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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

Shiite Muslim pilgrims gather in front of the shrine of Imam Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Mohammed, on Arafah day, referring to a prayer performed by Shiites in Saudi Arabia's Arafat plain on the second day of hajj, on September 11, 2016 in the holy city of Karbala, 80 kilometres south of the capital Baghdad.
Barred from Mecca amid an escalating spat between Tehran and Saudi Arabia, masses of Iranian Shiite faithful have converged on the holy Iraqi city of Karbala for an alternative pilgrimage. The r

Will Iranian pilgrims forsake Mecca for Karbala?

Iran and Saudi Arabia are expanding the conflict over Islamic religious sites as they continue to exploit religion for their political interests.

People stand on the rubble of a school destroyed by a Saudi-led air strike in an outskirt of the northwestern city of Saada, Yemen September 14, 2016. REUTERS/Naif Rahma - RTSNNEQ

Iran looms large over Senate fight to block arms sales for Saudi war in Yemen

Resolution sponsors insist: It’s a civil war, not a proxy war.

(L-R) Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, Saudi King Salman, and Saudi Arabia's Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman stand together as Saudi Arabia's cabinet agrees to implement a broad reform plan known as Vision 2030 in Riyadh, April 25, 2016. To match Insight SAUDI-PLAN/PRINCE Saudi Press Agency/Handout/File Photo via REUTERS. ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVE. - RTX2CU2M

Riyadh's bold gamble

King Salman's costly foreign adventures and high-risk interventions are a significant departure from past Saudi foreign policy.

Palestinians shop as a mannequin displaying a headscarf and robe is seen at a market ahead of the Eid al-Adha festival in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip September 23, 2015. Muslims across the world are preparing to celebrate the annual festival of Eid al-Adha or the Feast of the Sacrifice, which marks the end of the annual haj pilgrimage, by slaughtering goats, sheep, cows and camels in commemoration of the Prophet Abraham's readiness to sacrifice his son to show obedience to Allah. REUTERS/Ibraheem

Hajj is 'blessed season' for Gaza shop owners

Added expense and problems with transport are leading Gazans to buy hajj gifts from local markets rather than in Saudi Arabia.

Meet the likely successor of Islamic State’s Baghdadi

After IS spokesman and second-in-command Abu Mohamed al-Adnani was killed in an airstrike last month, there are indications that Bahraini citizen Turki al-Binali may replace him.

Iranian men holding a picture Bahraini Shiite cleric Sheikh Isa Qassim (R) and a caricature of the Saudi king, participate in an anti-Saudi demonstration in the capital Tehran on September 9, 2016.
With Iranians barred from the annual hajj pilgrimage, thousands protested in Tehran and officials criticised Saudi Arabia's refusal to discuss last year's deadly stampede during which more than 400 Iranians were among the nearly 2,300 pilgrims that were killed. The writing on the posters in Arabic read "Malicious

Iranian commander offers rare advice

The special military adviser to Iran’s supreme leader has called for Tehran to strengthen ties with the Gulf states and avoid increasing tensions with Saudi Arabia.

Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz (C-L) walks with Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi during a welcoming ceremony upon al-Sisi's arrival to attend the Summit of South American-Arab Countries, in Riyadh November 10, 2015. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTS6BGC

Is Egypt-Saudi love affair on the rocks?

While some in Saudi Arabia are furious after the grand imam of Egypt’s Al-Azhar spoke at a Chechen conference that condemned Riyadh, others argue that ties between the two are stronger than ever.

Shiite Muslim pilgrims, mostly from Iran, walk near the shrine of Imam Abbas on Arafah day, referring to a prayer performed by Shiites in Saudi Arabia's Arafat plain on the second day of hajj, on September 11, 2016 in the holy Iraqi city of Karbala, 80 kilometres south of the capital Baghdad.
Barred from Mecca amid an escalating spat between Tehran and Saudi Arabia, masses of Iranian Shiite faithful have converged on the holy Iraqi city of Karbala for an alternative pilgrimage. The row that has prevented I

Saudi Arabia launches Persian-language hajj TV program for Iranians

The Muslim festival to mark Eid al-Adha has done little to reduce tensions between regional rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia.

Flames rise from Saudi Arabia's embassy after it was stormed by Iranian protesters during a demonstration in Tehran, Iran, January 2, 2016. REUTERS/TIMA/Mehdi Ghasemi/ISNA/File Photo ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS IMAGE. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. NO THIRD PARTY SALES. NOT FOR USE BY REUTERS THIRD PARTY DISTRIBUTORS. THIS PICTURE IS

Are Saudis open to rapprochement with Iran?

Despite a war of words between Iran and Saudi Arabia and other tensions, some observers believe relations between Riyadh and Tehran could improve.

Anti-Wahhabism spreading in Muslim world

The Shiism-Wahhabism conflict is expanding among other Islamic denominations, as several Sunni schools are taking actions against Wahhabism.

An aircraft fires missiles during the Northern Thunder exercises, in Hafr Al-Batin, near Saudi Arabia's border with Iraq, March 10, 2016. REUTERS/Abedullah al-Desori EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVE - RTSA6JM

Will 9/11 lawsuit vote sabotage US arms sales to Riyadh?

The Obama administration has offered to sell Saudi Arabia a record $115 billion in weapons. Does the Sept. 9 vote to allow the families of terrorist victims to sue the kingdom mean an end to business as usual?

An armed man loyal to the Houthi movement holds up ammunition as he gathers to protest against the Saudi-backed exiled government deciding to cut off the Yemeni central bank from the outside world, in the capital Sanaa, Yemen August 25, 2016. REUTERS/Mohamed al-Sayaghi - RTX2N19E

How long can the Houthis hold on to Yemen?

It seems the Houthi rebels are the only ones benefiting from the ongoing war in Yemen, as Saudi Arabia’s and Yemen’s economies have been badly affected.