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

Saudi Arabia cover image

Saudi Arabia

September 6, 2026

Riyadh 2:14 pm

40°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

U.S. President Donald Trump holds a bilateral meeting with Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan on the sidelines of the annual United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York City, New York, U.S., September 23, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RC166DE0F040

Pakistan seeks to mitigate US-Iran tensions

Pakistan, wary in part of tensions between Washington and Tehran negatively affecting the reconciliation process in Afghanistan, has offered to mediate between the United States and Iran after the recent round of violence between them.

Saudi defence ministry spokesman Colonel Turki Al-Malik displays remains of the missiles which Saudi government says were used to attack an Aramco oil facility, during a news conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia September 18, 2019. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed - RC152BBF8970

Intel: How a new report bolsters US case that Iran attacked Saudi Arabia

A confidential United Nations report rebutted claims from Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels that they were responsible for a missile attack on two Saudi oil facilities in September.

Saudi-led attacks on civilians threaten fragile Yemen truce

Escalation seems to be looming in Yemen in the wake of numerous artillery shellings of a local market, despite a supposed truce between Houthi rebels and the Saudi-led coalition.

Yemen’s warring parties conflicted over Soleimani’s killing

Yemen’s warring parties had differing reactions to the killing of Qasem Soleimani, pointing to Yemen's deepening sectarian schism.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo takes questions during a news conference in the Press Briefing Room at the State Department in Washington, U.S., January 7, 2020. REUTERS/Tom Brenner - RC24BE9BAMTN

Pompeo mocks claim Soleimani was part of Iraq-brokered Iran-Saudi indirect talks

The US secretary of state discounted the Iraqi prime minister's claim that on the day Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani was killed in Baghdad, he was going to pass on an Iranian message as part of indirect Iranian-Saudi communications.

Internally displaced people gather to collect food aid from an ICRC aid distribution centre in Bajil, Yemen December 13, 2018, 2018. Picture taken December 13, 2018. REUTERS/Abduljabbar Zeyad - RC14633000A0

Oman’s humanitarian aid to Yemen also pragmatic

Providing assistance to Yemenis requires Oman to maintain a low profile and strike a political balance with its giant neighbor to the northwest, Saudi Arabia.

Yemen's warring parties attend a new round of talks to discuss a prisoners swap deal, in Amman, Jordan February 5, 2019. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed - RC15EF0102D0

Yemeni local tribal mediation succeeds in releasing 135 prisoners

Hopes rise for a tribal role to be played in negotiating a cease-fire in Yemen, after local mediation succeeded in achieving several prisoner swap deals between the warring sides.

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. - RC16BA3B3F60

Intel: Saudi court hands out death sentences in Khashoggi killing

A Saudi court handed down death sentences today to five people linked to the 2018 slaying of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, while others will serve long jail sentences or be acquitted.

Potential oil spill disaster looms off Yemen's coast, but who’s to blame?

Calls are rising to separate the politics of the military conflict in Yemen from the issue of an abandoned oil tanker in the Red Sea, in light of a looming ecological disaster that could affect the entire region.

U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) speaks during a U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S. February 7, 2018. REUTERS/Eric Thayer - RC1FD9326580

Intel: How Congress is putting Saudi fugitives on notice

Congress is forcing the Donald Trump administration to disclose Riyadh’s alleged role in whisking Saudi fugitives out of the United States, some of whom are wanted for charges as severe as manslaughter, rape and possession of child pornography.

Hamas Chief Ismail Haniyeh attends a meeting with members of international media at his office in Gaza City June 20, 2019. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem - RC1BDF2E2180

How Malaysia is becoming Hamas' gateway to Asia

Hamas will participate in Malaysia’s Islamic Summit, another indication of the growing ties between the two.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan is welcomed by Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, September 19, 2019. Bandar Algaloud/Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC12CFCDD940

Mideast rivalries plague fledgling Muslim summit in Malaysia

Tensions between Riyadh and Tehran are dogging a summit set to debut this week in Kuala Lumpur.