The board of the Arabia Foundation, a pro-Saudi think tank based in Washington, D.C., has decided to shut down operations immediately, The National reported.
Ali Shihabi, who founded the institute in 2017 with a goal of covering Middle East politics and socioeconomics, particularly on the Arabian Peninsula, tweeted that the foundation closed "due to ongoing differences among our donors that made continued operations difficult."
All events planned for the foundation this summer were immediately canceled.
Middle East Eye reported that the foundation's closure comes amid increased criticism of Saudi Arabia's influence on U.S. policies after the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
The murder of Khashoggi, a former Washington Post columnist and U.S. resident, has led to added scrutiny of pro-Saudi think tanks and lobbyists in Washington.
Shihabi was widely criticised for so vehemently defending Riyadh after Khashoggi was murdered in Istanbul last October.
Shihabi said the foundation's closure does not change his backing of the "change and reform" program underway in Saudi Arabia, tweeting, "Critics have made incomplete and imbalanced judgements about [Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's] tenure focusing on the Khashoggi tragedy and arrests of dissidents but have chosen to ignore the seismic changes that he has pushed through in social, religious, cultural, and economic affairs."
Even as some of President Donald Trump's closest supporters questioned his defence of the crown prince, Shihabi said that "Trump correctly highlights two key facts. MBS's fight against Wahhabi extremism and his opening up of the country to female participation in a way inconceivable only a few years ago."
Shihabi emphasized that Trump "understands that it's idiotic to focus on one issue only namely the Khashoggi tragedy."
Related Stories:
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.