Ahmed Al Omran

  • 🚨 My latest: Long-delayed Saudi TV series about diplomats who were held hostage in Iran is being revived as ties between Riyadh and Tehran sour.

  • 🔀 Gulf states consider new oil pipelines to avoid Strait of Hormuz as the strategic value of Saudi Arabia’s 1,200km East-West pipeline became clear during this war.

  • ❌ Saudi Arabia terminates two major construction contracts for Trojena ski resort.

  • 🏎️ Ferrari flies personalised supercars to super-rich Middle East buyers as the war in Iran threatens demand and sea freight is disrupted.

  • New by me and Andrew England: Gulf leaders opposed a strike, but they are now caught between wanting the conflict to end and fear that — if Trump suddenly stops — the war will leave a wounded, emboldened and more hardline Iran.

  • Saudi Aramco is the world’s biggest oil producer and is responsible for about a tenth of global supply. The company’s CEO today warned of “catastrophic consequences” for the world economy if the US-Iran war drags on.

  • 💧 Gulf states fear threat to water infrastructure as Iran war escalates.

  • 🚨 Qatar’s energy minister warns the war could “bring down the economies of the world”, predicting that all Gulf energy exporters would shut down production within weeks and drive oil to $150 a barrel.

  • 🛢️ Gulf’s biggest oil producers are facing a race against time to resume exports before their storage tanks fill up.

  • 🔊 I was on FT’s News Briefing podcast this morning to talk about the first few days of the US-Iranian conflict in the Gulf.

  • Israeli intelligence had information about Khamenei’s location from hacked traffic cameras and deeply penetrated mobile phone networks. The Americans had something even more concrete — a human source.

  • Back from paternity leave. What’d I miss?

  • ☎️ Saudi Arabia will not allow its airspace or territory to be used for military actions against Iran, Crown Prince tells Pezeshkian in telephone call —SPA

  • 🚨 FT scoop — Neom review nears completion: The Line to be redesigned, region to shift focus to “industrial” sectors including AI data centres.

  • 🚨 Saudi media steps up attacks on UAE as Gulf rift deepens.

  • Unpacking some old boxes and found these two issues of Newsweek’s Arabic edition from more 20 years ago on the eve of the American invasion of Iraq.

    Cover of Newsweek Arabic magazine from 18 March 2003Cover of Newsweek Arabic magazine from 25 March 2003

  • 🚨 Trump Organization announces golf course and hotel in Diriyah in first collaboration with PIF-owned company.

  • 🎢 My latest story: Saudi Arabia opens $1 billion Six Flags theme park in Qiddiya as the kingdom pushes ahead with megaprojects.

  • 🚨 Saudi Arabia accuses UAE of smuggling out Yemeni separatist leader.

  • 🚨 Saudi Arabia launches new air strikes on southern Yemen as STC leader fails to travel to Riyadh for talks aimed at ending the crisis.

  • 🚨 Saudi Arabia launches air strike on Yemen’s Mukalla port, accuses UAE of “pressuring” separatist southern group to conduct military operations on the kingdom’s borders.

  • Saudi complaints over social security benefits lead to arrests and fines

    The Saudi General Authority of Media Regulation has taken action against more than 50 people in recent weeks over complaints related to rising cost of living and social security cuts.

    The government says the social safety net remains a “central priority” and that recent amendments to eligibility criteria for social security are meant to ensure the money goes to those who need it the most.

    Human rights groups criticised the arrests and fines, calling them part of “escalating digital crackdowns” where regulation agencies are used as tools to impose censorship. But Saudi media minister Salman al-Dosary, who also chairs the media regulation authority, defended the latest moves and denied that they constitute putting limits on free speech.

    “There will be absolutely no tolerance towards anyone who attempts to use freedom of expression to create chaos in the media or electronic spheres, or use false populist rhetoric to increase their followers count,” he said at a press conference last week.

    Read more in my latest story here.

  • 🚨 Saudi Arabia calls moves by Yemen’s STC “unjustified escalation”, urges the group to withdraw forces from seized provinces —foreign ministry statement.

  • “While Saudi’s reinvention has left scars, in the form of budget overruns and scaled-back projects, the country has breezed through its own 2030 target and is set to generate an estimated 57 per cent of economic output from non-oil activities this year.”

  • Saudi writer Ahmed Abodehman dies at age 76. He was known for his semi-autobiographical novel “La Ceinture”, first published in French by Gallimard in 2000.

    Black and white photo of Saudi write Ahmed Abodehman who died 14 December 2025.Cover of the book “La Ceinture” by Saudi writer Ahmed Abodehman.

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