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

Saudi Arabia cover image

Saudi Arabia

April 29, 2026

Riyadh 4:31 am

26°C

GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

UAE’s OPEC exit rattles cartel as Gulf alliances shift

OPEC's fourth-largest producer will leave the cartel on May 1, marking the most significant departure in the group’s history as the war changes Abu Dhabi's relationship priorities.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

MUMEN KHATIB/AFP via Getty Images

Why UAE's decision to leave OPEC is major shift for cartel

The UAE accounts for 12% of OPEC's output, but tensions had been simmering over intragroup rivalries and the country wanting to export more oil.

United Arab Emirates

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan hosted the third meeting of the foreign ministers of Turkey, Egypt, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia on the margins of the 5th Antalya Diplomacy Forum, on April 17, 2026.

Analysis

Why Saudi Arabia, Egypt are wary of Turkey’s proposed 4-way defense pact with Pakistan

The proposed framework faces major hurdles and fault lines, ranging from NATO constraints to Israeli opposition and weak military integration.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan (L) disembarks from an airplane upon his arrival at the Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut on Jan. 23, 2025.

In Lebanon, Saudi Arabia pursues quiet diplomacy as Trump pushes Israel normalization

Saudi Arabia has been engaged in intense diplomacy in Lebanon in recent days, leading up to the extension of a ceasefire with Israel.

Latest News

Why did the Met Opera lose its Saudi funding deal?

A person walks past the closed Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center on Jan. 7, 2021, in New York City.

Analysis

Gulf energy deals face Iran war stress test as global expansion meets oil shock

A picture shows the Ras Laffan Industrial City, Qatar's principal site for production of liquefied natural gas and gas-to-liquid, administrated by Qatar Petroleum, some 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of the capital Doha, on Feb. 6, 2017.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Syria’s Sharaa makes fourth visit to Saudi Arabia, first since Iran war: What to know

Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrives ahead of a meeting with Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer at 10 Downing Street in central London on March 31, 2026.

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 aid to Yemen will continue despite reports of Houthi interference

In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor after the Yemen Donor Conference, Abdullah Al Rabeeah, supervisor general of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center, said he expects pledges to continue.

Can Saudi Arabia fix Yemen’s anti-Houthi coalition?

Following the breakdown of the Riyadh agreement, and renewed fighting in April, Saudi Arabia hosted the STC president to discuss the situation, but it remains doubtful the Gulf state can offer an easy solution if the war with the Houthis is not settled first.

U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) exits at the end of the day as the Trump impeachment trial continues in Washington, U.S., January 27, 2020. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid - RC2ROE9DKPT1

Intel: Trump administration pursues new Saudi arms deal despite investigation

The Donald Trump administration is doubling down with a new arms deal for Saudi Arabia despite an investigation into last year’s $8 billion emergency weapons sale to Riyadh, a key Senate Democrat revealed in a CNN op-ed Wednesday.

A Saudi Arabian Airlines passenger plane is pictured parked at the tarmac of Ninoy Aquino International airport in Pasay city, Metro Manila, Philippines September 20, 2016. REUTERS/Erik De Castro - S1BEUCJDTUAB

Saudi airlines to start domestic flights again

Saudi Arabia has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, but is continuing with plans to reopen despite a significant number of new infections daily.

A Houthi follower carries a mock missile as he shouts slogans during a demonstration against the United Nations in Sanaa, Yemen, July 5, 2015. Hundreds of supporters of the Iran-backed Houthi rebels took to the streets of the Yemeni capital on Sunday to protest against the United Nations and its alleged support of Yemen's exiled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. REUTERS/Mohamed al-Sayaghi - GF10000149438

Missile strike on Yemeni military base kills 7, including top general’s son

The Saudi-backed Yemeni government blamed the attack, which killed the son and nephew of the military's chief of staff, on Houthi rebels.

The Committee to Protect Journalists and other press freedom activists hold a candlelight vigil in front of the Saudi Embassy to mark the anniversary of the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul, Wednesday evening in Washington, U.S., October 2, 2019. REUTERS/Sarah Silbiger - RC1156AFC4B0

Democrats prepare legislation forcing Trump to declassify report on Khashoggi murder

Democrats are drafting new legislation that would force the Donald Trump administration to declassify a report on Khashoggi’s murder, potentially implicating the crown prince.

A Saudi man wearing protective gloves buys vegetables at a supermarket, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia May 11, 2020. REUTERS/Ahmed Yosri - RC2DMG9SBKB9

Saudi Arabia again easing anti-virus restrictions

The Gulf country is still recording more than 2,000 COVID-19 cases per day.

Khashoggi's son says family forgives killers

Those sentenced to death in Jamal Khashoggi's killing can now be reprieved, but criticisms remain of Saudi Arabia's involvement in the murder and its response.

A Saudi money exchanger wears a protective face mask and gloves as he counts Saudi riyal currency at a currency exchange shop in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia March 10, 2020. REUTERS/Ahmed Yosri - RC2ZGF9MUSEW

Saudi Arabia quarantines cash to prevent further coronavirus spread

Saudi Arabia will isolate coins and banknotes for up to 20 days in sealed containers.

Fuel prices are displayed at petrol station of French oil giant Total in Bordeaux, France, September 17, 2019. Picture taken September 17, 2019. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau - RC1E43667350

Global oil prices at highest since March following OPEC cuts

Oil prices have fallen significantly this year as a result of the coronavirus and the Saudi-Russia price war, but Brent crude has now risen past $36.

People enter the State Department Building in Washington, U.S., January 26, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts - RC1D48272C00

Intel: US rescinds ban on British defense firm implicated in Saudi weapons fraud

The US State Department is rescinding a 9-year-old policy that barred it from doing business with the Saudi subsidiary of a British defense firm, which pled guilty to fraud in a multibillion-dollar arms deal in 2010.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks the press at the State Department in Washington, DC, on May 20, 2020. (Photo by NICHOLAS KAMM / POOL / AFP) (Photo by NICHOLAS KAMM/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Intel: Pompeo refused interview on Saudi arms sale investigation before firing Linick

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo refused to give an interview for State Department Inspector General Steve Linick’s investigation into a massive Saudi arms sale deal before asking President Donald Trump to fire the watchdog, Al-Monitor has learned.