The Asian Football Confederation postponed its flagship international tournament in Saudi Arabia until late 2027, with the Houthi militant attacks testing the kingdom’s ambitions to become a destination for major international events.
Soon after Houthi attacks forced Saudi Arabia to shutter its capital’s main airport, one consultant drove for hours to get to Riyadh from Oman. The executive left two weeks later and plans to return soon, this time via Doha, betting that showing up will offer an edge over rivals who’re staying away.
Saudi Arabia’s oil industry managed to ride out concerns in the early days of the Iran war and keep exports flowing. Now, with the Houthis staging deadly attacks on the kingdom and signs of disruption stacking up, the worry has shifted to the rest of the economy.
Top security officials from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey met Iranian leaders in Tehran on Monday, an effort to defuse tensions and revive talks aimed at preventing another round of US-Israeli strikes on the Islamic Republic.
Saudi Arabia has postponed its flagship conference to next year following continuing attacks by the Houthis, in a significant blow to the kingdom’s ambitions of positioning itself as a hub for business and attracting foreign capital to fund a multitrillion-dollar economic rejig.
Iran-backed Houthis launched missile and drone attacks across Saudi Arabia, targeting several cities, and oil giant Saudi Aramco’s headquarters in the east of the kingdom was hit.
Saudi Arabia intercepted more missiles and drones launched by Yemen’s Houthis on Tuesday, as fighting with the Iran-backed militant group showed few signs of subsiding.
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is facing one of his most serious challenges since rising to power almost a decade ago as the kingdom grapples with the fallout from fatal attacks by Houthi militants.
Saudi Arabia said it was dealing with new drone and cruise missile attacks on Monday, posing fresh security threats to the kingdom following the weekend’s deadly strikes on Riyadh airport.
Iran chose Mojtaba Khamenei, the hardline son of the assassinated Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as its new supreme leader, signaling Tehran won’t back down in a war raging across the Middle East and causing a surge in energy prices.
Saudi Aramco jumped the most since April 2023 on Sunday as the Iran war entered its second week, prompting supply disruptions that may send oil prices higher when global markets reopen.
An Aramco logo sign at the ADIPEC conference in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025. The annual strategic energy conference runs from Nov 3-6.
Iran launched a fresh wave of missile and drone strikes across the Gulf on Thursday evening, with attacks reported in the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait.
Smoke following air attacks in Tehran, on March 5. Photographer: Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Images
The US-Israeli war on Iran waged for a sixth day with little sign of easing, as the Islamic Republic vowed to intensify its retaliation and oil extended gains.
President Donald Trump said the US will ensure safe passage of oil from the Middle East to head off a potential energy crisis, as the Iran war continues to reverberate across the region and roil markets.
A motorboat passes a tanker in the Strait of Hormuz in February Photographer: Fadel Senna/Getty Images
President Donald Trump expressed concern that the strikes against Iran could lead to a new leadership that’s equally troubling to Washington as the regime the US and Israel are fighting to topple.
Smoke rises from the sites of Israeli airstrikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut on March 3. Photographer: Ibrahim Amro/AFP/Getty Images
President Donald Trump expressed concern that the strikes against Iran could lead to a new leadership that’s equally troubling to Washington as the regime the US and Israel are fighting to topple.
Smoke rises from the sites of Israeli airstrikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut on March 3.
The US-Israeli war on Iran reverberated across the region for a fourth day, with oil and gas prices surging and the world adjusting to a conflict that President Donald Trump has said could last for weeks.
Smoke rises from the sites of Israeli airstrikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut on March 3.
Two drones struck near the US Embassy in Riyadh, pulling Saudi Arabia into a widening conflict among Iran, the US and Israel, and prompting President Donald Trump to vow retaliation.
An Iran-made unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), the Shahed-136, is displayed in a rally commemorating the 47th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution's victory in Azadi (Freedom) Square in western Tehran, Iran, on February 11, 2026. (Photo by Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
For almost three days, there was little sign of a new war raging in the Gulf if you were based in Saudi Arabia. Most schools were business as usual on Monday morning, Saudis and foreigners reported heading to the office and carrying on with meetings, and flights continued to operate.
Oil pipelines sit on the quayside beside the Arabian Sea at the North Pier terminal in Saudi Aramco's Ras Tanura oil refinery and oil terminal in Ras Tanura, Saudi Arabia, on Monday, Oct. 1, 2018. Saudi Arabia is seeking to transform its crude-dependent economy by developing new industries, and is pushing into petrochemicals as a way to earn more from its energy deposits.
Anmelden
