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September 28, 2026

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Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (3rd R) with Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud (R) and Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar (2nd R), Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman (C), Turkish Chief of the General Staff General Selcuk Bayraktaroglu (L), Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif (2nd R), Pakistani Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir (3rd R) at the first meeting of the Strategic Political and Defence Committee in relation to the

Analysis

Why Turkey is drawing the line at defense in its support for Saudi Arabia

Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia are forcing Mecca pact signatories to quickly operationalize their agreement, but are unlikely to draw Turkey into direct action against the Iran-backed group.

Ezgi Akin

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

France s President Emmanuel Macron welcomes Saudi Arabia s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as he arrives for a State diner in his honor at the Elysee Palace in Paris on Aug. 24, 2026.

What France’s military deployment means for Saudi Arabia’s fight against Houthis

New pledges of limited British and French military deployments fall short of what Riyadh would likely need to defend its skies should the Houthis escalate further.

A shipping vessel transits the Strait of Hormuz

Explainer

Saudi Arabia’s return to Hormuz puts oil transfer network to the test

For months, Saudi Arabia had been eschewing the Strait of Hormuz, but the kingdom has now resorted to ship-to-ship transfers through the vital waterway.

ANGELA WEISS / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Can Netanyahu turn Israel's UN isolation into strength at home?

The absence of a Trump meeting would have been awkward for Netanyahu, who has long portrayed himself to Israeli voters as uniquely close to the US president.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Latest News

Samuel Wendel

Senior Analyst, Middle East Business & Tech

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

FILE PHOTO - A Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptor is launched during a successful intercept test, in this undated handout photo provided by the U.S. Department of Defense, Missile Defense Agency. U.S. Department of Defense, Missile Defense Agency/Handout via Reuters/File PhotoATTENTION EDITORS - FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CL

Congress OK with Saudi missile defense sale amid warming Israel-Gulf ties

Israel seems fine with Saudi Arabia getting an anti-ballistic missile system, as does Capitol Hill.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (R) meets with Libyan Prime Minister Fayez Seraj in Moscow, Russia, March 2, 2017. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin - RTS115AB

Can Russia, West cooperate on Libya?

Moscow sees an opportunity to engage with Europe to help solve Libya’s crisis, and the US president seems ready and willing to stay out of it.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Saudi Deputy Crown Prince and Minister of Defense Mohammed bin Salman take their seats for lunch in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, U.S., March 14, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RTX30ZV5

Trump goes to Riyadh

US President Donald Trump may want to learn lessons from previous presidential encounters with Saudi kings if he wants his trip to visit King Salman to be a success.

U.S. President Donald Trump waves as he leaves the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, U.S., before his departure to New York May 4, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Barria - RTS1581R

White House sees wild-card nature as asset in Trump’s first foreign trip

Trump’s first foreign trip as president will be to Saudi Arabia, Israel and Rome, the holy places for Islam, Judaism and Christianity, as he tries to rally the world to unite against extremism and intolerance, aides say.

A ship is docked at the Red Sea port of Hodeidah, Yemen, March 23, 2017. REUTERS/Abduljabbar Zeyad - RTX32F02

In shift, Saudis seek political solution for Yemen port

Hoping signs of progress in talks with Houthi rebels come to fruition, Riyadh is now looking away from military plans and considering a political solution to take a strategic Yemeni Red Sea port.

Saudi Arabia's Deputy Defense Minister Mohammed Al-Ayesh meets U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis (R) next to NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg (L) during a meeting at the Alliance headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, February 15, 2017. REUTERS/Virginia Mayo/Pool - RTSYZVU

Saudis seek renewed relations with US under Trump

The Saudis want US President Donald Trump to reconsider policies made during the Obama administration, especially regarding Iran, which they say has not changed its conduct since the nuclear deal.

U.S. President Donald Trump gives a thumbs-up as he and White House Senior Advisor Jared Kushner depart the White House in Washington, U.S., March 15, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RTX3155P

Trump’s Mideast plan starts taking shape

US President Donald Trump’s Middle East team is exploring the possibility of a double-track initiative for Israeli-Palestinian and Middle East regional talks.

Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir (R) and Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani attend a news conference after an extraordinary meeting of the foreign ministers of GCC, in Riyadh January 9, 2016. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser - RTX21N8K

Why region should prepare for long Saudi-Iranian confrontation

Despite the efforts of smaller players such as Kuwait and Oman to defuse tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran, there is little on the horizon suggesting an end to Riyadh’s determination to directly confront Tehran.

Will Riyadh’s new DC ambassador draw US deeper into Yemen war?

While the new Saudi ambassador to Washington, Khaled bin Salman, wants to convince the Trump administration to get more involved in the war in Yemen, history may deter the US administration.

A member of the Islamist Syrian opposition group Ahrar al-Sham fires against a position of the Committees for the Protection of the Kurdish People (YPG), a militia set up to protect Kurdish areas in Syria from opposing forces, during clashes in the countryside of the northern Syrian Raqqa province on August 25, 2013. Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said on August 27 the UN mission investigating alleged chemical weapons attacks in Damascus has been delayed until the following after rebels failed to gu

Complex deal frees kidnapped Qatari royals, two Saudis

Various versions of a recent hostage deal are circulating that include, potentially, political motivations, millions of dollars in ransom, exchanged military prisoners and relocated civilians.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (L) listens to his Jordanian counterpart Nasser Judeh during a joint news conference in Amman, Jordan January 14, 2014. REUTERS/Mohammad Hannon/Pool (JORDAN - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX17E5V

War of words escalates between Jordan, Iran

Jordan’s 1994 peace treaty with Israel along with its pro-US orientation seems to have put the country on a collision course with Iran.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan addresses his supporters at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Turkey, April 17, 2017. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RTS12NRL

Does Erdogan expect Trump to ditch Syrian Kurds?

US and Turkish presidents talk, agree to meeting in Washington; Saudi-Iraqi ties hit Iranian ceiling; Turkey sees al-Bab as safe haven for displaced Syrians.