Saudi Arabia - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Saudi Arabia cover image

Saudi Arabia

April 25, 2026

Riyadh 4:12 am

22°C

A person walks past the closed Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center on Jan. 7, 2021, in New York City.

Why did the Met Opera lose its Saudi funding deal?

The deal, announced as a nonbinding memorandum of understanding last September, would have seen the PIF inject up to $200 million into the opera institution over the next eight years.

A picture shows the Ras Laffan Industrial City, Qatar's principal site for production of liquefied natural gas and gas-to-liquid, administrated by Qatar Petroleum, some 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of the capital Doha, on Feb. 6, 2017.

Analysis

Gulf energy deals face Iran war stress test as global expansion meets oil shock

ADNOC, Aramco and QatarEnergy have aggressively expanded their international portfolios in recent years, a strategy facing new constraints as the US-Israel-Iran war impacts Gulf production and exposes structural risks.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrives ahead of a meeting with Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer at 10 Downing Street in central London on March 31, 2026.

Syria’s Sharaa makes fourth visit to Saudi Arabia, first since Iran war: What to know

The visit comes in light of the deepening economic relations between Syria and Saudi Arabia post-Assad.

Latest News

MBS hosts Sudan's Burhan in Jeddah as $1.5B Saudi-backed arms deal stalls

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meets with Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan in Jeddah, on April 20, 2026.

Analysis

Pakistan’s quiet fighter jet deployment to Saudi Arabia signals Gulf anxiety

Pakistan Air Force J-10 fighter jets over Islamabad, March 23, 2025.

Sabena Siddiqui

By Sabena Siddiqui

In Karachi, reporting on South Asia, Middle East, Iran

What LIV Golf’s woes suggest about Saudi Arabia’s economic headwinds

Bryson DeChambeau of Crushers GC plays his shot from the 17th tee prior to LIV Golf Mexico City at Club de Golf Chapultepec on April 15, 2026, in Mexico City.

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

Alireza Bigdeli (R).

Saudi Arabia, Iran exchange ambassadors as thaw continues

The exchange of ambassadors between Saudi Arabia and Iran is the first since 2016 and follows the resumption of relations between the two countries in March.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) meets with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on October 14, 2019. (Photo by Alexey NIKOLSKY / SPUTNIK / AFP) (Photo by ALEXEY NIKOLSKY/SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images)

Oil prices surge as Saudi Arabia, Russia extend 1.3 million barrel cut through December

The production cuts by Saudi Arabia, Russia and the OPEC+ alliance have succeeded in keeping oil prices up but have also had some negative effects on the Saudi economy.

FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images

Saudi-China cooperation strengthens with stock exchange deal

China is growing closer to Saudi Arabia politically and economically as business deals pile up.

Huawei

China’s Huawei opens cloud data center in Riyadh to grow MENA footprint

The Chinese telecoms giant said in February it would invest $400 million in Saudi Arabia's cloud region over the next five years.

US President Joe Biden (L) and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (R) 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.

Analysis

US-Saudi diplomacy gives lifeline to Palestinian leadership, two-state solution

How big is Assad’s Suwayda problem?

Week in Review

Andrew Parasiliti

By Week in Review , Andrew Parasiliti

President of Brazil Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva speaks during the 2023 BRICS Summit at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg on August 22, 2023. (Photo by GIANLUIGI GUERCIA / AFP) (Photo by GIANLUIGI GUERCIA/AFP via Getty Images)

Brazil set to capitalize on Saudi-UAE competition as investments take shape

South America’s largest economy has been actively engaging with the UAE and Saudi Arabia under newly reelected President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images

Saudi sovereign wealth fund invests in US mixed martial arts league

The new area of sports investment follows major Saudi investments in golf and soccer.

A traveler walking at the Red Sea coastal city of Jeddah's King Abdulaziz International Airport.

Israel’s Netanyahu thanks Saudi Arabia for plane landing amid normalization push

A plane carrying Israelis made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia. The United States has been pushing for normalization between the two countries, but the kingdom remains publicly committed to Palestinian statehood as a pre-condition.

Aramco

Saudi Arabia’s foreign reserves shrink by $16B in July amid oil cuts

The kingdom’s net foreign assets declined to 1.53 trillion riyals ($407 billion), according to the central bank’s monthly report published on Monday.

A man walks by Tadawul, Saudi Arabia's stock exchange, Riyadh, December 12, 2019.

Saudi Arabia’s ADES to launch IPO

ADES rebooted its plans for an initial public offering, having delayed it earlier in the year after the kingdom’s stock exchange experienced difficulties.

ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey, Saudi Arabia ink critical mineral cooperation deal

Green energy investments will have an important share in cooperation between Turkey and Saudi Arabia, said the Turkish energy minister.

Saudi stock

Analysis

Tadawul posts losses but Saudi markets remain fundamentally strong

'A bit of a correction' sheds some prior gains on the Saudi stock index, but professionals see reasons to keep investing in the kingdom.

Harry Clynch

By Harry Clynch

In London, reporting on Middle East economics