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Saudi Arabia

July 7, 2026

Riyadh 2:30 am

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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

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi (L) looks past his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu (2nd R) 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

Lebanon Stability Depends On Iran-Saudi Entente

The warming trends in US-Russia and US-Iran ties may or may not benefit Lebanon, unless Iran and Saudi Arabia end their sectarian regional policies.

The Saudi Duality on Women

An unknown Saudi cleric goes viral following his comments on why women can’t drive.

Yemen’s Brotherhood: Early Losses and an Unknown Future

Following the Yemeni revolution, the local Muslim Brotherhood has worked to expand alliances, but often at the expense of their revolutionary partners, which could cost them vital public support.

Female driver Azza Al Shmasani alights from her car after driving in defiance of the ban in Riyadh June 22, 2011. Saudi Arabia has no formal ban on women driving. But as citizens must use only Saudi-issued licences in the country, and as these are issued only to men, women drivers are anathema. An outcry at the segregation, which contributes to the general cloistering of Saudi women, has been fuelled by social media interest in two would-be female motorists arrested in May.REUTERS/Fahad Shadeed (SAUDI ARA

Saudi Women Renew Fight To Lift Driving Ban

A Saudi student's online call to challenge once again the ban on women driving has gone viral.

Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al Faisal (L) talks with Qatar Foreign Minister Khalid Al Attiya following their meeting with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and members of the Arab Peace Initiative at the United States Embassy in Paris, September 8, 2013. REUTERS/Susan Walsh/Pool (FRANCE - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX13CWG

US-Russia Syria Deal Affects Saudi Regional Strategy

The US-Russia deal on Syria chemical weapons gives momentum to possible settlement and may mean changes for regional players.

Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal attends the opening of an Arab foreign ministers emergency meeting to discuss the Syrian crisis and the potential military strike on President Bashar al-Assad's regime, at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo, September 1, 2013. Saudi Arabia told fellow Arab League states on Sunday that opposing international intervention against the Syrian government would only encourage Damascus to use weapons of mass destruction. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh (EGYPT -

Saudis Set Back by US-Russia Deal on Syrian Chemical Weapons

Saudi Arabia, like Iran, has pursued a sectarian interventionist strategy in Syria that furthers the war and undermines a democratic transition.

Iraq's Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari (back) receives the newly appointed ambassador of Saudi Arabia to Iraq, Mohanned Sleman al-Zaid, at the headquarters of the Foreign Ministry in Baghdad March 26, 2012. REUTERS/Mohammed Ameen (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR2ZWZ0

Saudi Arabia Vies For Influence in Iraq

Riyadh has reached out to tribal sheikhs in southern Iraq in what some see as a continuation of the ongoing Saudi-Iranian competition for influence in the region.

A man celebrates the country's National Day in Riyadh September 23, 2012. REUTERS/Fahad Shadeed (SAUDI ARABIA - Tags: ANNIVERSARY SOCIETY) - RTR38BR3

Saudi National Day Masks Contradictions in Culture and Identity

The power and pomp that will be on display on Saudi National Day on Sept. 23 will mask broader contradictions in the Kingdom’s national identity.

Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal (C) arrives before the opening of an emergency meeting among the Arab League foreign ministers, held to discuss the Syrian crisis and the potential military strike on President Bashar al-Assad's regime, at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo, September 1, 2013. Saudi Arabia told fellow Arab League states on Sunday that opposing international intervention against the Syrian government would only encourage Damascus to use weapons of mass destruction. REU

Saudi Arabia Pushes US Toward Military Strike in Syria

Saudi Arabia is advocating for a US military strike in Syria to advance its own regional and sectarian agenda.

A woman cries at the site of an explosion in Beirut's southern suburbs, August 15, 2013. Rescue workers in the southern Beirut district hit by an explosion on Thursday have found nine bodies, a witness at the scene said. The powerful blast engulfed several cars in flames and also trapped people in a nearby building. REUTERS/Mahmoud Kheir (LEBANON - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTX12MIN

Lebanon Caught in Middle Of Iranian-Saudi 'Cold War'

Lebanon’s unique position in the Arab Levant means it has been inevitably caught up in the back and forth of Iran and Saudi Arabia’s proxy war in the region.

Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, secretary-general of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (L) speaks with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Secretary-General Abdul-Rahman al-Attiyah before a news conference in Riyadh March 28, 2011. Qatar's support for the rebel Libyan National Council shows the group is the only legitimate representative of the Libyan people, the secretary general of the political and economic bloc of Gulf countries said on Monday. REUTERS/Fahad Shadeed (SAUDI ARABIA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR2K

Turkish Leader Lashes Out on Twitter

Turkey is engaged in a covert war with Riyadh over the Turkish origins of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation's chief.

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah (L), Turkey's President Abdullah Gul (C) and Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa are seen after the official photo taking session of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) summit in Mecca August 14, 2012. REUTERS/Hassan Ali (SAUDI ARABIA - Tags: POLITICS ROYALS) - RTR36UJ4

Saudi Arabia and Turkey Falter Over Egypt

Though Saudi Arabia and Turkey share strategic goals in the region, the Egyptian coup is testing the strength of the two countries' relations.