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Saudi Arabia

December 7, 2025

Riyadh 2:07 am

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This picture taken on December 11, 2019, shows an oil tanker at the port of Ras al-Khair, about 185 kilometres north of Dammam in Saudi Arabia's eastern province overlooking the Gulf. (Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE / AFP) (Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images)

Saudi Arabia advances gas ambitions as $100B Jafurah plant comes online

The Finance Ministry reported that initial output at the massive Jafurah gas field has begun, with a capacity of 450 million cubic feet per day.

Fighters affiliated with Yemen's separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC) man a position as they deploy amid tensions in the southern port city of Aden, on February 3, 2022, after Washington announced sending a warship and fighter jets to help defend its Gulf allies as conflict with Yemeni rebels intensifies. (Photo by Saleh Al-OBEIDI / AFP) (Photo by SALEH AL-OBEIDI/AFP via Getty Images)

Yemen's STC separatists advance in Hadramout as UAE-Saudi rift grows

The fighting between the UAE-backed southern separatists and Saudi-aligned tribal forces, nominal allies against the Houthis, has raised concerns about the division of Yemen.

Royal Bahraini Air Force F-16s perform air maneuvers during the 2018 Bahrain International Airshow at the Sakhir Airbase on Nov. 14 2018.

US approves $1.4B in military sales to Saudi Arabia, Bahrain: What to know

An estimated $1 billion in foreign military sales will go to Saudi Arabia, and $445 million will go to Bahrain.

Latest News

Saudi Arabia signs first visa-free travel agreement with Russia: What to know

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Analysis

US-Gulf critical minerals ties grow in bid to weaken China’s grip on industry

Spots of gold-rich ore speckle a stone pictured during a press tour at the Al-Amar Gold Mine, in the Riyadh region on May 28, 2008.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Analysis

South Korea’s $15B jet offer expands UAE's options as US moves to sell Saudis F-35s

GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images

Francesco Schiavi

By Francesco Schiavi

In Bologna, reporting on security, defense, economy, governance

Saudi Arabia opens Nomu Parallel Market to new investors: What to know

A man monitors the board at the Stock Exchange Market (Tadawul) bourse in Riyadh, Dec. 12, 2019.

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

Sebastian Castelier

In Dubai, reporting on regional business

TOPSHOT - US President Joe Biden (C-L) and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (C) arrive for the family photo during the Jeddah Security and Development Summit (GCC+3) at a hotel in Saudi Arabia's Red Sea coastal city of Jeddah on July 16, 2022. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN / POOL / AFP) (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Biden’s grand bargain between Saudi Arabia and Israel hangs by a thread

Diplomatic sources briefed on the discussions suggest it would likely fall short of Article 5 of the United States’ 1960 treaty with Japan, but would likely go beyond the benefits of major non-NATO ally.

This picture taken December 12, 2019 shows a man monitoring the board at the Stock Exchange Market (Tadawul) bourse in Riyadh. - Energy giant Saudi Aramco's market value soared above $2 trillion as its share price surged again on its second day of trading. The valuation milestone was sought by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman when he first floated the idea of selling up to five percent of Aramco, the world's largest oil firm, about four years ago. Aramco shares jumped another 9.7 percent to 38.60 riya

Mideast passes stress test as Iran-Israel trade blows, but economic challenges remain

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (C) speaks with Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan (R) as they walk past portraits of the founding leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council during the Joint Ministerial Meeting of the GCC-US Strategic Partnership discussing the humanitarian situation in Gaza, at the GCC Secretariat in Riyadh on April 29, 2024. (Photo by EVELYN HOCKSTEIN / POOL / AFP) (Photo by EVELYN HOCKSTEIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Saudi Arabia 'very, very close' to US security pact tied to Palestinian state

In separate comments on Monday, the Saudi and US top diplomats said bilateral agreements on security and defense cooperation — which Riyadh is seeking if it agrees to normalize ties with Israel — were imminent.

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - APRIL 02: The many pylons that provide power to Dubai are seen in the desert on April 2, 2007 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Commerce and Industry is currently thriving in Dubai and Indian and Pakistani expatriot workers are the backbone of the workforce, sending money back to their families at home. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

Gulf telcos flexing investment might amid drive to become global brands

Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

An Austrian soldier guards the entrance to the OPEC headquarters on October 4, 2022 on the eve of the 45th Meeting of the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee and the 33rd OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting held on October 05, in Vienna, Austria. - The OPEC+ oil cartel will meet in Vienna for the first time since Covid curbs were introduced in 2020. The face-to-face meeting of the 13 OPEC members led by Saudi Arabia and its 10 allied members headed by Russia will be the first in the Austrian capital si

Can OPEC survive the energy transition?

Kate Dourian

In Dubai, reporting on energy

Saudi-UK tech hub

Interview

Saudi Arabia's giga-projects to offer 'testing ground' for British technology

Saudi startups and fintech firms are looking to tap into the United Kingdom's $1 trillion tech market.

Matt Jones

Matt Jones

Saudi British Joint Business Council Project Officer

(L to R) EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell shakes hands with Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud during a plenary session titled "Transforming for a New Era", during the Doha Forum in Qatar's capital on March 26, 2022. (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR / AFP) (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR/AFP via Getty Images)

What does EU visa relaxation for Saudi, Bahraini, Omani citizens mean?

Under the new rules, Bahraini, Omani and Saudi Arabian nationals will be eligible for multiple-entry visas, allowing them to visit the Schengen area (the EU’s 27 member states as well as Bulgaria and Romania) and move freely between them.

A man walks past a stranded car on a flooded street in Dubai following heavy rains on April 18, 2024.

Dubai's record rainfall spotlights Gulf’s troubled relation with water

The Gulf’s longterm love–hate relationship with water lies behind a year and a half's worth of rain that fell on Dubai in 24 hours. It includes climate change-induced shifting rainfall patterns, groundwater extractions and unsustainable consumption.

United Arab Emirates

TOPSHOT - Saudi elite aerobatic flying team of the Royal Saudi Air Force Saudi Hawks performs during the aviation event 11th Athens Flying Week over Tanagra air base in Schimatari, north of Athens, on September 3, 2023. (Photo by Theophile Bloudanis / AFP) (Photo by THEOPHILE BLOUDANIS/AFP via Getty Images)

9% spike in Mideast military spending driven by Saudi Arabia, Israel, Turkey

Military spending in the region increased by its largest percentage in a decade, in part due to the Gaza war, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

Muslim worshippers performing the umrah pilgrimage walk between the Marwa and Safa hills at the Grand Mosque on the first day of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, Mecca, Saudi Arabia, March 23, 2023.

Culture

After 9 years, first Iranian pilgrims head to Saudi Arabia for umrah

The flights carrying Iranian pilgrims are the latest sign of rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran after restoring ties last year.

Nuclear energy ambitions near inflection point in the Middle East

Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan (L) and his Pakistan's counterpart Ishaq Dar arrive to address a joint press conference at the foreign ministry in Islamabad on April 16, 2024.

As Iran, Israel trade fire, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan try to forge stability

As Prince Faisal bin Farhan made his way to Pakistan with a high-powered delegation to discuss energy and economic ties, tension in the Middle East overshadowed the discussions.