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Economy & Business

A tourist boat passes near crude oil tankers, bulk carriers, and other vessels anchored off Port Sultan Qaboos in Muscat, Oman, June 19, 2026.

Analysis

Why the Hormuz oil shock never became an energy catastrophe

The US-Israel-Iran war produced a historic oil supply shock but not a severe global economic crisis, due to ample prewar supplies, China's energy pivot and strategic reserve releases.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

FADEL SENNA/AFP via Getty Images

Explainer

Gulf states push incentives for investors, expats after war dents image

Several Gulf states are working to recover their images as global havens of stability in the wake of the Iran war.

United Arab Emirates

A worker at a market for fuel oil and automotive fuel on March 17, 2026, in Erbil, Iraq.

Explainer

After UAE and Qatar, could Iraq be next to leave OPEC?

Iraq is seeking a higher production quota as the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz has slashed oil revenues and plunged the country into a fiscal crisis.

Amjad Kurdo / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images

Explainer

Syria’s energy push could soon get a major boost from Chevron: What to know

The country's leaders are seeking to translate a flurry of oil and gas agreements into concrete investments and rebuild an industry devastated by more than a decade of war, sanctions and isolation.

Latest News

Oil falls below $74 as Hormuz traffic recovers after Iran war

Elke Scholiers/Getty Images

Explainer

Hormuz tolls, frozen funds pose early tests for US-Iran peace progress

AMIRHOSSEIN KHORGOOEI / ISNA / AFP via Getty Images

Explainer

Lebanon advances controversial $500K golden visa law: What to know

A picture shows the four seasons hotel in Beirut with the snow covered mountain of Sannine in the background on March 8, 2019.

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

In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia's President Vladimir Putin and Emirati President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan walk at the Kremlin following their talks in Moscow on August 7, 2025. (Photo by Gavriil Grigorov / POOL / AFP) (Photo by GAVRIIL GRIGOROV/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

UAE, Russia host first joint business forum despite Ukraine war sanctions

Trade between the two countries is projected to exceed $10 billion in 2025.

United Arab Emirates

Multiple exposure photograph of the Netflix and Warner Bros logos in front of a television screen at Kerlouan in Brittany in France, on Dec. 5 2025.

Mideast funds back Paramount's $108B Warner Bros. takeover bid

Netflix appeared to have won a weeks-long bidding war with Paramount and Comcast, securing a $72 billion equity deal for Warner Bros. Discovery's TV, film studios and streaming assets, but Monday's $108 billion bid changes the calculus.

An employee works at the Rmailan oil field in the northeastern Syria, near the border with Turkey, on Jan. 8, 2025.

Saudi Arabia deepens footprint in Syria with four new oil and gas deals

The year-old Syrian government looks to revive the country’s energy sector, in part by signing deals with international companies and attracting foreign direct investment.

People walk on the platform of the Haramain High Speed Rail Network at the airport station in the Red Sea city of Jeddah, on Dec. 12, 2019.

Saudi Arabia and Qatar ink high-speed rail deal advancing Gulf integration

Saudi Arabia is seeking to boost its railway infrastructure, and longstanding efforts to connect Gulf states by train are finally gaining momentum.

KARIM JAAFAR/AFP via Getty Images

Qatar, UAE step up LNG plans as global demand surges

The United Arab Emirates and Qatar energy ministers share a vision of vastly expanding liquefied natural gas exports to meet the growing global demand.

United Arab Emirates

An aerial view shows the destruction across Yarmouk camp, Damascus, Syria, on November 8, 2025. Established in 1957, Yarmouk was once the largest Palestinian refugee community in Syria, but years of conflict left much of it in ruins. (Photo by Omar Albaw / Middle East Images via AFP) (Photo by OMAR ALBAW/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

Feature

Syria’s new order faces old problems: Sanctions, reconstruction and volatility

Although President Ahmed al-Sharaa has obtained major commitments from potential foreign investors, the economic and political challenges ahead remain significant.

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

This picture taken on December 11, 2019, shows an oil tanker at the port of Ras al-Khair, about 185 kilometres north of Dammam in Saudi Arabia's eastern province overlooking the Gulf. (Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE / AFP) (Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images)

Saudi Arabia advances gas ambitions as $100B Jafurah plant comes online

The Finance Ministry reported that initial output at the massive Jafurah gas field has begun, with a capacity of 450 million cubic feet per day.

An aerial view shows the destruction across Yarmouk camp, Damascus, Syria, on Nov. 8, 2025.

What role is Jordan playing in Syria's reconstruction?

As Syria’s southern neighbor, Jordan is already positioning itself as a logistics hub and diplomatic broker for Syria’s reconstruction.

RICHARD A. BROOKS/AFP via Getty Images

Saudi PIF eyes $27B Japan portfolio as kingdom courts Asian investment

Saudi Arabia is strengthening economic ties with Asian countries as it pursues its economic transformation goals.

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

Spots of gold-rich ore speckle a stone pictured during a press tour at the Al-Amar Gold Mine, in the Riyadh region on May 28, 2008.

Analysis

US-Gulf critical minerals ties grow in bid to weaken China’s grip on industry

Saudi Arabia and the UAE are emerging as indispensable partners to the United States in its efforts to “friend-shore” a strategic sector and supply chains dominated by China.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

A man monitors the board at the Stock Exchange Market (Tadawul) bourse in Riyadh, Dec. 12, 2019.

Saudi Arabia opens Nomu Parallel Market to new investors: What to know

Easing investing rules and deepening capital markets to diversify the Saudi economy are key to fulfilling Vision 2030.

Salah Malkawi/Getty Images

Jordan-Syria trade surges as Damascus restores transit routes

Bilateral trade rose for the first nine months of 2025, since the change of administration in Damascus.