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

Saudi Arabia cover image

Saudi Arabia

April 27, 2026

Riyadh 1:43 pm

36°C

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

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.

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

Saudi Arabia has been engaged in intense diplomacy in Lebanon in recent days, leading up to the extension of a ceasefire with Israel.

A person walks past the closed Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center on Jan. 7, 2021, in New York City.

Why did the Met Opera lose its Saudi funding deal?

The deal, announced as a nonbinding memorandum of understanding last September, would have seen the PIF inject up to $200 million into the opera institution over the next eight years.

Latest News

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

Syria’s Sharaa makes fourth visit to Saudi Arabia, first since Iran war: What to know

Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrives ahead of a meeting with Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer at 10 Downing Street in central London on March 31, 2026.

MBS hosts Sudan's Burhan in Jeddah as $1.5B Saudi-backed arms deal stalls

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meets with Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan in Jeddah, on April 20, 2026.

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

People walk at the scene of an air strike that hit a gas station near a hospital in Kutaf district of the northwestern province of Saada, Yemen March 28, 2019. REUTERS/Naif Rahma - RC1B84944380

Saudi-led coalition in Yemen denies civilians targeted in Saada airstrike

The Houthi group said 13 civilians, including four children, were killed in a coalition airstrike Monday.

An ampoule of Dexamethasone is seen during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in this picture illustration taken June 17, 2020. REUTERS/Yves Herman/Illustration - RC23BH9ZVDAF

Saudi Arabia approves dexamethasone as coronavirus treatment

The kingdom's Ministry of Health has begun using the cheap drug on critically ill patients.

Saudi-led coalition in Yemen intercepts ballistic missile blamed on Houthis

A spokesperson for the coalition said the missile was among more than 300 launched by the rebels since 2015.

A view of the Central Bank of Yemen in Aden, Yemen December 13, 2018. Picture taken December 13, 2018. REUTERS/Fawaz Salman - RC1E76E38540

Intel: Yemen separatists capture government convoy hauling cash to Aden

Fighters affiliated with Yemen’s Southern Transitional Council hijacked a convoy carrying billions of foreign-printed Yemeni riyals near the port of Aden on Saturday.

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: Missiles that struck Saudi Arabia last year 'of Iranian origin,' UN says

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the drones and cruise missiles that struck Saudi Arabia’s oil refineries and an international airport last year came from Iran.

Football players enter the pitch as the stands are seen empty after the decision of the Saudi Ministry of Sports, following an outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), during the Saudi Professional League soccer match between AL-Hilal and Al-Ettifaq at King Saud University Stadium, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia March 7, 2020. Picture taken March 7, 2020. REUTERS/Ahmed Yosri - RC2MFF9J8T68

Saudi soccer to resume this summer

Matches will resume with health measures in place, after they had stopped in March due to the coronavirus outbreak.

U.S. State Department Inspector General Steve Linick departs after briefing House and Senate Intelligence committees at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., October 2, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RC18378F57D0

Intel: State Department official 'tried to bully' watchdog reviewing Saudi arms sale

The independent watchdog ousted by President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that a high-ranking State Department official “tried to bully” him in part because of his review of last year’s emergency arms sale for Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

A Saudi man wearing a protective face mask performs the Friday prayers inside the Al-Rajhi Mosque, after the announcement of the easing of lockdown measures amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia June 5, 2020. REUTERS/Ahmed Yosri - RC233H910J1J

Saudi Arabia puts Jeddah under 15-day curfew after virus spike

Beginning Saturday, residents of Jeddah must adhere to a curfew from 3 p.m. to 6 a.m.

Iraq still committed to energy ties with Saudi Arabia, Gulf states despite Iran electricity deal

Iraq has signed an agreement with Iran to continue importing gas and electricity for two years.

Egyptians returning from the Gulf face uncertain economic future

While studies expect an economic catastrophe in Egypt due to the coronavirus-related recession of the Gulf economy and the resulting demobilization of thousands of Egyptians working abroad, some observers believe that the return of Egyptian workers will develop an efficient Egyptian labor market.

Saudi aid to Yemen will continue despite reports of Houthi interference

In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor after the Yemen Donor Conference, Abdullah Al Rabeeah, supervisor general of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center, said he expects pledges to continue.

Can Saudi Arabia fix Yemen’s anti-Houthi coalition?

Following the breakdown of the Riyadh agreement, and renewed fighting in April, Saudi Arabia hosted the STC president to discuss the situation, but it remains doubtful the Gulf state can offer an easy solution if the war with the Houthis is not settled first.