Saudi Arabia was founded in 1932 by Ibn Saud. The country is ruled under an "absolute monarchy," which is a form of monarchy in which one ruler has supreme authority that is unrestricted by any laws.
The country is ruled under the ultraconservative Wahhabi religious movement within Sunni Islam. Saudi Arabia hosts the two holiest places in Islam, the Al-Masjid al-Haram in Mecca and the Al-Masjid an-Nabawi in Medina.
It is a sovereign Arab state covering majority of the Arabian Peninsula, with a land mass of approximately 2,150,000 km2. The country has a population of 28.7 million people and the official language spoken is Arabic.
Petroleum was discovered on 3 March, 1938 in Saudi Arabia and has since become the world's largest oil producer and exporter. It is the only Arab country to be part of the G-20 major economies.
As Washington faces pressure to handle the killing of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Trump has nominated a former army general to be the country's ambassador, a spot that has been unfilled since 2017
The New York Times reports a member of the Saudi team which was sent to Istanbul to kill Khashoggi told one of his superiors after the killing to 'tell your boss' - an apparent reference to Prince Mohammed
Erdogan told reporters on his plane returning from a weekend visit to France that he discussed the Saudi journalist’s killing with the U.S., French and German leaders at dinner in Paris
A year before Khashoggi, senior Saudi intel officials and a group of businessmen met discussed potential assassination strategy against Iran. An Israeli businessman was involved, the New York Times reports
Erdogan revealed that audio recordings of the killing had been given to the U.S., French, German and British governments, adding that the operation had been ordered at the 'highest levels' of the Saudi government
Israel pivots from Syria to Lebanon as Hezbollah amasses political power ■ Iran finds way to bypass U.S. sanctions and retain presence in region
The move comes at a time when Riyadh, already under scrutiny for civilian deaths in Yemen air strikes, is facing global furor and potential sanctions over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi
The deal is the first military contract signed by the kingdom with a foreign country since the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi
Former U.S. intel staffer claims one of the dissident's contacts was bugged with NSO's Pegasus spyware, blasts Israeli tech industry ■ In response, NSO denies selling its products
Israeli citizens could formerly perform the pilgrimage with a temporary Jordanian passport. According to a new rule in Saudi Arabia, such passports will no longer be recognized