Saudi Arabia
How Pakistan keeps the world guessing — and talking
On the surface, China remains Pakistan’s most important strategic partner. Yet at the same time, Islamabad has maintained exceptionally close relations with Saudi Arabia and Turkey, even functioning relationships with the US and Iran.
Iran's war spills into Saudi Arabia and Libya even as Hormuz talks edge toward a deal
Three threads are currently running in parallel: a genuine, if heavily caveated, diplomatic opening over Hormuz; a US naval blockade that keeps tightening even as those talks proceed; and a regional military campaign against...
Saudi Arabia's new Nato-style pact with Turkey and Pakistan is tested within 48 hours
The “Mecca Joint Defence Agreement” treats an armed attack on any of the three Sunni-majority states as an attack on all three, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said, and is “technically the same” as Nato's...
Russia's glide bombs now reach 150km, and Ukraine still has no answer
A new guidance kit has extended the range of Russia's glide bombs to 150km, while Ukraine's drone-heavy defence and America's own depleted missile stocks leave the threat largely unanswered.
Iranian official warns Saudis “paper pact” on defence with Turkey, Pakistan is a dud
Agreement based on Nato-style provision that an attack on one country will be seen as an attack on all three.
Iran holds the cards as a Hormuz deal takes shape on its own terms
Iran and Oman have reached an understanding on the geographic coordinates for a shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz, with a joint announcement being finalised, Iran's foreign ministry said on August 5. But the emerging deal would hand...
Iran's Pezeshkian says Tehran does not seek to widen regional tension
Iran does not want tension and insecurity to spread across the region but will act with full force to defend its security and territorial integrity, President Masoud Pezeshkian said at the launch of a national family-medicine programme.
Iran ties Hormuz reopening to end of US strikes and naval blockade
Iran will not reopen the Strait of Hormuz while US military action and its naval blockade continue, foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said, calling a safe-passage deal with Oman necessary but not sufficient.
Iran says talks with Oman on new Strait of Hormuz shipping route nearing conclusion
Iran says talks with Oman on a new Strait of Hormuz shipping route are nearing conclusion, but stresses any deal would not by itself reopen the waterway.
Iran issues Gulf-wide energy hit list if Trump carries through on threats to destroy Iran’s energy sector
US President Donald Trump threatened to destroy Iran’s energy sector in a joint operation with Israel, prompting Tehran to issue a hit list of some of the most valuable assets in the Gulf if he carried through with the threat.
Iran's foreign ministry defends Hormuz blockade, tanker strikes as lawful self-defence
Iran's foreign ministry has defended its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and strikes on tankers as lawful self-defence against US aggression, citing the UN definition of aggression. The US military rejects Iran's claim to control the strait.
Emerging-market ratings have absorbed the Iran war so far, but the buffers are thinning - Fitch
Emerging-market sovereign ratings have proved largely resilient to the US-Iran war in the first half of 2026, Fitch Ratings finds in its Global Emerging Markets Credit Brief for 3Q26 even though the outlook for a third is deteriorating.
_18_1785491129.jpg)
UPDATE: Iran's IRGC says it struck two tankers attempting to cross Strait of Hormuz
Iran's IRGC says it struck and stopped two oil tankers attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz under US air escort, with four others turning back. The claim could not be independently verified, and the US military has given a competing account.
One war, three continents and total slippage
A drone hit on a US gas carrier at Damietta puts the Iran war on the Mediterranean shore. From the Caspian to the Gulf of Aden, one conflict now spans three continents. It is wide but not yet deep, and widening is its own escalation.
Saudi Arabia tenders Dragon Ball Z theme park outside Riyadh
Qiddiya has tendered back-of-house works for the world's first Dragon Ball theme park in Saudi Arabia, with bids due on September 13, but has set no opening date, marking it as a late-decade addition to the Riyadh giga-project.
_AI_enhanced__1785334047.png)
Hormuz squeeze on ammonia draws foreign bidders to Odesa Port Plant
Hormuz squeeze on ammonia draws foreign bidders to Odesa Port Plant Four companies from the US, Asia and the Middle East are studying data on Ukraine's war-damaged fertiliser plant as the Strait of Hormuz blockade tightens global ammonia supply.
_16_1785323498.jpg)
Saudi Arabia, US strike Iraqi militia sites after drone attacks on oil facilities
Saudi and US aircraft have struck Iran-aligned militia sites in eastern Iraq after drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities. It is the first strike inside Iraq Riyadh has publicly claimed, and the Popular Mobilisation Forces says eight of its members we
_0_1785304324.jpg)
Netanyahu and Trump praise White House meeting as US and Saudi forces strike IRGC-backed militias
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump lauded their White House meeting during the early hours of July 29, while US and Saudi forces struck IRGC-backed militias in Iraq.
Houthis say missile strike forced Saudi tanker to turn back in Red Sea
Houthi forces say they fired ballistic missiles at the Saudi tanker NCC Ghazal in the Red Sea, forcing it to turn back. It is the third reported attack on Saudi-linked shipping in a week. Traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb has fallen by about 60%.
Ukraine's scam call centres earn $1bn a month, study finds
Ukraine's scam call-centre industry generates as much as $1bn a month, according to a new report by the Geneva-based Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC), which estimates that around 60,000 Ukrainians work in the trade.