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August 8, 2026

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Gianni Infantino, President of FIFA, speaks to the media during a FIFA World Cup 2026 Opening Press Conference at Mexico City Stadium on June 10, 2026 in Mexico City, Mexico.

Analysis

FIFA in turmoil: Middle East takes center stage as Infantino fights to stay in power

Amid the backlash to FIFA President Gianni Infantino's controversial investment plan, upcoming World Cup hosts Morocco and Saudi Arabia have starring roles in the drama.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and Pakistani Prime Minister Shebaz Sharif in Mecca after signing the defense pact, Aug. 7, 2026.

Analysis

How Saudi-Turkey-Pakistan pact puts Iran's regional strategy to test

The defense agreement is not an anti-Iran bloc, but it may reflect a deeper regional adjustment to years of Iranian asymmetric warfare as well as uncertainty over US security commitments.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) welcomes Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman (R) during an official ceremony at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, on June 22, 2022.

Explainer

'A claim to be tested': Can Saudi Arabia-Turkey-Pakistan defense pact deter Iran?

The pact commits the three countries to collective defense, bringing together NATO's second-largest army, the Muslim world's only nuclear power and the guardian of Islam's holiest sites.

Latest News

Turkey’s Erdogan heads to Saudi Arabia for talks with MBS, Pakistan’s Sharif

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) welcomes Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (L) upon his arrival during an official ceremony at the Presidential Complex in Ankara on June 22, 2022.

Explainer

Iran-Oman deal spurs Hormuz hopes as Red Sea threats evolve

Khaled ZIAD / AFP via Getty Images

Oil falls 5% after Trump calls off Iran strikes, says Hormuz deal agreed

SAEED KHAN / 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 Arabia to pay families of health care workers who died from COVID-19

The government will disperse $133,000 per family.

A picture of French President Emmanuel Macron is burned by Palestinians during a demonstration against him at the Palestine Technical University in al-Aroub, north of the West Bank city of Hebron, on October 27, 2020. - Calls to boycott French goods are growing in the Arab world and beyond, after President Emmanuel Macron criticised Islamists and vowed not to "give up cartoons" depicting the Prophet Mohammed. Macron's comments came in response to the beheading of a teacher, Samuel Paty, outside his school i

Saudi Arabia condemns 'offensive cartoons' as calls grow for French boycott

The kingdom "rejects any attempt to link Islam with terrorism," a Foreign Ministry source said.

Saudi students pass their final exams at a workshop in the Higher Institute for Plastics Fabrication on June 13, 2016 in Riyadh.
The students at the Higher Institute for Plastics Fabrication (HIPF) learn to manufacture plastic bags, pipes, bottles and other products, skills they immediately put to work in what the government says is a unique model. Reducing the kingdom's high unemployment rate is a foundation -- and major challenge -- of the government's wide-ranging Vision 2030 reform plan unveiled in Apr

Can Gulf states adopt universal basic income?

Existing social welfare systems have insulated Gulf nationals from changing economic realities and the likelihood of a major global energy transition in the coming decades.

Russian fighter jets drop bombs over the Ashuluk military base in Southern Russia on September 22, 2020 during the "Caucasus-2020" military drills gathering China, Iran, Pakistan and Myanmar troops, along with ex-Soviet Armenia, Azerbaijan and Belarus. - Up to 250 tanks and around 450 infantry combat vehicles and armoured personnel carriers will take part in the September 21 to 26 land and naval exercises that will involve 80,000 people including support staff. (Photo by Dimitar DILKOFF / AFP) (Photo by DIM

Can Russia return to Iranian arms market following end of weapons embargo?

With the end of the UN arms embargo, Iran could be looking to purchase new additions to its defense system — could Russia become a main supplier again?

OSAKA, JAPAN - JUNE 28: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during a family photo session at G20 summit on June 28, 2019 in Osaka, Japan. U.S. President Donald Trump arrived in Osaka on Thursday for the annual Group of 20 gathering together with other world leaders who will use the two-day summit to discuss pressing economic, climate change, as well as geopolitical issues. The US-China trade war is expected to dominate the meetings in Osaka as President Tr

Citing rights abuses, House Democrats push administration to snub Saudi-hosted G-20 summit

Lawmakers said the US government has an obligation to ensure such gatherings are not used to distract from ongoing human rights violations.

ISTANBUL, TURKEY - JULY 03: Hatice Cengiz, the fiancee of murdered Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, speaks to the media after the first session of the murder trial outside the Caglayan Court House on July 03, 2020 in Istanbul, Turkey. Twenty Saudi nationals went on trial in absentia over the murder of Jamal Khashoggi who was killed inside the Saudi Consulate in 2018. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

Jamal Khashoggi’s fiancee sues Mohammed bin Salman in US court

More than two dozen Saudis are named in the lawsuit seeking accountability for Jamal Khashoggi's "ruthless torture and murder."

Saudi FM wants focus on Israeli-Palestinian talks over 'eventual normalization'

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said the focus of Palestinian-Israeli peace efforts should be on bringing the two sides back to the negotiating table.

Head of the Houthi prisoner exchange committee Abdulkader al-Murtada (C - L) shakes hands with Head of the Yemeni government delegation Hadi Haig (C - L) between ICRC Director for the Near and Middle East Fabrizio Carboni (L) and UN Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths at the end of a week-long meeting on a Yemen prisoner exchange agreement on September 27, 2020 in Glion, western Switzerland. - Both sides in Yemen's war have agreed to exchange more than 1,000 prisoners, the UN mediator during a week of

Yemen's Houthi rebels release two US citizens in prisoner swap

Officials from Saudi Arabia and Oman helped negotiate the release

Unidentified guests attend a meeting of Finance ministers and central bank governors of the G20 nations in the Saudi capital Riyadh on February 23, 2020. - The deadly coronavirus epidemic will dent global growth, the IMF warned, as G20 finance ministers and central bank governors weighed its economic ripple effects at a two-day gathering in Riyadh. (Photo by FAYEZ NURELDINE / AFP) (Photo by FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images)

Religion and policy collide in Saudi-hosted interfaith forum

The G-20 interfaith forum will be virtually hosted by Riyadh this year, while the kingdom faces mounting criticism for human rights violations and religious persecution.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, right, listens to Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud speaks during their meeting at the State Department, October 14, 2020, in Washington, DC. - US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on October 14, 2020 encouraged Saudi Arabia to recognize Israel, in what would be a massive boost for the Jewish state amid normalization by two other Gulf Arab kingdoms. (Photo by Manuel Balce CENETA / POOL / AFP) (Photo by MANUEL BALCE CENETA/POOL/AFP via Getty Image

Pompeo calls on Saudi Arabia to normalize relations with Israel

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also raised human rights concerns during a meeting with his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan.

Saudi FM to meet with Pompeo for inaugural strategic dialogue

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud will discuss the bilateral relationship Wednesday.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (C) participates in a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) meeting in New York on September 28, 2018. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP) (Photo credit should read JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)

As US elections near, GCC states chart middle course between US and China

Former Vice President and Democratic candidate for president Joe Biden's previous statement to make Saudi Arabia a 'pariah' hangs over the region.