Oman enters Gulf AI race with new special economic zone in Muscat Oman will create an AI-focused special economic zone in Muscat governorate. Oman
Who is Handala, the hacktivist group US ties to Iranian intelligence? Handala Hack Team portrays itself as a pro-Palestinian group but is widely believed to be linked to Iranian intelligence. Iran
Iran names US tech, finance firms in new Middle East threat list Firms listed as potential targets included Oracle, Microsoft, Apple, Google, Meta, IBM, Palantir and Nvidia, while banking giant JPMorgan and UAE-based AI firm G42 were also listed. Iran
Gulf AI deals continues to lure investors despite US-Iran war Blackstone committed $250 million to a payment infrastructure platform in Abu Dhabi as the US investment firm's president lauded the UAE's strong investment credentials despite the conflict. Saudi Arabia
Analysis Iran’s longest-ever internet blackout leaves 99% offline: What to know By Samuel Wendel In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech
Analysis India's Modi arrives in Israel as fears grow of US-Iran conflict By Rina Bassist In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs
Turkey's fastest drone plays key role locating Iran helicopter crash site The location of the helicopter crash site was identified by Turkey’s Akinci drone, according to Turkish officials, after Ankara sent teams to help Iran's search mission. Turkey
Interview AI pioneer Schmidhuber bets on Saudi Arabia for trillion-dollar breakthrough Juergen Schmidhuber, a pioneering AI researcher told Al-Monitor that Gulf players have opportunities to take on traditional tech powerhouses in this high stakes AI race. Juergen Schmidhuber AI computer scientist
Israel's Elbit clinches $53M deal to sell mortar systems to Europe Between 2019 and 2023, Israeli weapons constituted 2.4% of the global market, massively reshaped by Russia's invasion of Ukraine and increased imports by European countries. Israel
Chinese investors skeptical as Gulf pushes for deeper economic ties with Beijing Gulf states are building economic ties with Beijing in non-energy fields, but Chinese investors remain skeptical of ambitious economic diversification plans in the Gulf. By Sebastian Castelier In Dubai, reporting on regional business
Interview Saudi Arabia's giga-projects to offer 'testing ground' for British technology Saudi startups and fintech firms are looking to tap into the United Kingdom's $1 trillion tech market. Matt Jones Saudi British Joint Business Council Project Officer
What Binance's new Dubai license means for UAE cryptocurrency sector Binance, one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world, has experienced some legal setbacks recently and is the latest firm to receive Dubai’s coveted VASP license. United Arab Emirates
Google fires 28 staffers after protesting Israel cloud contract More than two dozen staff members have been fired after being arrested for protesting Google’s involvement in Project Nimbus, a $1.2 billion Israeli government cloud contract that also includes e-commerce giant Amazon. Israel
Microsoft pumps $1.5B into UAE's G42 amid US-China tech power struggle Washington reportedly threatened to punish G42 if it did not reduce its ties with Beijing and strengthen its US commitments. United Arab Emirates
IDF scrambles GPS systems in central Israel against potential Iranian reprisal The Israeli military is apparently behind disturbances to location-based applications in central Israel in an effort to thwart potential airstrikes from Iran and its proxy forces. Israel
With $40B fund, Saudi Arabia looks to become world leader in AI The fund would make the Gulf state the world’s largest investor in AI and help the kingdom realize its Vision 2030 agenda to diversify the economy away from oil. Saudi Arabia
Israeli cryptocurrency exchange to launch shekel-backed stablecoin Stablecoins, which are digital currencies that are pegged to stable assets such as fiat currencies, have a degree of appeal in the Middle East. Israel
What to know about MGX, UAE’s latest AI investment firm The launch of the AI-focused firm follows the UAE’s largest company appointing an AI bot to its board, as Abu Dhabi seeks to become a world player in artificial intelligence. United Arab Emirates
