Foreign relations of Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia on Jan. 6 announced the establishment of the Council of Arab and African States bordering the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud announced the signing of the charter of the council in a press conference held in the capital Riyadh.

Two former employees of Twitter and a third man from Saudi Arabia face U.S. charges of spying for the kingdom by digging up private user data and giving it to Saudi officials in exchange for payment, a complaint from the Department of Justice shows.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan urged caution over blaming Iran for a Sept. 14 attack on Saudi Arabia's oil facilities, adding that it would not be right to place the entire burden on the Islamic Republic.

Britain believes Iran was responsible for an attack on Saudi oil facilities and will work with the United States and European allies on a joint response, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Sept. 23.

Iran's president said on Sept. 22 his country should lead regional security in the strategic Persian Gulf and warned against the presence of foreign forces, as the country's nuclear deal with world powers collapses and the U.S. deployed more troops to boost security for its Arab allies.

Oil production in Saudi Arabia will be fully restored by the end of September, authorities said. At the same time, United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is leaving for the kingdom to discuss the next steps after the airstrike against Saudi oil facilities.

France will send experts to Saudi Arabia to help with investigations into an attack on Saudi oil installations, President Emmanuel Macron's office said on Sept. 18.

Britain's top diplomat has urged Germany to relax its ban on arms sales to Saudi Arabia because they are affecting U.K. sales of weapons to - and by extension its influence with - the oil-rich kingdom.

Turkey's foreign minister on Jan. 28 met with an UN official to discuss the killing last fall in Istanbul of a Saudi journalist.

Five Saudi officials face the death penalty over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed inside the kingdom's Istanbul consulate, Riyadh's public prosecutor said Nov. 15.