Saudi Arabia

As news spread of the detention of Saudi princes and business moguls in Riyadh earlier this month, alarm bells were ringing in another capital more than 1,000km away: one of Ethiopia’s most important investors was under arrest. It remains unclear why Saudi authorities arrested Mohammed Hussein al-Amoudi, an Ethiopian-born dual citizen who is reportedly the second richest Saudi, behind […]

Prince Miteb bin Abdullah, the son of the late King Abdullah who was once considered a future crown prince, was beaten and tortured, along with five other princes, when he was arrested and interrogated in Riyadh during the ongoing political purge in the kingdom, Middle East Eye has confirmed. All six princes were admitted to […]

IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Gadi Eisenkot gave a rare interview with the London-based Saudi-owned newspaper Elaph. Eisenkot said Israel is willing to share intelligence with Saudi Arabia to confront Iran. The expansion of Iranian influence across the Middle East is a major concern to both Israel and Saudi Arabia. Israel is willing to share intelligence with Saudi […]

Lebanon’s absent prime minister accepted an invitation for an official visit to France from Saudi Arabia, French and Lebanese diplomats said Thursday, nearly two weeks after his abrupt resignation stirred rumors he was being held captive in the Saudi capital, Riyadh. French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian met with Saad Hariri on Thursday in Riyadh, […]

German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s administration has been increasing its arms sales to the Middle East. And particularly to what was characterized as “dictatorships” in both Egypt and Saudi Arabia. This has brought a wave of criticism leveled at Merkel from the left with one opposition lawmaker calling the practice “reprehensible.” The German government’s arms sales […]

The House of Representatives passed a rare bipartisan rebuke of U.S. military efforts in the ongoing Yemeni civil war on Monday, saying the U.S. military is not authorized to provide military assistance to the Saudi-led coalition under current use of force authorizations. The resolution is non-binding and therefore won’t put an end to the Department […]

Some senior figures detained in last Saturday’s purge in Saudi Arabia were beaten and tortured so badly during their arrest or subsequent interrogations that they required hospital treatment, Middle East Eye can reveal. People inside the royal court also told MEE that the scale of the crackdown, which has brought new arrests each day, is […]

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait have advised their citizens not to travel to Lebanon and urged those who are in the country to leave as soon as possible. Saudi Arabia’s official news agency SPA quoted a source in the foreign ministry on Thursday as saying: “Due to the situations in the Republic of Lebanon, […]

Saudi Arabian authorities have made further arrests and frozen more bank accounts in an expanding anti-corruption crackdown on the kingdom’s political and business elite, sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. Dozens of royal family members, officials and business executives have already been held in the purge announced on Saturday. They face allegations of […]

Even for a country often used as a battleground by regional powers and their proxies, the sudden resignation of Prime Minister Saad Hariri has opened a new period of political uncertainty and fear in Lebanon. The tiny nation has often been caught between the political agendas of more powerful countries. But it now appears more […]

A huge leak of financial documents revealed by a group of about 100 media organizations on Sunday provided deep insights into some of the mechanisms used by top politicians and celebrities to escape paying taxes. Offshore funds are often used to avoid paying high taxes, and their use is not necessarily illegal, though when they are being used by […]

A top Iranian military official dismissed President Donald Trump’s claim that Iran was behind a ballistic missile attack on Riyadh on Saturday, describing it as slander. Saudi air defenses intercepted the missile before it could strike its intended target, destroying the missile above Riyadh’s international airport and causing little to no damage. Yemen’s Houthi-controlled government […]