MUST-READS

• Saudi Arabia rebrands as mediator for global crises

  Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is increasingly busy hosting state leaders who fly in to discuss pressing global conflicts. This Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met the Saudi Crown Prince to speak about Russia's war in Ukraine. This is ahead of a Tuesday meeting between Ukrainian and a US teams set to negotiate a potential end to Russia's war of aggression, as well as a security deal that would include US access to Ukraine's valuable mineral and metal deposits. It will be the first time that Ukrainian and US delegates talk face-to-face after the public spat between US President Donald Trump and President Zelenskyy in the White House in late February. The fact that the two countries have agreed to meet in Saudi Arabia — and not, say, in Europe — highlights the emerging key position of the oil-rich kingdom in the Middle East. "Saudi Arabia has indeed established itself as a platform for dialog in the last two to three years," Sebastian Sons, a senior researcher for the German think tank CARPO, told DW. "In Saudi Arabia's foreign policy strategy, it currently plays a very important role to talk to everyone," he added.

• Why Is Saudi Arabia Seeking To Mediate A Deal Between U.S. And Iran?

  “Riyadh is looking for a way to address concerns around Iran's nuclear program, as well as its regional activities and its support for proxies,” says Gregory Brew, senior analyst at the U.S.-based Eurasia Group. “Given Riyadh's interest in avoiding an escalation in the Gulf, it probably sees diplomacy as a more effective means of addressing these issues, rather than military action,” he added. “Saudi Arabia's willingness to moderate between Tehran and Washington was not borne of a political vacuum,” said Behnam Taleblu, senior director of the Iran Program at the Washington-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). “By stylistically accommodating Tehran through diplomatic normalization but substantively remaining in the Western orbit, Riyadh is hoping to insulate itself from being the place where a larger regional conflict involving Iran is adjudicated.”

• Saudi Arabia seeks to mediate between Trump and Iran on new nuclear deal

  Saudi Arabia is open to mediating between the Trump administration and Iran in pursuit of a new deal to limit Tehran’s nuclear program, CNN has learned. The kingdom is concerned that Iran may be more inclined to pursue a nuclear weapon now that its regional proxies – long viewed as a deterrent against Israeli attacks – have been significantly weakened. Saudi Arabia hopes to leverage its close ties with President Donald Trump to provide Iran with a diplomatic bridge to the White House. It is unclear whether Saudi Arabia has made a formal offer, but the move underscores Riyadh’s desire to build on its improved relations with its former foe and secure a seat at the negotiating table for a potential new deal.

• Saudi Arabia launches ferocious state media attack on Netanyahu

  Saudi anger has been thrust into the open as Riyadh is expected to face pressure from US President Donald Trump to normalise relations with Israel. Like other Arab states, Riyadh has also been rattled by Trump’s insistence that Palestinians should be forced out of Gaza. Saudi Arabia was closing in on a three-way deal with the Biden administration before Hamas’s October 7 2023 attack. The kingdom would have agreed to formal diplomatic relations with Israel in return for a US defence pact and assistance with a nuclear programme.  The war in Gaza shook up those plans. Riyadh never took normalisation off the table, but has escalated its condemnation of Israel’s conduct of its war in Gaza and has hardened its position, insisting Israel would need to take irreversible steps towards a two-state solution. In September, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman went further, telling the consultative Shura Council that the kingdom would not recognise Israel without the establishment of an independent Palestinian state including Gaza and the West Bank, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

• Saudi Arabia Gears Up to Host the Fourth Edition of the Saudi Media Forum 2025

  The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is gearing up to host the fourth edition of the Saudi Media Forum 2025, set to take place in the capital, Riyadh, from February 19 to 21. This prestigious event reaffirms its status as the largest media gathering in the region and a global platform that unites top decision-makers, industry experts, and innovators in the media sector.

• Saudi Arabia emerges as the epicentre of Media & Entertainment in 2025

  According to a January 2025 Statista report, Saudi Arabia leads the MENA media industry, holding a dominant 30% market share. This month Saudi Arabia appears to be the hub for everyone in Media & Entertainment, with Leap, followed by the Future of Media Exhibition (FOMEX) from February 19-21, and the BroadcastPro Summit KSA on February 25. We will have a stand at FOMEX too and look forward to meeting many of you there. It’s that final burst of activity before everything calms down for Ramadan – or will it?

• US, Arab mediators make some progress in Gaza peace talks, no deal yet, sources say
  U.S. and Arab mediators have made some progress in their efforts to reach a ceasefire accord between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, but not enough to seal a deal, Palestinian sources close to the talks said on Thursday. As talks continued in Qatar, the Israeli military carried out strikes across the enclave, killing at least 17 people on Thursday, Palestinian medics said. The deaths brought to 70 the number of people killed by Israeli strikes across Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours, according to the territory's health ministry.

• Saudi Arabia considers purchasing 100 KAAN fighter jets from Türkiye: Media

  Saudi Arabia is reportedly evaluating the acquisition of 100 KAAN fifth-generation fighter jets from Türkiye, signaling a potential deepening of defense industry cooperation between the two nations. According to a report by Milliyet, high-level discussions have been held in Istanbul between Turkish and Saudi defense officials, including head of the Presidency of Defense Industries Haluk Gorgun, Saudi Deputy Minister of Defense Khaled Bin Hussein Al Biyari, and Saudi Air Force Commander Turki bin Bandar Al Saud. The meetings, which span three days, are aimed at establishing collaboration on large-scale defense projects such as KAAN, Türkiye’s indigenous fifth-generation fighter jet.

• Saudi crown prince demands immediate Gaza, Lebanon ceasefire at Arab summit

  Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler called for immediate ceasefires in Gaza and Lebanon at a joint Arab League and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation summit on Monday. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said the international community must "immediately halt the Israeli actions against our brothers in Palestine and Lebanon", condemning Israel's campaign in Gaza as "genocide".

• Saudi Arabia is ready to mediate between Russia and Ukraine, TASS cites envoy as saying
  Saudi Arabia is ready to act as a mediator between Russia and Ukraine, Russian state news agency TASS cited the Saudi ambassador to Moscow as saying on Tuesday. It quoted the envoy as saying that the kingdom was supportive of moves to de-escalate the Ukraine crisis and "ready to make intermediary efforts in order to establish contacts between all involved parties". No peace talks have taken place between Russia and Ukraine since the first weeks of the war in 2022, although several outside parties including China and African leaders have come forward with peace initiatives.

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