Saudi Arabia postpones major investment conference as Iran war fallout expands

• Saudi Arabia is postponing the “Future Investment Initiative” conference, which was set for later this month.
• The announcement came as fighting has renewed between Iran-backed Houthi rebels and Saudi Arabia.
• The conference, which was set to return Wall Street titans to Riyadh, will now take place next year.

Saudi Arabia has postponed a gathering of Wall Street titans as instability spreads across the Middle East amid the US-Iran War.

On Monday, Princess Maha Bint Mishari Al Saud announced that officials were postponing the Future Investment Initiative, which was scheduled for October 26 through the 29th until next year.

“This decision comes from a deep commitment to our partners, members, speakers, and delegates,” Princess Maha said in a statement. “Because this is our landmark tenth edition, we want to ensure it delivers the full scale, extraordinary quality, and unforgettable impact that our community has come to expect and truly deserves.”

The postponement comes after a recent attack by Iran-backed Houthi rebels on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport, which left at least 13 people dead, the Associated Press reported. Before the announcement, CNBC reported that some delegates were prepared to land in Bahrain and then drive around five hours to Riyadh.

The conference, which has become a major gathering since its launch in 2017, was set to feature the likes of Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, and BlackRock CEO Larry Fink.

“We will announce the new 2027 dates very soon,” the statement said.

Houthi rebels have attacked Saudi Arabia in recent weeks as an informal 2022 truce between the two sides deteriorated amid the US-Iran War. In 2015, Saudi Arabia began a bombing campaign against the rebels after they seized Sanaa, Yemen’s capital.