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Saudi Arabia

September 6, 2026

Riyadh 12:14 pm

39°C

The entrance to the city of Qiddiya, south of the capital Riyadh, April 25, 2019.

Analysis

Iran war tests Gulf's theme park ambitions

Saudi Arabia is pressing ahead with multibillion-dollar projects as the conflict disrupts regional tourism and exposes weaknesses in the Gulf states' entertainment strategies.

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

A man walks past a mural depicting oil pumps and the Venezuelan flag, with portraits of Venezuelan independence leader Simon Bolivar (L) and former late President Hugo Chavez (R), in Caracas, Venezuela, on Sept. 3, 2026.

Analysis

Could Trump’s oil push in Venezuela upend OPEC’s energy order?

Washington’s growing role in controlling the Latin American country's crude riches could help reshape an energy order centered on OPEC as the Hormuz crisis pressures Gulf exports.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

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.

Latest News

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

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

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

Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal Bin Farhan (C) attends an emergency meeting at the Arab League headquarters in the Egyptian capital Cairo, on November 25, 2019, to discuss the US decision to no longer consider Israeli settlements in Palestinian Territories illegal. - US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on October 18 that after legal consultations, that Washington had concluded the establishment of settlements was "not, per se, inconsistent with international law". (Photo by Khaled DESOUKI / AFP) (Photo by

Saudi Arabia’s fragile support to Palestine

Saudi Arabia’s traditional pro-Palestinian positions are unlikely to be compromised even if some gestures are made to the Israelis and to the Trump administration.

Saudi Arabia warns of ‘oil spot’ near aging tanker off Yemen's coast

UN officials have described the FSO Safer, an aging vessel that contains 1.14 million barrels of light crude oil, as a ticking time bomb.

Saudi Arabia to allow limited umrah pilgrimage beginning Oct. 4

After a seven-month suspension, Saudi Arabia will allow Muslim pilgrims to perform umrah in the holy cities of Mecca and Medina.

Saudis ready for kingdom’s first women’s soccer league

Saudi female soccer players are eagerly waiting for Saudi Arabia’s first women’s soccer league to be launched in October, after being delayed for months due to the coronavirus pandemic.

OPEC+ pressures Iraq, UAE to further cut oil production

Saudi Arabia and other OPEC members held a virtual meeting with Russia and other allied oil producers today to discuss the continuing low price of oil amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Major General Abdullah Yahya al-Hakim (C), chief of intelligence of the administration of Yemen's Huthi rebels in control of the capital Sanaa, and other Huthi officials attend an official parade commemorating the sixth anniversary of the Huthi takeover of the capital Sanaa on September 20, 2020. (Photo by MOHAMMED HUWAIS / AFP) (Photo by MOHAMMED HUWAIS/AFP via Getty Images)

Stakes high in Yemen's Marib province for Houthis, Saudis

Yemen’s Houthi rebels face fierce resistance from the Saudi-backed government forces in the oil-rich province of Marib.

WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 15: (L-R) Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu, U.S. President Donald Trump, Foreign Affairs Minister of Bahrain Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, and Foreign Affairs Minister of the United Arab Emirates Abdullah bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan wave from the Truman Balcony of the White House after the signing ceremony of the Abraham Accords on the South Lawn of the White House on September 15, 2020 in Washington, DC. Witnessed by President Trump, Prime Minister Netanyahu si

The Takeaway: Trump scores diplomatic win with eye on November election

Iran deal coming after elections, Trump says; Qatar says normalization not the answer; Netanyahu returns home to COVID-19, political crises.

State Department officials testify before Congress on arms sales to Saudi Arabia, UAE

The chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee said the May 2019 sale did not warrant an emergency certification, but a State official cited the threat from Iran.

Saudi Arabia to resume some international flights Sept. 15

The Interior Ministry said a limited number of citizens and nonresidents will be eligible for flights entering and exiting the kingdom.

<<enter caption here>> on June 21, 2018 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Saudi women entrepreneurs fight cultural conditioning

The Saudi government has changed many practices that were discriminatory against women, but really empowering women requires a profound change of mentality.

Hatice Cengiz, slain Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi's fiancee, attends a press conference calling for the Trump administration to release details about his killing, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, March 3, 2020. - US lawmakers vowed Tuesday to force the release of an intelligence report on the killing of Saudi dissident writer Jamal Khashoggi, accusing President Donald Trump of blocking it to protect the kingdom. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP) (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

Khashoggi murder trial in Riyadh lacked accountability, UN rights office says

A court in Riyadh Monday jailed eight people over the 2018 murder at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

ST PAUL, MN - AUGUST 05: Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) speaks during a press conference outside the DFL Headquarters on August 5, 2020 in St Paul, Minnesota. Omar is hoping to retain her seat as the representative for Minnesota's 5th Congressional District in next week's primary election. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

Intel: House Democrats want answers from Saudi ambassador over jailed female activists

A group of seven congressional Democrats laid into Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the United States on Wednesday for failing to respond to their repeated requests to discuss the kingdom’s continued detention of female rights activists.