34QU8

Iran officials condemn death sentence of Saudi cleric

The death sentence of prominent Saudi Shiite cleric and anti- government protest leader Nimr al-Nimr has been widely condemned by Iranian officials and the country's media organizations.

$A policeman carries his weapon as he mans a checkpoint in Sanaa September 25, 2014. Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi has warned Yemenis their country is heading towards civil war after the takeover of the capital by Shi'ite Muslim rebels, a move that has allowed the insurgents to dictate terms to a weakened, fractured government. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah (YEMEN - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST MILITARY CRIME LAW) - RTR47NQU$

Common enemy brings Iran, Saudi Arabia closer

Relations between Saudi Arabia and the Shiite movements in Yemen, namely the Houthis, have fluctuated over the years but may turn into a Saudi-Iranian rapprochement as a common enemy threatens both sides.

Followers of the Shi'ites Houthi group shout slogans as they celebrate Eid al-Ghadir in Sanaa October 12, 2014. The celebration marks al-Ghadir day, a day Shi'ites believe Prophet Muhammad nominated his cousin, Imam Ali, to be his successor. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah (YEMEN - Tags: RELIGION ANNIVERSARY) - RTR49UNU

Houthi victories in Yemen make Saudi Arabia nervous

The rapid victories of the Shiite Houthi group in Yemen make Saudi Arabia worry that Iran is surrounding the kingdom.

Relatives of Lebanese soldiers and policemen, who were captured by Islamist militants in Arsal, erect a tent and hold a banner depicting Lebanese soldier Ali al-Sayyed, who was beheaded by IS militants, during an open-ended sit-in demanding for the release of the remaining soldiers and pressuring the government to act in Martyrs' Square in downtown Beirut September 10, 2014. Islamic State militants have beheaded a captive Lebanese soldier, images published on social media showed on Saturday, the second Leba

Will Lebanon swap prisoners with IS, Jabhat al-Nusra?

The families of kidnapped Lebanese soldiers have been calling on the government to agree to a prisoner exchange to secure their relatives’ release, but a number of obstacles stand in the way.

A Muslim man walks past as he reads the Koran at the Al-Rajhi mosque east of Riyadh, during the holy month of Ramadan July 24, 2013. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser (SAUDI ARABIA - Tags: RELIGION) - RTX11XN6

How Saudi Arabia is distancing itself from Islamic State

While Saudi Arabia has confronted the Islamic State, the country has denied there is any connection between its state religion and the jihadist group.