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Economy & Business

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China’s overland trade routes offer Iran wartime economic lifeline: What to know

Cargo rail traffic between China and Iran has reportedly surged since the US blockade began in April as Tehran seeks overland trade alternatives to help buy time.

In this picture obtained from Iran's ISNA news agency on May 4, 2026, the Iran-flagged tugboat Basim sails near a ship anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas in southern Iran.

What to know about Iran's 'Persian Gulf Strait Authority' to control Hormuz traffic

The establishment of an entity seeking to control maritime transportation in the Strait of Hormuz is the latest sign that Iran wants to formalize authority in the strategic waterway.

Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly speaks in Beirut on Dec. 19, 2025.

Egypt ramps up energy investments amid war-driven price pressures

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said Wednesday that Egypt has secured commitments exceeding $19 billion from international oil companies over the next three years.

Latest News

Few ships pass Hormuz despite US efforts to break Iran's hold

Tankers are seen at the Khor Fakkan Container Terminal in the Sharjah Emirate, along the Strait of Hormuz on June 23, 2025. (Photo by Giuseppe CACACE / AFP) (Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran strikes UAE’s Fujairah oil hub as US pushes Hormuz reopening

Meysam MIRZADEH / TASNIM NEWS / AFP via Getty Images

United Arab Emirates

Analysis

MENA wheat importers face food security risks as Hormuz crisis festers

Crops of wheat and barley in Terbol village on May 10, 2022, in Bekaa Valley, Lebanon.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Oman enters Gulf AI race with new special economic zone in Muscat

Haitham AL-SHUKAIRI / AFP via Getty Images

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

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot attends a press conference in Baghdad, April 23, 2025.

France, Germany, UK to reapply Iran sanctions if US talks fall through: Barrot

US and Iranian diplomats have in recent weeks held three rounds of Oman-mediated talks aimed at reaching a new deal on Iran's nuclear program.

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

This picture shows a poster depicting King Abdulaziz bin Saud (L), the founder of the modern kingdom of Saudi Arabia, King Salman bin Abdulaziz (C), and Crown Prince Mohammed in Riyadh on April 16, 2023.

China’s Sinopec, Saudi Aramco to establish $4B energy venture: What to know

The joint venture will engage in port operations, crude oil transportation and other activities at the refinery and petrochemical complex in the Gulei Port Economic Development Zone in Zhangzhou, in China's Fujian province.

An aerial view shows the Halwaniya neighborhood in Aleppo, Syria on Apr. 12, 2025.

Qatar, Saudi Arabia to pay off Syria’s $15M World Bank debt: What to know

Both Gulf states have played a key role in the diplomatic outreach of Syria's new government.

Motorists wait at a traffic light by the Central Bank of Egypt building in Cairo early on March 4, 2024.

Analysis

Can Egypt’s economic comeback absorb Trump’s global trade shocks?

Buoyed by foreign investment and cautious reforms, Egypt’s fragile recovery faces a new test from Trump’s tariff-fueled trade turbulence.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

NIKITA BORISSOV/AFP via Getty Images

Russia agrees to supply Iran with 55 bcm of gas, fund nuclear plant: What to know

Iranian Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad is in Moscow this week, meeting with Russian Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilev on Friday.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa (2nd R) leaves a bilateral room after his meeting with Qatar's minister of foreign affairs during the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, Antalya, April 11, 2025.

UK lifts sanctions on Syrian ministries, intelligence agencies

It marks the second raft of sanctions on Syria lifted by the United Kingdom since the toppling of long-time dictator Bashar Al-Assad in December and the formation of a new government.

Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar face uneven 2025 growth as trade tensions rise: IMF

While Gulf economies face only the Trump administration’s baseline 10% tariffs, the levies have already impacted oil prices and revenue, especially for rentier states like Saudi Arabia.

Employees stand behind stacks of local currency notes as they serve clients at an exchange shop in Damascus, on April 16, 2025.

IMF appoints first Syria mission head in 14 years: What to know

Syria's new government faces the task of revitalizing an economy that has been devastated by 14 years of war and ravaged by international sanctions.

Excess flammable gasses burning from gas flares at the Havana oil field, west of the multi-ethnic northern Iraqi city of Kirku, Oct. 17, 2017.

Analysis

Why low oil prices under Trump are unlikely to curb Middle East output

Prices stood around $100 a barrel in 2022, under the Biden administration, but hovered between $63 and $66 this past week.

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

Jakarta

GCC-Indonesia economic ties deepen with Saudi MoUs, joint Qatar fund

Trade between Indonesia and the Gulf is rising and negotiations are underway for a GCC-Indonesia free trade agreement.

People walk past a currency exchange board showing the Turkish Lira which fell to historic lows against the dollar after the news of the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu on March 19, 2025 in Istanbul, Turkey.

Turkey hikes interest rate to 46% amid turmoil over Imamoglu’s arrest

The rate hike marks the first since March 2024, amid growing economic turmoil following the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu.

A picture taken on Dec. 7, 2021, in Istanbul shows Turkish liras.

Turkey's budget deficit narrows to $6.8B in March as lira fluctuates

The data was released as Turkey has been facing economic turmoil and currency volatility.