Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud

Force in Play

Asked President Trump for US military help and traveled to Cairo as Houthi strikes reach Riyadh; Trump said he would speak to him about joining strikes

Saudi air defenses intercepted missiles aimed at Riyadh and the Eastern Province on Nov. 8. Falling debris damaged an Aramco administrative building in the capital's King Abdullah Financial District, with minor damage and no casualties, the Energy Ministry said.

Updated 3 days ago

Force in Play

In office

Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman oversaw the signing of a defence cooperation agreement in Riyadh on Wednesday. It was al-Sharaa's second visit to the kingdom in less than a month. The two governments did not disclose the terms of the defence deal.

Updated 6 days ago

Force in Play

Financing the Pakistani deployment to defend the kingdom

Britain is sending Royal Air Force Typhoon fighters to help Saudi Arabia defend cities and oil sites from Houthi missiles and drones. Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said the jets will fly defensive sorties only and will not strike Yemen. Pakistan's Foreign Office said on October 16 that Islamabad is 'fully on board' with the Makkah pact.

Updated Oct 27

Force in Play

As of September 2026: Requested U.S. military help against the Houthis; Washington declined direct strikes

Ship crossings through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait fell to 15 on Friday, half the previous day's total. Houthi rebels seized Perim Island that day, completing their takeover of the strait that carries 10 to 12 percent of global trade.

Updated Sep 12

Rule Changes

As of August 2026: Signed the pact in Mecca on August 7, 2026

In Mecca, the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan signed a pact stating that an armed attack on any one of them is an attack on all three. It binds oil-rich Saudi Arabia, Turkey's large army, and Pakistan's nuclear arsenal into one defense promise.

Updated Aug 7

Built World

As of May 2026: Chief patron of NEOM and chair of the Public Investment Fund

Saudi Arabia announced NEOM in 2017 as a 26,000-square-kilometer city of the future on the Red Sea, with THE LINE — a 170-kilometer ribbon of 500-meter mirrored walls — as its flagship. Nine years and roughly $500 billion later, the 2026 reality is split: THE LINE is paused at a 2.4-kilometer foundation while the Port of NEOM commissioned its first container terminal in industrial Oxagon.

Updated May 31

Force in Play

As of May 2026: Facing renewed Yemen crisis threatening border security

Saudi Arabia bombed a port on December 30 to destroy weapons the UAE had shipped to the Southern Transitional Council, which had just seized 80% of Yemen's oil reserves. A vessel named Greenland had disabled its tracking system after leaving Fujairah on December 22 and unloaded combat vehicles and weapons at Mukalla on December 28 for the STC.

Updated May 18

New Capabilities

As of May 2026: Political architect of Riyadh Air and the Saudi Aviation Strategy under Vision 2030

Riyadh Air, Saudi Arabia's startup flag carrier, is what IBM and the airline call the world's first "AI-native" airline — built from day one around AI-driven, cloud-based systems, not retrofitted legacy IT. Launched in March 2023 under Vision 2030, the airline has ordered large fleets from Boeing and Airbus and aims to connect over 100 destinations and serve millions of travelers by 2030 through Riyadh's planned mega-hub.

Updated May 10