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

Saudi Arabia cover image

Saudi Arabia

July 6, 2026

Riyadh 11:57 pm

32°C

Oil tankers and cargo vessels are anchored off the coast of Oman after being stranded for days as congestion at Port Sultan Qaboos has prevented them from docking on June 23, 2026 in Muscat, Oman. The Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route for the region's oil and gas, was effectively blockaded since the outbreak of war between the United States and Iran in late February. This week's provisional peace deal between the countries was meant to reopen the waterway to shipping traffic, but the pace of that reo

Oil prices ease as OPEC+ increases production, Hormuz traffic rebounds

Brent crude, the international benchmark, fell 0.15% to $71.87 a barrel as of 8:07 a.m. EDT after dropping as low as $71.09 earlier in the session, its lowest level since before the US-Israel-Iran war began on Feb. 28.

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

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

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah (R) meets Lebanon's President Michel Suleiman in Riyadh in this June 1, 2012 handout picture released by the Saudi Press Agency. REUTERS/Saudi Press Agency/Handout (SAUDI ARABIA - Tags: POLITICS ROYALS) FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS - RTR32YK4

The Syrian shadow on Lebanon-Saudi ties

Lebanese President Michel Suleiman reviews Lebanon-Saudi ties in an official visit to Riyadh.

Saudi film captivates Israeli moviegoers

"Wadjda" opens a window into Saudi society and the phenomenon of feminism there, unknown to the Israeli public.

Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI) (C) speaks next to European Parliament leader of the Civil Liberties Committee Inquiry Claude Moraes (L) and German Member of the European Parliament and the current Chairman of the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs Elmar Brok (R) about a closed door meeting on NSA surveillance on U.S. allies while on Capitol Hill in Washington, October 28, 2013. REUTERS/Larry Downing (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS)

House Intel Committee Chairman worried about bad deal on Iran

Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, says Congress should pass further sanctions on Iran.

Iranians slam France on nuclear talks

Iranian media, politicians and citizens have reacted harshly to what they perceive as French obstructionism in the nuclear negotiations.

An Ethiopian worker argues with a member of the Saudi security forces as he waits with his countrymen to be repatriated in Manfouha, southern Riyadh, November 11, 2013. Thousands of mostly African workers gathered in Riyadh on Sunday seeking repatriation after two people were killed in overnight rioting that followed a visa crackdown by Saudi authorities. One of those killed was a Saudi, said a government statement, and the other was not identified. An Ethiopian man was killed in a visa raid last week. Ethi

Saudi Arabia cracks down on illegal immigrants

The latest crackdown raises larger questions about the role of foreign labor in Saudi Arabia.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry steps aboard his aircraft en route to Geneva, after holding private talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv November 8, 2013. REUTERS/Jason Reed (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTX1553K

Will Israel wag the dog on Iran?

The Obama administration is struggling to make the case that Israel will benefit from a nuclear deal with Iran.

European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton (obscured) and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (4th R) arrive at a news conference at the end of the Iranian nuclear talks in Geneva November 10, 2013. Zarif and Ashton said on Sunday they hoped Iran and six world powers would reach an agreement when they gather again in 10 days, adding that the latest round of talks on Tehran's nuclear programme was something all delegations can build on. REUTERS/Jason Reed (SWITZERLAND - Tags: POLITICS)

Iran and the two Genevas

There is widespread understanding that a nuclear deal on Iran will facilitate progress on Syria.

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad answers journalists after a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, December 9, 2010. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier (FRANCE - Tags: POLITICS) - RTXVKF9

Syria's temporary solution

As preparations for the Geneva II Syria conference stall, some suggest that a temporary solution could be in the works, aimed at keeping President Bashar al-Assad in office, but without elections.

Turkish girls attend English class at the Kazim Karabekir Girls' Imam-Hatip School in Istanbul February 10, 2010. The imam-hatip network is a far cry from the western stereotype of the madrassa as an institution that teaches the Koran by rote and little else. Originally founded to educate Muslim religious functionaries in the 1920s, the imam-hatip syllabus devotes only around 40 percent of study to religious subjects like Arabic, Islamic jurisprudence and rhetoric. The rest is given over to secular topics.

Turkey’s English proficiency improving

Turkey ranks No. 41 at this year’s English Proficiency Index, but it tops the list of countries that are trending up – which is a fair reflection of its economic achievement.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L) is greeted by Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal upon arrival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia June 25, 2013. Kerry is in Saudi Arabia for a day visit and will continue on to Kuwait, as he returns to his Middle East tour after stopping in India. REUTERS/Jacquelyn Martin/Pool (SAUDI ARABIA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX11038

The Saudi Leadership Crisis

US Secretary of State John Kerry will try to persuade the kingdom to be part of the solution to the crisis in Syria.

A woman drives a car in Saudi Arabia October 22, 2013. A conservative Saudi Arabian cleric has said women who drive risk damaging their ovaries and bearing children with clinical problems, countering activists who are trying to end the Islamic kingdom's male-only driving rules. Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world where women are barred from driving, but debate about the ban, once confined to the private sphere and social media, is increasingly spreading to public forums too. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nass

Saudi Women Drivers Not Deterred by Arrest

A Saudi womens' activist writes that arrests won't stop women from pushing for their right to drive.

Irani workers stand near as a security helicopter lands near the pipeline during a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the inauguration of the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline, in the city of Chahbahar in southeastern Iran March 11, 2013. Ahmadinejad and Zardari marked the start of Pakistani construction on the much-delayed gas pipeline on Monday, Iranian media reported, despite U.S. pressure on Islamabad to back out of the project. REUTERS/Mian Khursheed (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS ENERGY) - RTR3EUW9

Saudi-Backed Salafists Returning To Iran’s Border?

The sectarian war in Syria comes to the Iran-Pakistan border.