Saudi Arabia

In Qatar, Yemen and Gaza, power play of Saudis and Iran brings new danger

29 August 2017
An economic blockade led by US ally Saudi Arabia backfired spectacularly as Qatar announced it had reopened full diplomatic ties with Iran last week.

Who really tolerates tyrants?

08 August 2017
Politicians and pundits have whipped themselves up into moral outrage over Venezuelan “dictator”—or rather, elected president—Nicolas Maduro.

Qatar crisis exposes dangerous tensions

13 June 2017
A campaign of sanctions and threats against Gulf state Qatar showed up tensions among competing Middle Eastern powers—and confusion among the US ruling class.

Absurd Gibraltar bluster reveals what ‘kind of people’ the Tories really are

04 April 2017
A succession of Tories have threatened to go to war to “defend” Gibraltar, the British possession on the southern tip of the Spanish state.

Tories defend Saudi Arabia after it admits dropping British-made bombs on Yemen

20 December 2016
Saudi Arabia’s military has finally admitted that it has used British-made cluster bombs in its assault on Yemen. The truth has been dragged out of the regime after an attempted cover-up lasting over six months.

Labour MPs refuse to oppose civilian bombings in Yemen

27 October 2016
More than 100 Labour MPs refused to back their party’s own motion against bombing civilians in Yemen at a vote in parliament last night, Wednesday.

After Aleppo, Mosul is the next city to be razed by imperialism

18 October 2016
The United States and Russia backed brutal assaults on major cities this week. Both are designed to boost their control in a strategically and economically crucial part of the world—regardless of the cost in civilian lives.

Tory government wants Thatchers’ cosy corruption to be kept secret indefinitely

26 July 2016
Tory corruption is to be kept secret. Two files entitled “Cementation contract: Mark Thatcher and the Omanis” are listed as being “retained” for 65 years. Two others were “temporarily retained” with no release date.

Protests in Egypt met with brutal repression

26 April 2016
Demonstrations were pushed back on Monday but the regime is still in trouble

Executions in Saudi Arabia spark protests across the region

05 January 2016
Protests erupted in Saudi Arabia and across the region after the Saudi regime executed Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr last Saturday.

Rival powers struggle for influence in Syria

08 December 2015
For regional and global powers, the war on Isis has become the justification for military intervention in Syria. Yet Isis emerged in the shadow of the US occupation of Iraq.

More than arms—Britain's link with Saudi Arabia's despotic ruling family

20 October 2015
Saudi Arabia is notorious for its human rights abuses, its treatment of women and migrant workers. Yet it enjoys a cosy relationship with Britain’s rulers. Dave Sewell explains why

Panicking elite try to divert blame for Hajj disaster

29 September 2015
Political pressure is growing in Saudi Arabia after over 700 pilgrims were crushed to death last week

Saudi troops seen in Aden

05 May 2015
Around 100 Saudi-led ground troops have arrived in the Yemeni port of Aden.

Middle Eastern states manoevure in regional power play

07 April 2015
The danger for Western imperialism is that the mess—and with it the Middle East—escapes anyone’s control, writes Alex Callinicos

West backs Saudi Arabia in launching attacks on Yemen

31 March 2015
The attacks on Yemen highlight the problems US imperialism faces as it tries to reassert its control over the region, writes Ken Olende

US and Saudi Arabia: Dysfunctional partners depend on each other for survival

27 January 2015
Many were nauseated by the sight of the British government flying flags at half mast in honour of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, writes Alex Callinicos

Anger is rising over attacks on migrants in Saudi Arabia

26 November 2013
Hibist Kassa, a socialist in Ethiopia, on the background to the detention of and assaults on Ethiopian migrant workers in Saudi Arabia

Ethiopian migrants protest in London against brutal crackdown on workers in Saudi Arabia

19 November 2013
The government in Saudi Arabia has launched a brutal crackdown on migrant workers it sees as illegal. The Middle Eastern kingdom has a population of almost 30 million, with nine million migrants making up more than half of the workforce.