Economy & Business - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Business and Economy Cover Image

Economy & Business

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.

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.

Turkey looks to expand Syria energy footprint into oil, gas

Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said state oil giant TPAO and private companies are ready to explore for oil and gas onshore and offshore in Syria.

Leon Neal/Getty Images

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

Brent crude climbed near $92 a barrel on Tuesday, reaching its highest level this month amid new escalatory developments.

United Arab Emirates

RAMI AL SAYED/AFP via Getty Images

Explainer

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

Key sanctions remain on Damascus, including a designation that was made more than four decades ago.

Latest News

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

Iran says understanding reached with Oman over new Hormuz route map

Ships are anchored in the Strait of Hormuz on Aug. 10, 2026, off the coast of Bandar Abbas, Iran.

Analysis

Beyond bases: Russia’s foothold in Syria shrinks even as ties endure

Russian President Vladimir Putin greets Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the Grand Kremlin Palace, Moscow, Oct. 15, 2025.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Explainer

What would BRICS Bank membership mean for Iran's reeling economy?

Motorists drive vehicles past a billboard depicting Iran's late supreme leader Ali Khamenei along a street in central Tehran on August 8, 2026. Hopes for an imminent US-Iran deal to end the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz added to optimism that oil and gas, along with other key products, would again start flowing freely after more than five months of war. But oil prices turned higher ahead of the weekend in the absence of any confirmation of an accord, amid reports that Iran was planning to block US and Is

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

This photo shows Ras Laffan Industrial City, Qatar's principal site for production of liquefied natural gas and gas-to-liquid, administrated by Qatar Petroleum, some 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of the capital, Doha, Qatar, Feb. 6, 2017.

Analysis

Gulf bets on LNG boom power ahead amid regional energy shifts, war risks

Gulf oil powers are emerging as key LNG players, leveraging rising consumer demand to justify strategic global gas investments and to scale up their own LNG production at home.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

An Emirates Boing 777 lands while an Iran Air plane is taxiing, Dubai's International Airport, Sept. 14, 2017.

After Israel war, Iran reopens airspace to domestic, international flights

Authorities opened all airports on Friday except for those at Isfahan and Tabriz.

Subianto and Salman

Saudi Arabia, Indonesia announce $27B in oil, clean energy deals: What to know

Saudi Arabia and Indonesia signed agreements for investments worth $27 billion in various fields during Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s visit to the kingdom.

People shop in a market on June 17, 2025 in Damascus, Syria.

Norway removes sanctions on Syria: What to know

Norway has moved to increase humanitarian assistance to Syria.

An aerial picture shows workers using a crane to plant trees in a park project by the roadside in the Saudi capital Riyadh, on March 29, 2021. - Although the OPEC kingpin seems an unlikely champion of clean energy, the "Saudi Green Initiative" aims to reduce emissions by generating half of its energy from renewables by 2030. (Photo by - / AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

Saudi renewables firm ACWA Power eyes major China expansion: What to know

By 2030, ACWA Power aims to expand its global assets to around $250 billion, with China projected to contribute between $30 billion and $75 billion.

ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey closes livestock markets amid foot-and-mouth disease outbreak: What to know

The Agriculture Ministry has closed all livestock markets to prevent spread of the disease while vaccination efforts are underway.

People visit the "EcoMotion Week" trade show on May 11, 2022, in the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv.

Israeli startups raise $1.6B in June as war with Iran fails to rattle investors

Israeli startups raised funds through 18 deals in June, marking their highest monthly total since 2022, according to Startup Nation Central.

Iranian rial banknotes bearing a portrait of the late founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, sit on the stand of an Iraqi money dealer on June 19, 2014, in Arbil, Iraq.

Iran’s rial falls by 3% as Tehran grapples with war aftermath

The rial has fallen considerably since May, as officials lash out against the US despite the recent conflict coming to a close.

CORRECTION / A picture taken in Riyadh shows the sign in Arabic of an Aramco gas station on the outskirts of the Saudi capital Riyadh on November 5, 2024. Energy giant Saudi Aramco reported a 15 percent year-on-year drop in third quarter profit on November 5, 2024, citing low oil prices. (Photo by Fayez Nureldine / AFP) / "The erroneous mention[s] appearing in the metadata of this photo by Fayez Nureldine has been modified in AFP systems in the following manner: changing the second phrase to refer to Saudi

Saudi PIF reports 60% profit drop as inflation, low oil prices bite

The PIF said that the impairments were mainly related to changes in operational plans and increases in budgeted costs.

An aerial view shows a bridge, destroyed in an Israeli airstrike, in the town of in Qusayr in Syria's central Homs province on December 14, 2024. Islamist-led rebels took Damascus in a lightning offensive on December 8, ousting president Bashar al-Assad and ending five decades of Baath rule in Syria. (Photo by AAREF WATAD / AFP) (Photo by AAREF WATAD/AFP via Getty Images)

French company revives Syria agreement to rebuild bridges: What we know

The agreement covers 37 bridges in Syria, where infrastructure was severely damaged during the civil war, but may now be rebuilt following the lifting of Western sanctions.

Huawei

Huawei explores Egypt partnership as electricity minister visits China

Egypt's electricity and renewable energy minister met with a range of high-level officials and business leaders while on a visit to the Asian country over the past week.