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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.

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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

Starbucks sales see 7% drop, largest since pandemic, amid Gaza boycotts

The company has been grappling with protests and boycott campaigns on social media due to the Israel-Gaza war and the union fight in the United States.

ANATOLII STEPANOV/AFP via Getty Images

In Oman visit, Ukraine FM calls for food hub to boost Africa trade

Ukraine’s top diplomat will visit Egypt and other African countries after Oman amid the ongoing war with Russia.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (R) and Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani speak to the media following talks at the Chancellery, Berlin, Germany, May 20, 2022.

Qatari emir in Germany to boost economic ties

According to the German chancellery, Scholz will host the emir at Meseberg Castle, with the meeting focusing on deepening energy, trade and regional security ties.

AFP via Getty Images

Russia-linked LNG tankers transferred to new UAE firm amid sanctions pressure

The three vessels — Velikiy Novgorod, Pskov and La Perouse — were transferred in September to a new Dubai-based company called Matias Ship Management, according to shipping data website Equasis.

United Arab Emirates

An OQ flag.

Oman state energy firm raises $2B from IPO, sultanate's largest ever

OQ raised the funds for its exploration and production business on the local stock exchange.

This picture shows Aramco tower in the King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) in Riyadh on April 16, 2023.

What are Aramco’s priorities in Asia after cancelation of Saudi chemical project?

The Saudi oil giant is showing increasing interest in Asia’s petrochemicals market amid the energy transition.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman meets with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo on Oct. 15, 2024. — Saudi Press Agency

Egypt's Sisi hosts Saudi crown prince as Cairo looks to attract investment

Saudi's crown prince met with Egypt's president in Cairo on Tuesday, where the two oversaw the signing of an investment protection agreement and the creation of the Saudi-Egyptian Supreme Coordination Council.

A picture taken on February 8, 2015, shows the headquarters of Algeria's state-owned energy giant Sonatrach in the capital Algiers.

Algeria's Sonatrach, European partners sign two green hydrogen agreements

Algeria’s Sonatrach has signed two agreements as the country makes a green hydrogen push both for domestic use and for export to Europe.

CHRISTINE OLSSON/TT/TT NEWS AGENCY/AFP via Getty Images

Turkish-American economist Daron Acemoglu wins joint Nobel Prize

Turkish-American Daron Acemoglu has become Turkey's third Nobel laureate.

BULENT KILIC/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

East Med energy risks rise as Israel-Iran crisis threatens oil shocks

As the Middle East conflicts intensify, Israeli energy assets are exposed to attack alongside new threats facing Gulf oil supplies.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

An employee works on a steel wheel production line at a factory in Qingzhou, in eastern China's Shandong province on Sept. 27, 2024.

Turkey slaps steel tariffs on China, India, Russia, Japan as trade tensions soar

The move follows China filing a complaint against Turkey at the World Trade Organization over Turkish tariffs on imports of electric vehicles.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 30: A container ship departs the Port of Newark for the Atlantic Ocean on September 30, 2024 seen from New York City. A massive strike that could shut down ports across the East and Gulf coasts could begin at midnight as members of the International Longshoremen’s Association continue to make salary and other demands to the United States Maritime Alliance, which controls many of the ports across the country. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Red Sea, Iran energy threats amplify 2025 global economic risks as trade wars, Trump loom

Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech