Saudi Crown Prince, Defense Minister and Chairman of the Council for Economic and Development Affairs Mohammed bin Salman. The young prince has been meticulously groomed for the throne by his father, King Salman, who assumed the throne in January 2015.

U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (right) meets with King Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia, with chief of staff William D. Leahy (on knee) and minister to Saudi Arabia Col. William A. Eddy (to Leahy's right) aboard a U.S. warship on Feb. 20, 1945.

A movie advertising the Neom city project runs Oct. 25 during a three-day Future Investment Initiatives conference in Riyadh. Since 1938, the kingdom has made its fortune in oil. But thanks to the yearslong downturn in oil prices, the Saudi economy is in crisis.

Saudi families head to celebrations marking the annual Saudi Arabian National Day on Sept. 23. The kingdom's significant oil wealth enabled Riyadh to maintain certain standards for its citizens, but the country is now accepting that it must adapt to an uncertain future.

A Bahraini protester wields a portrait of executed Shiite Muslim cleric Nimr al-Nimr on Jan. 8, 2016, in the village of Sitra, south of Manama. Riyadh has a vested interest in preventing Bahrain from falling into the Iranian sphere of influence and is not above using Shiite leaders to advance its agenda.

U.S. President Donald Trump walks with Saudi King Salman (right) during a trip in May. Wary of Iran's strong ties to regional militant groups, the United States relies on Saudi Arabia as a counterbalance, going so far as to support Riyadh's aspirations to become the dominant force in the Middle East.

A Nov. 14, 2016, photo shows a house destroyed by Saudi-led coalition airstrikes in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa. In an attempt to contain regional militancy and combat terrorism, Riyadh became embroiled in the conflict in Yemen, devoting considerable resources and combat power.

Fighters of the Iran-backed Shiite Hezbollah movement commemorate a fallen comrade in Lebanon. Saudi Arabia recently accused Hezbollah of plotting against Riyadh. Lebanon has always struggled to balance between stronger powers but now appears to have overstepped the mark.

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri (center) attends a Sept. 8 funerary procession for 10 Lebanese army soldiers killed by the Islamic State. The same day as Riyadh announced its latest anti-corruption charges, al-Hariri publicly resigned from office, expressing concerns over Tehran's interference in Lebanon and other countries in the region.