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Saudi Arabia

May 4, 2026

Riyadh 6:24 am

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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

Saudi Arabia's Gulf Union project includes military dimension

Saudi Arabia begins 2014 with an assertive plan for regional leadership.

Saudi Arabian women, seeking a job, stand in line to talk with recruiters during a job fair in Riyadh January 25, 2012. It is Women's Day at the first of a series of job fairs launched by the Saudi government this year to find employment for its citizens. In coming months the scheme aims to arrange interviews for 15,000 men and women out of 100,000 applicants, holding similar fairs in the cities of Jeddah and Dammam. Picture taken January 25, 2012. To match Mideast Money SAUDI-ECONOMY/REFORMS REUTERS/

Saudi Arabia’s commercial class looks to future

Jiddah’s thriving business environment represents one of several competing visions of the kingdom’s future.

Saudi Arabia moving ahead with Gulf union

Opposition from Oman will not deter Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud from seeking strength in GCC unity.

Arab League-United Nations envoy Lakhdar Brahimi gestures while answering journalists' questions at the end of a news conference after a meeting on Syria at the United Nations European headquarters in Geneva December 20, 2013. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse (SWITZERLAND - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX16PPL

Iran, Saudi Arabia key to Syria peace conference

The Islamic Front snubs US Ambassador Robert Ford; Turkey rocked by scandal; reactions to the American Studies Association vote to boycott academic exchanges with Israel.

Twitter sheikhs of Saudi Arabia

From the “Dear Abby” sheikh to the more conservative, a wide range of Saudi clerics now have millions of Twitter followers.

An Iranian woman puts on make up as she waits for a concert by the Iranian singer Hamid Asgari at the Interior Ministry building in Tehran April 24, 2008. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl (IRAN) - RTR1ZUV4

Cosmetics boom in Iran

Iranian woman use cosmetics at an increasing pace, increasing the demand even for counterfeit products.

Residents look for survivors at a damaged site after what activists said was an air strike from forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in Takeek Al-Bab area of Aleppo, December 15, 2013. REUTERS/Molhem Barakat (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTX16JRO

Rise of Islamic Front a disaster for Syria

The ascendance of the Islamic Front threatens a political transition in Syria; Lebanon paralyzed by Syria conflict; Farea al-Muslimi named FP Leading Global Thinker.

Free Syrian Army fighters walk with their weapons in the Umayyad mosque of Old Aleppo, December 15, 2013. REUTERS/Molhem Barakat (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT RELIGION) - RTX16JWX

US, Turkey to rethink Syria policies

For starters, the United States and Turkey need to change their approaches to the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party.

Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah (L), Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah (C) and Turkey's President Abdullah Gul (R) pose for the official photo before the opening ceremony of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) summit in Mecca August 14, 2012. REUTERS/Susan Baaghil (SAUDI ARABIA - Tags: POLITICS ROYALS) - RTR36ULN

Turkey, Saudi ties less than meet the eye

Despite a shared interest in supporting opposition groups against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Riyadh and Ankara are unlikely to become allies.

Hezbollah contemplates next move

Israel’s president extends a hand to Iran, putting the ball in Hezbollah and Tehran's court.

Lebanon's anti-Syrian Christian Leader Michel Aoun speaks during an interview with Reuters in his house near Beirut. Lebanon's anti-Syrian Christian Leader Michel Aoun speaks during an interview with Reuters in his house near Beirut May 11,2005. Former general Michel Aoun, a leading opponent of Syria influence, said on Wednesday he was willing to join forces with allies of Damascus,including Hizbollah, to contest elections starting this month. REUTERS/Jamal Saidi - RTRAU5B

Michel Aoun: Lebanon 'paralyzed' by Syria war

In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, Gen. Michel Aoun, leader of Lebanon’s Free Patriotic Movement, blames Saudi Arabia for the deadlock in Lebanese politics.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal speaks during a joint news conference with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (not pictured) in Riyadh November 4, 2013. Kerry on Monday played down any rift with Saudi Arabia, saying relations between the two countries were strategic and enduring and that both agreed negotiations were the only way to stop Syria's civil war. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser (SAUDI ARABIA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX14ZTC

Israel's silent partner?

There may be common interests shared by Jerusalem and Riyadh, but there is no "alliance" on the horizon.