Saudi Arabia said Friday that employees will only be allowed to return to their workplace in person once vaccinated against Covid-19.

Lebanese authorities have arrested two brothers suspected of smuggling drugs in pomegranate shipments to Saudi Arabia, leading the kingdom to ban Lebanese fruits and vegetables, the outgoing interior minister said Sunday.

Mohamed Fahmi told local MTV television station during a tour to the Lebanon-Syria border that Interpol is also following a third suspect. He gave no further details, saying only that the case is still under investigation.

Caretaker Interior Minister Mohammed Fahmi expressed gratitude to Saudi Arabia for allowing around 40 stranded Lebanese trucks on the Saudi border to enter the Kingdom, Fahmi’s press office said in a statement on Thursday.

Saudi Arabia is set to close eight Turkish schools at the end of the current academic year, Turkey's Anadolu state news agency reported Wednesday, a decision that could anger Ankara as it tries to improve ties with Riyadh

President Michel Aoun emphasized on Wednesday that Lebanon shall not be exploited as a crossing point to harm the Arab countries and Saudi Arabia, days after a Saudi ban on fresh produce over drug smuggling.

Saudi Arabia's crown prince on Tuesday struck a conciliatory tone towards the kingdom's arch-nemesis Iran, saying he sought "good" relations, after sources said the rivals held secret talks in Baghdad.

A U.K. maritime organization is reporting an "incident" off the Saudi port of Yanbu as a private security firm is warning of a possible attack on a ship.

Details were scarce Tuesday on the incident in the Red Sea.

Saudi Arabia announced Friday the suspension of fruit and vegetable imports from Lebanon, saying shipments were being used for drug smuggling and accusing Beirut of inaction.

A first round of direct talks between regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran signaled a possible de-escalation following years of animosity that often spilled into neighboring countries and at least one still-raging war. But few expect quick results.

The talks, hosted by Iraq earlier this month, were confirmed Tuesday to The Associated Press by an Iraqi and a Western official in Baghdad.

Greece will lend a Patriot missile battery to Saudi Arabia to protect its critical energy infrastructure, Greek officials said Tuesday, as the Gulf kingdom grapples with growing attacks by Yemen's Huthi rebels.