Category Archives: Saudi Arabia

Trump meets Syria’s president after lifting US sanctions on country

Posted on by

Meeting with Ahmed al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia seen as key towards recognition of new Syrian authority’s legitimacy

Donald Trump has met Syria’s president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, in Saudi Arabia and said that Washington is exploring normalising ties with Syria, a day after an announcement that all US sanctions on Syria would be lifted.

The US president met Sharaa, a former militant who fought against US forces in Iraq, before a conference of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), part of Trump’s four-day visit to the Middle East, where he is expected to court Gulf allies for investments in the US. Trump is due to land in Doha next, where he will meet the Qatari leader, Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani.

Continue reading...

Pressure grows on Fifa as reports warn of serious risk to workers amid Saudi World Cup building boom

Posted on by

Two reports published today catalogue ‘gruesome yet avoidable accidents’ on construction sites despite the Gulf kingdom’s claims that work-related deaths have fallen

Thousands of migrant workers are likely to die in Saudi Arabia as a result of a building boom fuelled by the 2034 Men’s World Cup and other major construction projects, human rights groups have warned.

The Gulf kingdom has seen a surge in demand for cheap migrant labour, with a significant increase in foreign workers since 2021, as it starts preparations for hosting the World Cup and drives forward projects including the futurist megacity Neom.

Continue reading...

Iran proposes partnership with UAE and Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium

Posted on by

A consortium would help Tehran deal with US objections and tie in Gulf states to its enrichment programme

Iran has floated the idea of a consortium of Middle Eastern countries, including Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), to enrich uranium as a way of overcoming some US objections to Iran continuing to have its own enrichment programme.

The proposal would be one way of locking the Gulf states into supporting the Iranian position that it must be continued to be allowed to enrich.

Continue reading...

British man being held in Saudi Arabia jailed for 10 years, say lawyers

Posted on by

UK Foreign Office criticised by campaigners as Ahmed al-Doush given sentence for charges thought to relate to deleted tweet

A British national arrested in Saudi Arabia on charges that appear to relate to a deleted tweet has been jailed for 10 years, according to British lawyers and campaign groups representing the family.

Ahmed al-Doush was arrested in August and, while it is understood that UK Foreign Office officials were allowed into the Saudi court for his hearing, the British government has been criticised for a lack of action since his arrest.

Continue reading...

Trump to embark on Middle East trip to meet Gulf allies

Posted on by

President eager to discuss trade and investment but no plans to visit Israel amid tensions over Gaza war

Donald Trump this week will embark on the first foreign trip of his second administration with a tour of the Middle East, as he looks to secure investment, trade and technology deals from friendly leaders with deep pockets amid turbulent negotiations around numerous regional conflicts, including Israel’s war in Gaza.

The tour through the Middle East is largely a repeat of his first international trip in 2017, when he was feted in the region as a transactional leader eager to secure quick wins and capable of providing support for the regional monarchies’ economic and geopolitical interests.

Continue reading...

Trump plans to announce US will refer to Arabian Gulf rather than Persian Gulf

Posted on by

Move sparks outrage in Iran as diplomats try to broker deal between Tehran and Washington over nuclear programme

Donald Trump plans to announce while on his trip to Saudi Arabia next week that the US will now refer to the Arabian Gulf or the Gulf of Arabia rather than the Persian Gulf.

The move has prompted outrage from Iranian leaders, and last-minute efforts are being made to persuade Trump to pull back from offending Iran in the midst of vital talks on the future of the Iranian nuclear programme. “If Trump went ahead with the proposal he would manage to unite every Iranian, pro- or anti-regime, against him, and that is a near impossible achievement,” one diplomat said.

Continue reading...

Lammy confirms UK and France in talks over Palestine recognition

Posted on by

Two permanent members of UN security council could make move at conference in June on two-state solution

The UK is in discussion with France and Saudi Arabia over the recognition of a Palestinian state at a June conference convened by the two countries on keeping alive the political path to a two-state solution in the Middle East, the UK foreign secretary has said.

David Lammy’s comments mark the first time the UK has acknowledged that a discussion with France about a recognition process around the conference is under way.

Continue reading...

Russian strikes show Moscow does not want ‘real peace’, says Zelenskyy

Posted on by

Ukraine’s president says drone attacks just hours after ceasefire talks were ‘a clear signal to the whole world’

Ukraine’s president has accused Russia of being insincere about making peace as he reported an attack by 117 drones, before he headed to Paris for a discussion with EU and Nato leaders about establishing a post-conflict security force.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that launching nationwide strikes after negotiations over maritime and energy ceasefires was proof of Russia’s true intentions, though the Kremlin insisted the US-brokered talks were proceeding constructively.

Continue reading...

US and Russia begin talks in Saudi Arabia on Ukraine ceasefire

Posted on by

Uncertainty remains over how and when 30-day halt on energy strikes would take effect amid a gulf on expectations

US and Russian officials have begun talks in Saudi Arabia as Donald Trump pushes to broker a limited ceasefire that Washington hopes will mark the first step toward lasting peace in Ukraine.

Ukraine and Russia have agreed in principle to a one-month halt on strikes on energy infrastructure after Trump spoke with the countries’ leaders last week. But uncertainty remains over how and when the partial ceasefire would take effect – and whether its scope would extend beyond energy infrastructure to include other critical sites, such as hospitals, bridges, and vital utilities.

Continue reading...

Saudi Arabia is hosting more Ukraine talks – but how neutral is it?

Posted on by

The US and Ukraine will meet in Jeddah next week, but the Saudi crown prince’s closeness to Putin is a concern

On the surface, the announcement that Saudi Arabia will host talks between the US and Ukraine in Jeddah next week appears promising news.

After the disastrous meeting between the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and Donald Trump in the White House last week, a more neutral location for this meeting of lower-level figures makes sense in terms of trying to dial down the temperature.

Continue reading...

Ukraine and Europe made to sit outside as US and Russia sharpen their carving knives

Posted on by

In this back-to-the-future world, Russia is fully restored to the top table, while the US envoys outdo each other to praise Trump

Ukraine was laid out on the glossy conference table in Riyadh on Tuesday, not to be dissected on this occasion, but rather for an initial inspection by the Americans and Russians, who have reserved the carving knives for future use.

No Ukrainians were present for these opening discussions on the country’s fate, or for the lunch of whole lamb and “symphony of scallops”, nor was anyone there representing the rest of the European continent. Whether they will be given a seat at the table before lines are drawn is far from clear. For now, they must wonder if they are among the “irritants” in US-Russia relations referred to by the US state department.

Continue reading...

Latest Israeli hostages to be freed named amid uncertainty over truce

Posted on by

Iair Horn, Sasha Troufanov and Sagui Dekel-Chen due to be exchanged for 369 Palestinian prisoners

Palestinian militant groups have named the three hostages they plan to free on Saturday in return for the release of 369 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, raising hopes that the January ceasefire agreement will survive its latest crisis.

However, the longer-term prospects of the truce remain in doubt and the uncertainty has been deepened by the US president, Donald Trump, who made surprise territorial claims over Gaza.

Continue reading...

Leeds student jailed in Saudi Arabia for 34 years over tweets is released

Posted on by

Salma al-Shehab was arrested in 2021 during holiday in Saudi Arabia

A Saudi student at Leeds University who was sentenced to 34 years in prison over her use of Twitter, now X, has been released after her sentence was dramatically reduced.

Salma al-Shehab, a mother of two who was arrested in 2021 during a holiday in Saudi Arabia, was convicted in 2022 over her tweets.

Continue reading...

Britain’s system for controlling arms exports is broken, former diplomat claims

Posted on by

Ex-Foreign Office official says he saw conduct that ‘crossed the threshold into complicity with war crimes’

Britain’s system for controlling arms exports is broken, subject to political manipulation and has seen conduct that crossed the threshold into complicity with war crimes, a former UK diplomat has claimed.

Writing for the Guardian, Mark Smith, who resigned from the Foreign Office in August, said officials were instructed to manipulate findings on the misuse of UK arms by allies, and if they did not do so, their reports were edited by senior colleagues to give the impression that the UK was in compliance with the law.

Continue reading...

UN chief warns against ‘ethnic cleansing’ after Trump’s Gaza proposal

Posted on by

President’s plan for US to take over Gaza Strip and move Palestinians out also rejected by allies Saudi Arabia and Jordan

Donald Trump’s proposal for a US takeover of Gaza was met with anger and blunt rejection from regional allies, delight from Israel’s far right and a warning against “ethnic cleansing” from the head of the UN.

The secretary general, António Guterres, planned to tell a UN meeting on Wednesday that “it is essential to avoid any form of ethnic cleansing” after the US president said he wanted to “own” Gaza and resettle its Palestinian residents elsewhere.

Continue reading...

Syrian leader meets Saudi crown prince for first official foreign visit

Posted on by

Ahmed al-Sharaa in Riyadh on trip that highlights reset of regional alliances after end of Iran-backed Assad regime

Syria’s transitional president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, met the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, in Riyadh on Sunday in his first foreign trip as Syrian leader, in a sign of the major shifts under way in regional alliances.

Sharaa assumed power as transitional president last week, after leading a rebel campaign that ousted the longtime Iran-backed leader Bashar al-Assad, whose ties with the rest of the Arab world were strained throughout the nearly 14-year Syrian war.

Continue reading...

Scores killed in hospital attack in Sudan’s besieged El Fasher, says WHO

Posted on by

About 70 people, including patients, believed to have been killed in attack blamed on rebel Rapid Support Forces

About 70 people have been killed in an attack on the only functional hospital in the besieged city of El Fasher in Sudan, the head of the World Health Organization has said, the latest in a series of attacks as the African nation’s civil war has escalated in recent days.

The attack on the Saudi Teaching Maternal hospital was blamed by local officials on the rebel Rapid Support Forces, a group that has recently faced apparent battlefield losses to the Sudanese military and allied forces under the command of army chief Gen Abdel-Fattah Burhan.

Continue reading...

Ministers from 17 countries meet for Saudi talks on speeding aid to Damascus

Posted on by

Riyadh meeting also discussed keeping pressure on Syria’s new leadership to meet commitment to inclusive transition

Ministers from 17 Middle East and western countries have met in Riyadh to discuss how to speed aid to the new Syrian government while keeping pressure on the caretaker leadership to meet its commitment to run an administration representative of all religions and ethnic groups.

The meeting on Sunday came as protesters in Syria called on the west to move faster on lifting economic sanctions, and so persuade more refugees to return from Europe and the states surrounding the country.

Continue reading...

Fifa issues glowing Saudi 2034 World Cup report despite human rights fears

Posted on by
  • Bid deemed to have medium risk in evaluation report
  • 2034 offering gets higher score from Fifa than 2026 bid

Saudi Arabia’s 2034 World Cup bid received a higher technical score from Fifa than the 2026 joint bid by the United States, Canada and Mexico, even though the Middle Eastern nation has yet to construct a number of stadiums proposed for the tournament.

Fifa released its bid evaluation report in the early hours of Saturday morning and said the 2034 bid received an overall average score of 4.2 out of 5, though eight stadiums are still to be built. All venues – including the planned 92,760-seater King Salman International Stadium in Riyadh – will not be completed until 2032, but three new stadiums are expected to be finished for the Asian Cup which kicks off in January 2027.

Continue reading...

Migrant workers face ‘cycle of abuse’ in Saudi Arabia before World Cup, UN told

Posted on by
  • ITUC-Africa raises ‘severe concerns’ over labour practices
  • Organisation calls on Caf to press Fifa on human rights

A trade union organisation that represents 18 million African workers has submitted a complaint to the United Nations against labour practices in Saudi Arabia. It has called for “immediate and decisive action” with the country poised to be granted World Cup hosting rights next month.

In an account that collates claims of malpractice and abuse alongside testimonies from migrant workers, the African Regional Organisation of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC-Africa) argues that “the relentless cycle of abuse and exploitation mark the daily existence of African migrant workers in Saudi Arabia.

Continue reading...