The United States on Monday confirmed the killing of Abu al-Hassan al-Muhajir, Islamic State spokesman and a high-ranking figure within the jihadi group, in a separate U.S. operation, according to a senior State Department official.

The United States has given the remains of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi a burial at sea and afforded him religious rites according to Islamic custom after he was killed in a U.S. commando raid in Syria on Saturday, three officials told Reuters.

The United States on Friday asked foreign governments to submit detailed reports on humanitarian exports to Iran, a step observers said could have a chilling effect and cast a pall over European efforts to allow trade.

A senior Saudi official said on Thursday that a policy of appeasement would not work with Iran and that the only way to get Tehran to the negotiating table was to apply maximum pressure.

Yemen's government and Huthi rebels have set up joint observation posts as part of de-escalation moves in the flashpoint city of Hodeida, a move the United Nations welcomed on Wednesday.

Saudi Arabia has eased travel restrictions on women but observers say loopholes still allow male relatives to curtail their movements and, in the worst cases, leave them marooned in prison-like shelters.

Saudi Arabia appointed a prince with diplomatic experience in Western capitals as foreign minister on Wednesday in a partial cabinet reshuffle as the kingdom tries to mend its international image and prepares to take over the Group of 20 presidency.

Six police officers including two senior commanders were killed in northern Iraq on Tuesday when Islamic State militants opened fire on them during a reconnaissance mission, security sources said.

Oman is considering setting up a new regional airline that could take over domestic operations from state carrier Oman Air, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Global ports operator DP World has struggled to borrow from banks to finance new investments since a port it partially owns in Djibouti was seized by the government there in 2018, its chairman said on Monday.

U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper arrived in Saudi Arabia on Monday, with tensions simmering between Washington and Tehran, and Russia seeking to boost its influence in the Middle East.

The U.S. State Department said on Thursday it has extended by 120 days a waiver to sanctions allowing Iraq to import gas and electricity from Iran as it pushes Baghdad to make the country more energy independent.

Qatar's government said on Thursday it adopted a new minimum wage law and will scrap mandatory exit visas for all workers, part of a broad labour reform programme ahead of its hosting of the 2022 World Cup.

Thirty-five foreigners were killed and four others injured when a bus collided with another heavy vehicle near the Muslim holy city of Medina, Saudi state media said on Thursday.

Kuwait's 90-year-old ruler will return home on Wednesday from the United States where he had been admitted to hospital, causing him to postpone a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, state news agency KUNA said on Tuesday.

Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud issued a royal decree appointing Prince Sultan bin Ahmed bin Abdulaziz as Saudi Arabia's Ambassador to the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan met Saudi Arabia's King Salman on Tuesday, Saudi state media reported, two days after he visited Iran on a mission to defuse tensions between Riyadh and Tehran.

Tourist visas for Saudi Arabia are now available online and on arrival to holidaymakers who already hold a visa from the United States, Britain or the EU’s Schengen zone, expanding eligibility beyond an initial list of 49 countries.

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said an Iranian tanker damaged in the Red Sea on Friday had been hit by at least two rockets, and there is video footage of the incident.

A Saudi minister said on Sunday that Riyadh was not behind a suspected strike against an Iranian-owned oil tanker in the Red Sea, which Iranian state-run television said was hit on Friday by missiles but denied reports they came from Saudi Arabia.