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

Saudi Arabia cover image

Saudi Arabia

May 3, 2026

Riyadh 10:44 pm

30°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

Latest News

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

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.

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

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

French President Francois Hollande attends a news conference in Riyadh December 29, 2013. France will supply weapons to the Lebanese army if it is asked to do so, French President Hollande said on Sunday during a visit to Saudi Arabia where he met King Abdullah. REUTERS/Stringer (SAUDI ARABIA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX16WOP

Arms shipment to Lebanon to arrive in April

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius has announced that the first arms shipment of the Saudi grant, which has been stalled for more than year, will arrive to Lebanon on April 1.

A Lebanese soldier stands guard in front of a ship that delivered military donation from the U.S. government to the Lebanese army, during a ceremony at Beirut's port February 8, 2015. More than 70 M198 Howitzers, as well as 26 million rounds of ammunition including small, medium, and heavy artillery rounds, were delivered on Sunday from the United States as military aid to the Lebanese army. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) - RTR4OOO9

Delay of French-Saudi military aid to Lebanon a mystery

US military aid has filled a crucial gap in Lebanon as a Saudi-French aid package has been delayed for unknown reasons.

A Muslim man reads the Koran as others gather to have their Iftar meal on the first day of the holy fasting month of Ramadan at Prince Turki bin Abdullah mosque in Riyadh June 29, 2014. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser (SAUDI ARABIA - Tags: RELIGION FOOD) - RTR3WBHJ

Saudis struggle to reconcile IS fight, Wahhabism

While it might not be what the West wants to hear, Wahhabism and Salafism offer young Saudis clear boundaries and a blueprint for changing the self and the world through action.

Obama: 'Iran’s program has not advanced'

US allies puzzled by March deadline for consideration of Senate sanctions bill; Iran’s gesture to Saudi Arabia; Iran’s man in Beirut; Erdogan’s anti-Western pivot; Aleppo’s fuel shortage; Israel reconciling to Hamas?

U.S. President Barack Obama meets with Saudi Arabia's King Salman (R) at Erga Palace in Riyadh, January 27, 2015. Obama is stopping in Saudi Arabia on his way back to Washington from India to pay his condolences over the death of King Abdullah and to hold bilateral meetings with King Salman. REUTERS/Jim Bourg (SAUDI ARABIA - Tags: POLITICS ROYALS) - RTR4N55E

US-Saudi mark 70 years of rocky alliance

Seventy years ago, FDR and Ibn Saud met on a cruiser to initiate an alliance that has persisted ever since.

Ensaf Haidar (C) takes part in a demonstration calling for the release of her husband, Raif Badawi, on Parliament Hill in Ottawa January 29, 2015. Ensaf Haidar, the wife of a Saudi rights activist, who was sentenced to 1,000 lashes last year, said Thursday her husband's health had worsened after the first round of flogging and that he could not possibly survive the full punishment. REUTERS/Chris Wattie (CANADA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CRIME LAW) - RTR4NIK2

Who is Saudi activist Raif Badawi?

The author talks about Saudi activist Raif Badawi, who was sentenced to 1,000 lashes, as he has personally known him.

Hamas's exiled leader Khaled Meshaal (L) holds a joint press conference with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal following a meeting in Riyadh on Januray 3, 2010. Meshaal said that the Egyptian-led talks aimed at reconciling the Palestinian Islamist movement and its rival Fatah were close to bearing fruit. AFP PHOTO/PAUL HANDLEY (Photo credit should read PAUL HANDLEY/AFP/Getty Images)

Hamas reaches out to new Saudi leadership

As Hamas offers its condolences for the death of the Saudi king, it seems to be using "funeral diplomacy" as an opportunity to re-establish ties with the Gulf state.

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah (R) welcomes an Iraqi Shiite cleric at the Royal Palace in the Moslem holy city of Mecca. October 21, 2006. Iraqi Shi'ite and Sunni clerics meeting in Mecca called on Friday for an end to sectarian violence that many fear could lead to civil war in Iraq. REUTERS/Saudi News Agency/Handout (SAUDI ARABIA) - RTR1IJKP

Shiites have mixed reactions to new Saudi king

The death of Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz divided the Shiite community: While many celebrated and rejoiced, others deeply regretted the death of the Saudi monarch who was known for his moderate and reformist attitude.

Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood protesters make the 'four-fingered salute' during a protest against the Egyptian Defense Minister Abdel Fattah al-Sissi as they mark the third anniversary of revolution, in front of the Egyptian embassy in Amman January 25, 2014. REUTERS/Majed Jaber (JORDAN - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX17U9I

Jordan pressured to restrict Muslim Brotherhood

Some in Jordan believe the government will not break its historical ties with the Muslim Brotherhood, while others say there will be a crackdown on the group to keep Gulf aid flowing into the kingdom.

Saudi's newly appointed King Salman (R) shakes hands with US President Barack Obama at Erga Palace in Riyadh on January 27, 2015. Obama landed in Saudi Arabia with his wife First Lady Michelle Obama to shore up ties with King Salman and offer condolences after the death of his predecessor Abdullah. AFP PHOTO / SAUL LOEB (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)

Tough choices ahead for US-Saudi relationship

The longstanding relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia is in need of review, for Saudi human rights abuses and its domestic politics, for instance, are increasingly talked about topics by Americans and the world.

Saudi Arabia's Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef (L) arrives with his uncle King Salman (R) to greet U.S. President Barack Obama at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, January 27, 2015. King Salman's appointment of his nephew Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, 55, as Deputy Crown Prince makes him 2nd in the line of succession and he becomes the first grandson of the kingdom's founding monarch to take an established place in the line of succession. Picture taken January 27, 2015. REUTERS/Jim Bourg (SAU

Saudi King Salman quickly makes his mark

King Salman has shuffled key Cabinet positions to consolidate power in the kingdom.

Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal (L) meets with Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara March 17, 2011. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS ROYALS) - RTR2K0M9

Erdogan's Saudi dilemma

Experts say Ankara will maintain cordial, if not warm, ties with Riyadh, disregarding deep differences over Egypt and the Muslim Brotherhood.