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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

A Turkish Bayraktar TB2 combat drone is on view during a presentation at the Lithuanian Air Force Base in Siauliai, Lithuania, on July 6, 2022.

Albania to receive 'significant' number of drones from Turkey, PM says

Turkey pledged to send drones to Egypt earlier this year, while the Maldives recently unveiled two Bayraktar TB2 aircraft.

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE VERHAEGEN/AFP via Getty Images

Why Algeria restricted wheat imports from France

French-Algerian relations have grown tense in recent months over France’s colonial legacy and disputes over the status of Western Sahara.

Tingshu Wang/Getty Images

UAE’s AD Ports Group inks major deal with China

Political and economic cooperation between the United Arab Emirates and China is growing, with robust trade ties and a visit by the Chinese premier to the Gulf state.

United Arab Emirates

In an aerial view, container ships sit docked at the Port of Oakland on May 21, 2024, in Oakland, California.

Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd to partner on Africa route avoiding Red Sea

Gemini Cooperation will use the Cape of Good Hope network, which has been the alternative transit route for hundreds of vessels since the Houthis stepped up their attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea in mid-November 2023.

A photograph taken on October 28, 2019 shows Saudi and foreign journalists at the Future Investment Initiative (FII) badge collection centre in the Saudi capital Riyadh. - Top finance executives and political leaders have converged on Saudi capital Riyadh for a Davos-style investment forum, in stark contrast to last year's mass boycott following the murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi. US officials and the heads of giant banks, top asset management firms and major sovereign wealth funds top the g

Gulf sovereign investors unshaken by Middle East wars but opt for global markets

Gulf Cooperation Council investors accounted for 40% of deals made by sovereign investors globally in 2023 and 2024.

United Arab Emirates

Cranes are used at a construction site across from high-rise buildings in Dubai, on Feb. 18, 2023.

Investors undeterred as Dubai’s real estate bubble risks increase in 2024

As players line up to capitalize on Dubai real estate, the city’s record-breaking boom stands out in annual UBS ranking of hot global property markets.

United Arab Emirates

GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images

Abu Dhabi’s sovereign funds ranked wealthiest in world with $1.7 trillion

The assets of Gulf sovereign funds have risen considerably in recent years, in large part due to the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

United Arab Emirates

AFP via Getty Images

Middle East startups see 34% uptick in global investors

Data firm MAGNiTT reported Tuesday that the Middle East far outperformed other markets and regions, including Africa and Southeast Asia, which saw steeper drops.

Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Las Vegas gambling operator Wynn Resorts to open first UAE casino

The UAE is looking to lure gaming tourists with the development of a large casino in the northern emirate of Ras al-Khaimah.

United Arab Emirates

This picture shows closed shops in an alley of Jerusalem's Old City, on Sept. 11, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Palestinian militants.

Analysis

A year after Oct. 7, Israel’s economy battered by endless multifront wars

A year after the deadly attack on southern Israel by the Hamas militant group and the ensuing war in Gaza, the direct cost to the Israeli economy has been more than 100 billion shekels ($26.3 billion), according to the Israeli Finance Ministry.

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

The flags of Israel, United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain are projected on the ramparts of Jerusalem's Old City on September 15, 2020 in a show of support for Israeli normalisation deals with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signed landmark accords normalizing the Jewish state's relations with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, as part of a peace push brokered by US President Donald Trump. (Photo by Menahem KAHANA / AFP) (Photo by MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty

Analysis

Israel-UAE trade to hit $3.3B in 2024 as wars in Lebanon, Gaza continue

Despite a growing Arab public backlash against economic ties with Israel, and politically strained ties between the UAE and Israel since the Gaza war, bilateral trade has continued across the technology, tourism and agriculture sectors.

Jennifer Gnana

By Jennifer Gnana

In Dubai, reporting on Gulf energy policy and politics

An Iranian flag flutters on board the Adrian Darya oil tanker, formerly known as Grace 1, off the coast of Gibraltar on Aug. 18, 2019.

Iranian oil tankers flee crude loading site amid fears of Israeli attack

US President Joe Biden was asked Thursday whether he would support Israel attacking Iranian oil infrastructure, and in off-the-cuff remarks, he said his administration was “discussing” it.