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Saudi Arabia

April 29, 2026

Riyadh 8:04 pm

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

What to expect from Putin's visit to Saudi Arabia

Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to visit Saudi Arabia on Oct. 14 with a set of economic and security issues on the agenda.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York, U.S., September 27, 2018. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri - RC1FCD450420

Netanyahu’s strategic failures on Iran, Trump

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had gambled on US President Donald Trump to spearhead the struggle against the "Iranian threat," in what now emerges to be a colossal strategic failure.

Presidents Hassan Rouhani of Iran, Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey and Vladimir Putin of Russia arrive for a news conference in Ankara, Turkey, September 16, 2019. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RC1D1AF89BB0

The Takeaway: October 9, 2019

A Saudi flag flutters atop Saudi Arabia's consulate where the missing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was last seen, in Istanbul, Turkey October 12, 2018. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RC1A48F23C20

Congress aims to keep spotlight on Saudi Arabia one year after Khashoggi murder

One year after Jamal Khashoggi’s murder, Congress still seeks to hold Saudi Arabia accountable despite resistance from President Donald Trump and his allies in the Senate.

Hatice Cengiz, fiancee of the murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon and Blue Origin, are flanked by attendees as they attend a ceremony marking the first anniversary of Khashoggi's killing at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, October 2, 2019. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RC15DF9D2FB0

One year on, Turkish human rights advocates lament inaction on Khashoggi murder

One year after the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, advocates for human rights and press freedom highlight failures in bringing the perpetrators to justice.

Abbas Araqchi, Iranian deputy foreign minister for political affairs (R), Behrouz Kamalvandi, Iran's Atomic Energy Organization spokesman (L) and Iran's government spokesman Ali Rabiei attend a news conferenece in Tehran, Iran July 7, 2019. Tasnim News Agency/Handout via REUTERS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC188882BBC0

Iran welcomes Saudi signals for de-escalation

Archenemies Iran and Saudi Arabia appear to be closer to de-escalating tensions that have recently risen to all-time highs.

U.S. President Donald Trump sits down to a meeting with of Gulf Cooperation Council leaders, including Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (R), during their summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia May 21, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RC19B4965AE0

Trump intensifies ‘Arab NATO’ talks after Iran strike

The Donald Trump administration is working to push forward with a military alliance of Middle Eastern states as the international community looks to respond to a suspected Iranian attack on a Saudi oil facility.

Dragon tree of Socotra (Dracaena cinnabari), Diksam, Socotra Island (Unesco World Heritage List, 2008), Yemen.

Island sheikh talks sovereignty in Yemen's war

The chief sheikh of the Yemeni island of Socotra spoke to Al-Monitor about growing foreign interference on the island, which has been so far spared from the fallout of the Yemeni war.

Members of the paramilitary Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) take part in their graduation ceremony at a military camp in Kerbala, Iraq August 30, 2019. REUTERS/Abdullah Dhiaa Al-Deen - RC1D99820E90

US pushes Iraq to integrate Iran-backed PMU militias after strikes

The Donald Trump administration is calling on Iraq to demobilize Iranian-backed Popular Mobilization Units after renewed rocket strikes hit near the US Embassy in Baghdad.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 24: Lolwah Rashid Al-Khater, Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar, speaks at the APCO backstage studio during the 2019 Concordia Annual Summit - Day 2 at Grand Hyatt New York on September 24, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Leigh Vogel/Getty Images for Concordia Summit)

Interview

Qatar spokesperson: Blockade 'existential threat' to GCC

In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson remains optimistic that diplomacy in Afghanistan remains possible.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is greeted by Bahraini Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa after arriving at Manama International Airport in Manama, Bahrain, January 11, 2019. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Pool via REUTERS - RC18014FB370

Bahrain would welcome 'new JCPOA' if Iran ends 'toxic' behavior

In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, the foreign minister of Bahrain, says his country is "not shy" about working with the United States to support peace and prosperity in the region.

US embassy charge d'affaires Jeffrey Hovenier (L) leaves the Caglayan courthouse on May 15, 2019, in Istanbul, after US consular staffer Metin Topuz was ordered to remain in custody after the latest hearing in his trial on espionage charges -- part of a growing rift between Washington and Ankara. - Topuz was arrested in 2017 and accused of contacts with police and a prosecutor suspected of ties to US-based Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen, who Ankara says ordered an attempted coup in 2016. (Photo by Bulent

Intel: How Congress is trying to get US prisoners out of Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey