Saudi liquor store runs short because of Iran war bottleneck

Published May 3, 2026 Updated May 3, 2026 01:57am

Saudi Arabia’s only official alcohol shop has run short of supplies ranging from ‌beer and wine to tequila, as the disruption caused by the Iran war has delayed shipments, Reuters reports citing visitors to the store.

Situated in Riyadh’s diplomatic district, the shop, which has no name and no sign, opened in 2024 ​to serve non-Muslim diplomats and last year expanded to cater for wealthy non-Muslim foreign residents.

For now, however, ​the shelves are mostly bare, with only expensive or little-known brands on offer, five people who ​have visited the Riyadh shop in recent days say.

One Western diplomat, who has spoken on condition of anonymity, says there was no white wine and “only a few bottles of super expensive red”.

“They also got a shipment of random ​beer,” the diplomat adds.

Read more here.

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