Saudi Arabia

In a strongly worded statement, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz said on Tuesday that the Iranian government’s arming of Yemen’s rebels with missiles was a “direct military aggression by the Iranian regime,” and added comments to the British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson that Tehran’s actions “may be considered an act of war against the […]

Questions about the aims and temperament of Saudi Arabia’s powerful crown prince came to the fore Monday after his country issued a bellicose warning to Iran, accusing it of carrying out a missile strike on the Saudi capital that may have constituted an “act of war.” The missile was fired from neighboring Yemen on Saturday […]

Sons of the Turkish prime minister, a Jordanian dowager Queen and a Saudi prince who owns a superyacht longer than a football pitch, are just a few Middle Eastern figures whose offshore dealings have been laid bare by one of the largest ever data leaks. Published by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), the […]

A Saudi prince was killed on Sunday when a helicopter with several officials on board crashed near the kingdom’s southern border with war-torn Yemen, state television said. The news channel Al-Ekhbariya announced the death of Prince Mansour bin Moqren, the deputy governor of Asir province and son of a former crown prince. It did not […]

Saudi Arabia announced the arrest on Saturday night of the prominent billionaire investor Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, plus at least 10 other princes, four ministers and tens of former ministers. The announcement of the arrests was made over Al Arabiya, the Saudi-owned satellite network whose broadcasts are officially approved. Prince Alwaleed’s arrest is sure to […]

Saudi Arabia’s push for reforms may face an internal backlash and there is no guarantee the drive by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will succeed, one of the biggest oil investors in the Middle East, France’s Total, said on Thursday. “You don’t change into a secular regime just like that,” Total Chief Executive Patrick Pouyanne […]

The U.S. State Department has approved the possible sale of a THAAD anti-missile defense system to Saudi Arabia at an estimated cost of $15 billion, the Pentagon said on Friday, citing Iran among regional threats. The approval opens the way for Saudi Arabia to purchase 44 Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) launchers and 360 […]

A recent wave of arrests in Saudi Arabia targeted citizens who were working at the behest of foreign powers to undermine the monarchy, a Saudi government official said on Friday. Saudi Arabia has arrested at least 16 people, and perhaps more than 30, in recent days in a crackdown on people perceived to be critical of […]

Jared Kushner, a White House adviser and son-in-law of President Donald Trump, wrapped up his trip to the Middle East on Thursday, for which the top priority on the agenda was furthering peace talks between Israel and Palestine. The US described Kushner’s trip as “productive,” despite rumors of disquiet on the Palestinian side. Kushner was accompanied […]

In the last two years, three Saudi princes living in Europe have disappeared. All were critical of the Saudi government – and there is evidence that all were abducted and flown back to Saudi Arabia… where nothing further has been heard from them. Early in the morning on 12 June 2003, a Saudi prince is […]

Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, will soon travel to the Middle East for yet another foray into trying to forge a peace deal between Israelis and Palestinians, one of the most difficult diplomatic assignments of the Trump administration. Mr. Kushner, who traveled to the region in June, will be accompanied on the […]

Munir al-Adam spends his hours alone in a Saudi prison, his mother says. He doesn’t know if it is day or night because he is kept mostly in a dark cell. Partially blind and partially deaf, he has experienced different forms of torture in the five years since his arrest. “He has been ordered to […]