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Economy & Business

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian holds a press conference on Aug. 19, 2026.

China slams Trump over economic war on Iran: What to know

China’s once significant oil imports from Iran have been impacted by the war in the region and increasing US sanctions.

Iranians drive past an anti-US billboard at Enghelab Square in central Tehran, Aug. 3, 2026.

Trump’s Iran ‘economic D-Day’ threat sends oil prices above $94

In a Truth Social post, the president threatened that any country that provides a financial lifeline to Iran will face "tremendous economic consequences."

AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP via Getty Images

Explainer

Iraq seeks special Hormuz access from Iran in scramble to keep oil flowing

As Iran's parliament speaker holds talks in Baghdad, Iraq has asked Tehran for special consideration for its oil exports.

Latest News

Turkey looks to expand Syria energy footprint into oil, gas

President Ahmad al-Sharaa meets Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar at the People’s Palace in Damascus, Syria, on Aug. 19, 2026.

Oil nears $92 on UAE missile alert as Trump claims Iran talks stuck

Leon Neal/Getty Images

United Arab Emirates

Explainer

What US sanctions on Syria remain as Shibani, Barrack hold talks?

RAMI AL SAYED/AFP via Getty Images

UAE billionaire Habtoor takes aim at Ben Gvir’s Gaza rhetoric

A picture take on Sept. 13, 2017, shows Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor, chairman of the Al Habtoor Group, attending the World Premiere of La Perle in Dubai.

United Arab Emirates

Samuel Wendel

Senior Market Research Analyst

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Adam Lucente

News and Business Correspondent

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

Jack Dutton

Chief Business Correspondent

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

Sabena Siddiqui

In Karachi, reporting on South Asia, Middle East, Iran

Vanessa Ghanem

In Dubai, reporting on business, energy and politics

Francisco Serrano

In Lisbon, reporting on North Africa business

Iraqi Aqeel Hassan, one of the owners of private electric generators.

Iran, Iraq sign $4 billion engineering agreement

The deal comes at a notable time in Iran-Iraq relations, as the Islamic Republic continues to threaten and attack Kurdish groups in Iraq.

Employees work at the call centre of the Algerian delivery company Yassir, at the company's headquarters , in the capital Algiers on February 23, 2022. - It's the Algerian start-up that made good: despite the country's notoriously complex business climate, taxi and home-delivery firm Yassir has millions of users and is expanding across Africa.

The Business & Tech Briefing: Maghreb startup funding takes off

In this weekly newsletter, Al-Monitor CEO Greg Cohen rounds up the biggest business stories from the region.

Iran Iraq oil

Iran’s oil ministry opens offices in Baghdad, Basra, Kurdistan

Iran is opening offices for its oil ministries in several Iraqi cities to expand cooperation in oil, gas and other energy sectors.

A picture taken on Nov. 3, 2019, shows a sign of Saudi Aramco's initial public offering.

Saudi Arabia announces new natural gas discoveries

The kingdom is already a major oil exporter, but it could also start exporting natural gas in the near future.

A man sits next to a currency exchange office at Istanbul's Grand Bazaar on May 5, 2022.

Turkish government banks on Gulf financial support to save economy

As crucial elections near, Ankara pins hope on financial support from “friendly” countries to ease its foreign currency shortfall and rein in inflation.

Emirates Israel

Abraham Accords, World Cup drive increase in Israeli air traffic

Ongoing rapprochement and the World Cup tournament currently underway in Qatar have driven a significant increase in air traffic to the region via Israel.

Egyptians buy sugar from a truck as the country suffers from a sugar shortage, Cairo, Egypt, Oct. 26, 2016.

Egypt suffering from sugar crisis despite largest sugar factory in the world

Sugar prices have recently witnessed a record rise in Egypt despite the country’s opening of the largest sugar production plant earlier this year.

Qatar gas

GCC no longer immune to global market constraints: AI data

New report based on AI data shows companies in the Gulf region expect lower earnings this quarter.

Cranes and containers are pictured on November 12, 2014, in the Tunisian port city of Rades. The World Bank said in a report published last September that Tunisia's economic model of manufacturing for exports and protecting the domestic market was valid in the 1970s but since then had hindered progress. AFP PHOTO / FETHI BELAID (Photo credit should read FETHI BELAID/AFP via Getty Images)

New PRO Memo: Tunisia’s potential IMF deal to boost manufacturing investments

The loan could provide much-needed economic balance for Tunisian manufacturers.

Saad Sherida al-Kaabi (R), Qatar's energy minister and CEO of QatarEnergy, and Ryan Lance (L), CEO of multinational corporation ConocoPhillips, exchange documents during a press conference announcing a new deal, Doha, Qatar, Nov. 29, 2022.

Qatar signs deal to sell Germany natural gas

The agreement demonstrates the continued significance of Qatar's natural gas, despite pressure to transition to renewable energy.

A general view of Saudi Aramco's Abqaiq oil processing plant on September 20, 2019.

The Gulf Briefing: swapping petrodollars for assets

In this weekly newsletter, Sebastian Castelier rounds up the biggest stories from the Gulf region.

An employee prepares a basket of groceries at the storage department of the Algerian delivery company Yassir, in the capital Algiers on Feb. 23, 2022.

Venture funding in Maghreb region gets facelift

As the number of startups in the Maghreb region increases and venture funding experiences a meteoric rise, the region is gradually taking a visible spot in the MENA startup ecosystem.