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

Saudi Arabia cover image

Saudi Arabia

August 8, 2026

Riyadh 9:45 am

41°C

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) welcomes Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman (R) during an official ceremony at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, on June 22, 2022.

Explainer

'A claim to be tested': Can Saudi Arabia-Turkey-Pakistan defense pact deter Iran?

The pact commits the three countries to collective defense, bringing together NATO's second-largest army, the Muslim world's only nuclear power and the guardian of Islam's holiest sites.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) welcomes Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (L) upon his arrival during an official ceremony at the Presidential Complex in Ankara on June 22, 2022.

Turkey’s Erdogan heads to Saudi Arabia for talks with MBS, Pakistan’s Sharif

The visit comes as the three countries ramp up coordination to weather the regional fallout from the Iran war.

Khaled ZIAD / AFP via Getty Images

Explainer

Iran-Oman deal spurs Hormuz hopes as Red Sea threats evolve

Iran has signaled that an agreement was reached with Oman establishing a Hormuz shipping route even as Houthi attacks in the Red Sea expand.

Latest News

Oil falls 5% after Trump calls off Iran strikes, says Hormuz deal agreed

SAEED KHAN / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Amid realignment with Egypt, Turkey steps up support for Sudan’s Burhan

Sudan's de facto leader and armed forces chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan greets supporters in Port Sudan, Dec. 29, 2024.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Analysis

How strike on Damietta port exposes Egypt's energy infrastructure risks

An Egyptian man looks at the Qatari Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) carrier "Duhail" as its passes through the Suez Canal near the Egyptian port city of Ismailia on April 1, 2008. The vessel has a capacity of 210,100 cu.m making it one of the largest LNG carriers constructed to date. AFP PHOTO/STR (Photo credit should read -/AFP via Getty Images)

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

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

(FILES) This file photo taken on December 26, 2019 shows a general view of the construction works at the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), near Guba in Ethiopia. - The Nile, Egypt's lifeline since Pharaonic days, faces massive strain from pollution, over-use and climate change -- and now the threat of a colossal dam being built far upstream in Ethiopia. When its London-sized reservoir starts to fill this summer, Egypt fears the mega-project will spell an existential threat to its teeming population of

Saudi Arabia wants in on Nile dam dispute

Saudi Arabia has stated its step into the deadlock between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia over Addis Ababa’s controversial dam on the Nile River, but just what Riyadh has new to offer is unclear.

Friends of murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi hold posters bearing his picture as they attend an event marking the second-year anniversary of his assassination in front of Saudi Arabia Istanbul Consulate, on October 2, 2020. - Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist, was killed and dismembered at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2, 2018, in an operation that reportedly involved 15 agents sent from Riyadh. His remains have not been found. (Photo by Ozan KOSE / AFP) (Photo by OZAN KOSE/AFP via

Biden calls Saudi king as US readies report on Khashoggi killing

Reuters reports the US intelligence assessment concluded "the crown prince approved and likely ordered the murder of Khashoggi.”

CENTCOM chief warns Iran over strikes on Erbil, Saudi Arabia

Gen. Kenneth "'Frank" McKenzie warned Iran in the boldest statement yet from the Biden administration over the attacks.

A Kuwaiti trader wearing a protective mask follows the market at the Boursa Kuwait stock exchange in Kuwait City on March 1, 2020. - Boursa Kuwait decided to close the main trading hall due to the COVID-19 coronavirus disease developments. Stock markets in the oil-rich Gulf states plunged on March 1 over fears of the impact of the coronavirus, which also battered global bourses last week. All of the seven exchanges in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which were closed the previous two days for the Muslim

GCC states race for foreign investment

Despite the Saudi-led effort to bury the hatchet with Qatar, unified economic policies are coming up against by GCC countries’ needs to win foreign investment post-COVID.

WILMINGTON, DELAWARE - DECEMBER 09: U.S. Army (retired) General Lloyd Austin speaks after being formally nominated to be Secretary of the Department of Defense by U.S. President-elect Joe Biden at the Queen Theatre on December 09, 2020 in Wilmington, Delaware. The only African-American to have headed U.S. Central Command, Lloyd Austin, 67, is a four-star general who was in charge of American forces in Iraq from 2010 to late 2011. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Pentagon chief reaffirms defensive support for Saudi Arabia amid Houthi strikes

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin called Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to reaffirm strategic ties.

This picture taken February 10, 2021 in Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh shows a woman viewing a tweet posted by the sister of Saudi activist Loujain al-Hathloul, Lina, showing a screenshot of them having a video call following Hathloul's release after nearly three years in detention. - Saudi authorities on February 10 released the prominent women's rights activist, her family said, as the kingdom comes under renewed US pressure over its human rights record. Hathloul, 31, was arrested in May 2018 with about a

Saudi women’s rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul released from prison

Hathloul, who was arrested after campaigning for women's driving rights, had spent nearly three years in prison.

A picture taken during a guided tour with the Saudi military on June 13, 2019 shows the welcoming sign at Abha airport in the popular mountain resort of the same name in the southwest of Saudi Arabia, one day after a Yemeni rebel missile attack on the civil airport wounded 26 civilians. - Saudi Arabia accused its arch-foe Tehran of ordering the missile strike on the airport on June 12, drawing promises of "stern action" from the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Yemeni Huthi rebels. (Photo by Fayez Nureldine

Houthis claim responsibility for drone attack on Saudi airport

The attack comes less than a week after the US administration announced it was rescinding the Iran-aligned group's terror designation.

US to continue defensive intelligence support to Saudi Arabia on Yemen

'We are not a party to Yemen's civil war,' CENTCOM commander says

People hold banners of Jamal Khashoggi during a symbolic funeral prayer for the Saudi journalist, killed and dismembered in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October, at the courtyard of Fatih mosque in Istanbul, on November 16, 2018. - Turkey has more evidence contradicting the Saudi version of the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi including a second audio recording, revealing that the murder had been premeditated, a Turkish newspaper reported on November 16, a contradiction to the statement of the Sau

Saudi Arabia commutes death sentences of young Shiites

The sentences of Ali al-Nimr, Abdullah al-Zaher and Dawood al-Marhoon, who were arrested as teenagers in 2012, were reduced to 10 years in prison.

A member of security forces loyal to Yemen's Huthi rebels stands guard as supporters attend a rally denouncing the United States and the outgoing Trump administration's decision to apply the "terrorist" designation to the Iran-backed movement, in the Huthi-held capital Sanaa on January 25, 2021. (Photo by Mohammed HUWAIS / AFP) (Photo by MOHAMMED HUWAIS/AFP via Getty Images)

US calls on Yemen's Houthis to halt attacks on Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia said it intercepted four armed drones launched toward the kingdom by the Yemeni rebels.

Screenshot (69)-1.png

Updated: US disputes UN report on capture of Al-Qaeda’s top man in Yemen

The report said Khalid Batarfi was handed over to Saudi authorities, yet a US officials says he's still at large.

US Vice President Kamala Harris (R) listens while US President Joe Biden speaks about COVID-19 relief from the State Dining Room of the White House February 5, 2021, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP) (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

Saudis praise Biden after president draws line on Yemen, arms deals

During a speech promising to stand "shoulder to shoulder" with allies, Biden announced the end of US support for Saudi-led operations in Yemen.