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Saudi Arabia

September 29, 2026

Riyadh 10:15 am

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Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed

UAE’s Sheikh Mansour to visit Saudi Arabia amid strained ties

The two Gulf countries have been at odds over Yemen, where Saudi Arabia backs Yemen’s internationally recognized government, while the UAE has supported the separatist Southern Transitional Council.

AFP via Getty Images

Shipping giants sail cautiously back into Red Sea despite Houthi threats

Hapag-Lloyd and Maersk announced earlier this month that three services under their shipping partnership would shift from the Cape of Good Hope route back to the Red Sea.

UAE President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (R) received His Excellency Hakan Fidan, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey (L), in Abu Dhabi on Sept. 28, 2026.

Turkey's FM in UAE to discuss Yemen war, Hormuz closure: What to know

The top Turkish diplomat was set to stress Ankara's support for a peaceful and “united Yemen” amid renewed Houthi advances.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud shakes hands with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio as they pose for photos before a meeting at the US State Department on Sept. 28, 2026 in Washington, DC.

Rubio meets Saudi FM as fight against Yemen's Houthis intensifies

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan's visit comes two days after Saudi Arabia said it intercepted multiple Houthi drones and ballistic missiles.

Latest News

Analysis

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

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

Ezgi Akin

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

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

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.

Explainer

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

A shipping vessel transits the Strait of Hormuz

Analysis

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

ANGELA WEISS / AFP via Getty Images

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

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

Militant Islamist fighters take part in a military parade along the streets of northern Raqqa province June 30, 2014. Militant Islamist fighters held a parade in Syria's northern Raqqa province to celebrate their declaration of an Islamic "caliphate" after the group captured territory in neighbouring Iraq, a monitoring service said. The Islamic State, an al Qaeda offshoot previously known as Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), posted pictures online on Sunday of people waving black flags from cars

Who are the Kharijites and what do they have to do with IS?

Many Islamic authorities, including Saudi Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al ash-Sheikh, consider the Islamic State to be an extension of the Kharijites, a group of the first Muslims who rebelled against authority during the early Islamic centuries.

Shi'ite Houthi rebels drive a patrol truck past a Ansar al-Sharia flag painted on the side of a hill, along a road in Almnash, the main stronghold of Ansar al-Sharia, in Rada November 22, 2014. Shi'ite Houthi fighters recently managed to enter the area, which had long been the main stronghold of Ansar al-Sharia, the local wing of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). Picture taken November 22, 2014. REUTERS/Mohamed al-Sayaghi (YEMEN - Tags: CIVIL UNREST TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY CONFLICT) - RTR4F880

Yemen falling out of Saudis' grasp

Saudi Arabia is struggling to form an effective Yemen strategy as its three main adversaries — the Shiite Houthis, al-Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood — continue to dominate the Yemeni arena.

Will next Saudi king seize opportunity for change?

The successor to King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz needs to make real political reforms, whether pressured by citizens or not.

Is the Saudi succession near?

With an ailing king, Saudi Arabia's royal succession comes into focus, as well as the kingdom's forthcoming challenges.

An empty chair representing the Lebanese president is pictured at the opening of the Beiteddine International Festival in Beiteddine, Mount Lebanon, June 26, 2014. The annual entertainment festival takes place in the Ottoman Ruins of the Beiteddine Palace. Lebanese parliamentarians have not elected a new president since former President Michel Suleiman's term ended. REUTERS/Sharif Karim (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS ENTERTAINMENT) - RTR3VYUF

Saudi support shores up talks in Lebanon

Saudi Arabia is overwhelmed with risks on several fronts, which might explain its efforts to promote a Sunni-Shiite and a Christian-Christian dialogue in Lebanon and bring its ally Saad Hariri back to the table.

A Saudi policeman checks the ID card of a driver at a checkpoint in the mostly Shiite Qatif region of Eastern Province on November 25, 2011. Four people have been killed and nine others wounded in an exchange of gunfire between security forces and what the Saudi interior ministry called criminals serving a foreign power in the country's oil-producing Eastern Province. AFP PHOTO/FAYEZ NURELDINE (Photo credit should read FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP/Getty Images)

Saudis work together to head off sectarian violence

The November attack against Saudi Shiites in al-Ahsa governorate drew unanimous condemnation from conservative Sunnis and Shiites alike, who are determined to prevent sectarian strife.

Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah (R) meets with Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani in this handout picture released by the Hezbollah Media office and received by Reuters on December 23, 2014. REUTERS/Hezbollah Media Office/Handout via Reuters (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS) 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 O

Hezbollah, Future Movement eye presidency

Hezbollah and the Future Movement have begun a dialogue on filling Lebanon's presidency, offering some reason for hope.

Iran's Ebrahim Sadeghisenjani (L) fights for the ball with Palestine's Rafat Ayyad (C) and Abdallatif Albahdari during their West Asian Championship soccer match in Tehran August 7, 2008. REUTERS/Fadi Al-Assaad (IRAN) - RTR20Q54

Outrage as Palestinian soccer team cancels friendly with Iran

The Palestinian soccer team canceled a friendly match with Iran, sparking online outrage that it was at the instigation of Iran's competitors.

Clerics speak on the campus of the Seminary in Qom, 120 km (75 miles) south of Tehran February 3, 2009. REUTERS/Caren Firouz (IRAN) - RTXB72L

Qom, Najaf call for improved relations with Saudi Arabia

Prominent religious authorities in both Qom and Najaf have called on political leaders in their countries to improve their relations with Saudi Arabia after the latter took a strict stance against Salafist jihadism.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (R) arrives with the Islamic republic's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif at the opening session of a two-day conference on combatting extremism on December 9, 2014 in Tehran. Delegations from 40 countries, including Syria and Iraq, are attending the meetings. AFP PHOTO/ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)

Shiites, Sunnis unite to denounce and condemn extremists

The recent surge of Islamist extremists movements has had a positive effect in uniting Shiite and Sunni clerics, from Tehran to Cairo, to denounce the waves of intolerance and radicalism.

A Shi'ite Houthi rebel walks at a checkpoint in Sanaa December 11, 2014. The Houthis are an armed Shi'ite faction whose fighters had swept down from the north and stunningly captured Sanaa from the army about a month earlier. Their arrival following anti-government protests threatens to further destabilise Yemen, already wracked by political turmoil since the Arab Spring revolutions of 2011. To match Insight YEMEN-HOUTHIS/ REUTERS/Mohamed al-Sayaghi (YEMEN - Tags: CIVIL UNREST TRANSPORT) - RTR4HNFD

Iran's role in Yemen draws Israel, Saudi Arabia closer

The Houthi takeover of the Yemen port city, the tribe's strong ties to Iran and its latest contacts with Palestine Islamic Jihad have both Israel and Saudi Arabia worried.

"The Wall" sculpture by Iranian Parviz Tanavoli is exhibited in Dubai, on April 27, 2008, prior to being auctioned at Christies Middle East next week. The estimated price of the sculpture painting is between $400,000-$600,000 (1,500,000-2,200,000UAE Dirhams). Christie's organisers said that the spring sales is set to offer more than $30,000,000 worth of art, jewellery and watches to Middle East market. AFP PHOTO/MARWAN NAAMANI (Photo credit should read MARWAN NAAMANI/AFP/Getty Images)

Inside the world of high-end Middle Eastern art sales

Sales of Middle Eastern art at Christie's Dubai are setting records for artists, highlighting the vibrant scene for modern and contemporary Arab, Iranian and Turkish art.