I think people generally understand that it's a dictatorship, referred to as "the Saudis". Much like actions of ISIS are not indicative of what your average Muslim neighbor is up to.
I agree that people generally understand that in this case the headline refers to the Saudi government - but OTOH, this kind of "generalisational" language can perhaps be a form of propaganda, or at least subconsciously change some readers' perception with constant exposure.