Saudi Arabia's mounting security challenges
Saudi Arabia's battle in Yemen and conflicts with Iran, coupled with the fall in the price of oil, point to a trying 2016 for the kingdom.
![SAUDI ARABIA-RELIGION Members of Saudi security forces take part in a military parade in preparation for the annual Haj pilgrimage in the holy city of Mecca September 17, 2015. REUTERS/Ahmad Masood TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTS1M2W](/sites/default/files/styles/article_hero_medium/public/almpics/2015/12/RTS1M2W.jpg/RTS1M2W.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=iaUe1sU1)
Saudi Arabia faces an increasingly complex web of security challenges at a time when its economy is depressed. With oil prices unlikely to rise in the next couple of years, King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud will have to balance carefully his foreign policy priorities.
The kingdom announced its new budget Dec. 28 with a record $87 billion deficit. Revenues are projected at $137 billion and spending at $224 billion.