Amnesty International said that "today's mass execution is a chilling demonstration of the Saudi Arabian authorities callous disregard for human life. It is also yet another gruesome indication of how the death penalty is being used as a political tool to crush dissent from within the country's Shi'a minority."

The United States called on Iran to keep the straits of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab open, a State Department official said on Tuesday after the United States a day earlier demanded that Iran oil buyers halt their purchases by May 1.

Four alleged Islamic State militants were killed on Sunday when authorities thwarted an attack on a state security building in Saudi Arabia's central Riyadh province, authorities told state media.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Monday the United States is not extending any waivers exempting importers of Iranian oil from U.S. sanctions and there will be no grace period for those economies to comply.

A Saudi court on Wednesday postponed a fourth hearing in the trial of several women rights activists, a case that has intensified Western criticism of Saudi Arabia following the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi made his first visit to Saudi Arabia since taking office six months ago, meeting King Salman during the stop on a regional tour that has also seen visits to Cairo and Tehran in recent weeks.

President Donald Trump has vetoed a congressional resolution that sought to end U.S. involvement in the Saudi-led war in Yemen, the White House said on Tuesday.

French arms including tanks and laser-guided missile systems sold to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are being used in the Yemeni war against civilians, leaked intelligence published by investigative website Disclose showed.

Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who lives in Saudi Arabia while rival Houthi forces control the capital Sanaa, made a rare visit to his country on Saturday for a meeting of the divided parliament in a loyalist southern province.

Qatari Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohamed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said that his country can't control the Gulf crisis because it didn't case it, reiterating his country's support for the Kuwaiti initiative.

Egypt has pulled out of the U.S. effort to forge an "Arab NATO" with key Arab allies, according to four sources familiar with the decision, in a blow to the Trump administration's strategy to contain Iranian power.

Saudi Arabia's telecoms regulator imposed more than 38 million Saudi riyal ($10.13 million) in fines on the three main telecoms companies for violating regulations, a statement from the Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) said on Thursday.

The children of murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi denied on Wednesday discussing any sort of settlement over his killing by Saudi agents after a report of compensation awards.

Amnesty International called on Wednesday on the United Arab Emirates to release a local activist who has been on hunger strike for more than three weeks, citing concern over his health and prison conditions.

Saudi Arabia unveiled on Monday hosting an Arab-American meeting which Qatar took part in, in preparation for the launch of the Middle East Strategic Alliance, known as the "Arab NATO".

A plan by Qatar's sovereign wealth fund to make a significant investment in Deutsche Bank has stalled, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.

Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi said on Tuesday that Washington's decision to designate Iran's Revolutionary Guards a terrorist group "could have negative repercussions on Iraq and the region".

Saudi Aramco is set to raise $12 billion with its first international bond issue after receiving more than $100 billion in orders, a record breaking vote of market confidence for the oil giant which has faced investor concerns about government influence over the company.

Two people were killed and two others arrested in a security operation in Saudi Arabia's eastern Al-Qatif region, state security said in a statement on Monday.

President Donald Trump said on Monday he would name Iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization, in an unprecedented step that drew Iranian condemnation and raised concerns about retaliatory attacks on U.S. forces.