Saudi Arabia in May 2026: the most important developments in politics
In May 2026, the most reported political story in Saudi Arabia was a French judge's decision on 16 May to investigate a complaint over the murder of Jamal Khashoggi that names Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The rest of the month was dominated by the war involving Iran and the Strait of Hormuz. Saudi Arabia condemned what it called unjustified Iranian attacks on the UAE, and the crown prince conveyed the message to Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed on 5 May. Riyadh urged restraint and supported Pakistani mediation toward a US-Iran settlement. On 8 May it denied reports that it had opened its airspace to US attacks on Iran and called for de-escalation after the US and Iran traded fire in the strait. On 14 May Saudi Arabia floated a Middle Eastern non-aggression pact with Iran. On 18 May the UAE condemned drone attacks targeting Saudi Arabia and expressed solidarity.
Saudi diplomacy also covered other partners. Turkish and Saudi officials held high-level talks in Ankara on 6 May and discussed visa-free travel, Riyadh and Amman held talks, and Russia and Saudi Arabia called for normalization in the Middle East. On 24 May the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia and other Muslim countries condemned the opening of a Somaliland embassy in Jerusalem. Yemen's former president Hadi died in Saudi Arabia on 28 May. On 19 May Saudi Arabia limited property transactions in Riyadh to the land register, moving to a digital registry.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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