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Saudi Arabia

July 16, 2026

Riyadh 11:02 pm

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A ship sails off the coast of Ajman on July 10, 2026.

Interview

Why Strait of Hormuz no longer rattles oil markets as much: IMF

The fund's Middle East director, Jihad Azour, told Al-Monitor that the big Gulf energy producers now have more capacity to absorb the shock.

Jihad Azour

Jihad Azour

Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the International Monetary Fund

Latest News

Yemen’s Houthis accuse Saudi Arabia of striking Sanaa airport: What to know

Mohammed HUWAIS / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Saudi-UAE payment blocks could imperil billions in trade: What to know

A man crosses a street while returning home from work, in Dubai on June 23, 2026. (Photo by FADEL SENNA / AFP via Getty Images)

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Analysis

Carney bets on Saudi Arabia to help reduce dependence on US: What to know

Canada's Mark Carney (L) and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (R) met on the heels of the NATO summit in Riyadh on July 9, 2026.

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

How Iran war could impact oil markets in 2027

Igor IVANKO / AFP via Getty Images

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 Women on the Road Again

Saudi women are, as Willie Nelson sings, “on the road again.”

A U.N. vehicle returns to a hotel where experts from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) are staying, in Damascus October 11, 2013. The global chemical weapons watchdog charged with overseeing destruction of Syria's chemical weapons stockpile during a civil war won the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday. The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), a relatively small organisation with a modest budget, dispatched its experts after a sarin gas attack killed more t

Is Saudi Arabia Holding Up The Geneva II Conference on Syria?

While Turkey may be shifting its Syria policy in response to domestic and international pressure, Saudi Arabia appears to be digging in to oppose the trend toward a diplomatic solution.

A child vendor waits for tourists to sell them souvenirs at the Giza Pyramids, on the outskirts of Cairo August 26, 2013. REUTERS/Youssef Boudlal (EGYPT - Tags: SOCIETY TRAVEL) - RTX12XFC

Gulf Cash Gives Jolt of Life To Egypt's Economy

About $12 billion in aid and bank deposits are helping the Egyptian economy in the short term, but structural reforms are needed to sustain the economy in the long term.

Saudi businesswoman Zizi Badar (L) who runs a beauty company, talks to another woman in a rest room in Jeddah February 11, 2006. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra IMAGES ARE NOT AVAILABLE FOR ANY USE IN SAUDI ARABIA. Please contact your sales person at http://reut.rs/xwa0Hm for more information - RTR1BRRG

Saudi Women’s Slow Drive to Reform

The attention given to the demands of Saudi women to drive may miss the bigger picture of reform in the kingdom.

Saudi Arabia's Finance Minister Ibrahim Alassaf (front, 2nd R) walks with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Secretary-General Abdulatif al-Zayani (front R) to attend a meeting of Gulf Arab monetary and finance officials in Riyadh October 5, 2013. The central bank of Saudi Arabia, one of the world's top holders of U.S. government bonds, said on Saturday it was not worried by the political deadlock in Washington that could cause the United States to default on its debt. The U.S. Congress must agree on a measure

Saudi Arabia Deepens Its Isolation

The kingdom’s rejection of UN Security Council seat does not convey more proactive foreign policy.

Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al Faisal (L) talks with Qatar Foreign Minister Khalid Al Attiya following their meeting with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and members of the Arab Peace Initiative at the United States Embassy in Paris, September 8, 2013. REUTERS/Susan Walsh/Pool (FRANCE - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX13CWG

Saudi Arabia Shifts to More Activist Foreign Policy Doctrine

The kingdom should give priority to a regional initiative in Syria and a collective security framework for maintaining order in the Arab world.

A weapons dealer checks AK-47 rifles before selling it to smugglers transferring it to Syria, at his house near the city of Mosul, 390km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, February 16, 2012. The weapons dealers sell a rifle for about $1000. REUTERS/Stringer (IRAQ - Tags: CONFLICT) - RTR2XY8B

Smugglers Easily Cross Iraq’s Border

Despite the efforts of Iraq and the six countries bordering it, Iraq’s borders are easily navigated by professional smugglers.

Muslim pilgrims pray atop Mount Thor in the holy city of Mecca ahead of the annual haj pilgrimage October 11, 2013. Mount Thor marks the start of the journey of the Prophet Mohammad and his companion Abu Bakr Al-Sadeeq from Mecca to Medina. It houses Thor cave where Prophet Mohammed is believed to have hid from the people of Quraish before his Hijra (migration) to Medina. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa (SAUDI ARABIA - Tags: RELIGION) - RTX147ME

Sacred Meets Profane During Hajj

Politics and profit mix with spirituality during the annual pilgrimage to Mecca.

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi (L) looks past his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu (2nd R) during the opening of a ministerial meeting in the Saudi Red Sea city of Jeddah, by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on May 13, 2013. The OIC urged its member states to make generous contributions at this week's main donors conference on Mali to be held in Brussels, which aims to raise funds to repair the damage caused by the war against Islamists in the African country. AFP PHOTO/STR

Lebanon Stability Depends On Iran-Saudi Entente

The warming trends in US-Russia and US-Iran ties may or may not benefit Lebanon, unless Iran and Saudi Arabia end their sectarian regional policies.

The Saudi Duality on Women

An unknown Saudi cleric goes viral following his comments on why women can’t drive.

Yemen’s Brotherhood: Early Losses and an Unknown Future

Following the Yemeni revolution, the local Muslim Brotherhood has worked to expand alliances, but often at the expense of their revolutionary partners, which could cost them vital public support.

Female driver Azza Al Shmasani alights from her car after driving in defiance of the ban in Riyadh June 22, 2011. Saudi Arabia has no formal ban on women driving. But as citizens must use only Saudi-issued licences in the country, and as these are issued only to men, women drivers are anathema. An outcry at the segregation, which contributes to the general cloistering of Saudi women, has been fuelled by social media interest in two would-be female motorists arrested in May.REUTERS/Fahad Shadeed (SAUDI ARA

Saudi Women Renew Fight To Lift Driving Ban

A Saudi student's online call to challenge once again the ban on women driving has gone viral.