Middle East and North Africa At the end of 2018, much of the international attention paid to Saudi Arabia was focused around the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. In reaction to the incident, for example, Germany banned weapons sales to the kingdom. But, as Stratfor expected, most of the country's key relationships remain unchanged. Both the United Kingdom and France have pushed Germany to lift the ban and return to the status quo. Most notably, Washington's relationship with Riyadh has remained unchanged, despite congressional calls to the contrary. When the United States walked away from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018, its European signatories made a commitment to Iran that they would remain participants and work to maintain economic relations.