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

Business and Economy Cover Image

Economy & Business

CN-STR / AFP via Getty Images

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 street vendor sells corn as he waits for customers in the Eminonu district of Istanbul, Turkey, Aug. 30, 2024.

Turkey's annual inflation falls lower than expected to 49.4%

Turkey's annual inflation slowed down in September, but lower-than-expected figures could delay central bank rate cuts, according to some analysts.

A man walks across from a raging fire at oil storage tanks a day after Israeli strikes on the port of Yemen's Houthi-held city of Hodeidah on July 21, 2024.

Analysis

How an Israeli retaliation on Iran could impact Gulf energy flow

Energy facilities along the east and west of the Arabian Peninsula brace for possible Israeli attacks against Iran and its proxies.

Jennifer Gnana

By Jennifer Gnana

In Dubai, reporting on Gulf energy policy and politics

A Middle East Airlines commercial aircraft taking off from Beirut's international airport flies amid smoke billowing above the Lebanese capital's southern suburbs, in the aftermath of overnight Israeli airstrikes, on Sept. 28,2024.

Middle East airlines alter, axe flights following Iran missile attack on Israel

Late on Tuesday, Iran launched more than 180 ballistic missiles at Israel in what it said was in retaliation for last Friday’s assassination of Hassan Nasrallah, the chief of Lebanon-based militia Hezbollah.

A man walks near the new headquarters of Egypt's Central Bank at the New Administrative Capital megaproject about 45 kilometres east of the current capital Cairo on Aug. 1, 2023.

Analysis

Egypt-Saudi deals beckon after $5B PIF pledge but question marks cloud outlook

After a massive financial bailout powered by the UAE in early 2024, Egypt is banking on big Saudi investments that have been slow to materialize in recent years.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

The photo shows a tank for carbon dioxide of chemical company Covestro AG at their at their plant in Dormagen, western Germany, on Feb. 11, 2020.

UAE's ADNOC seals $16B deal to buy German chemical firm Covestro

The deal is set to be the largest takeover ever by a Middle Eastern company of a European firm.

United Arab Emirates

Iranian miners look on at the scene of a blast at a coal mine in Tabas in Iran's Khorasan province on September 22, 2024. The blast caused by a gas leak at the coal mine in eastern Iran has killed at least 50 people, state media said on September 22, in one of Iran's deadliest work accidents in years. (Photo by Mohsen NOFERESTY / IRNA / AFP) (Photo by MOHSEN NOFERESTY/IRNA/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Iran coal mine tragedy highlights prevalent corruption, workers' plight

Reactions from pundits, activists and ordinary Iranians focused in large part on how corruption and mismanagement has grown over the years, with companies and oversight bodies increasingly ignoring the safety of workers who were digging "for a loaf of bread."

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly.

Turkey’s Erdogan calls for end to US defense sanctions amid reports of S-400 deal

Relations between the two NATO allies have worsened in recent years over political rifts regarding the Eastern Mediterranean, Gaza and Syria, as well as over Turkey’s purchase of Russian S-400 defense systems.

Saudi energy minister

How Saudi Arabia plans to lure foreign investors to kickstart nuclear program

Saudi Arabia is looking to begin an ambitious nuclear project and tap into its significant uranium deposits.

Protesters wave Palestinian flags.

Is Canada's partial arms suspension to Israel symbolic or consequential?

Canada suspended 30 permits for arms sales to Israel and canceled a contract with a US firm to sell ammunition made in Quebec to the Israeli army.

Nestle to build first food factory in Saudi Arabia with $72M investment

The Swiss food and beverage firm is investing an initial 270 million riyals in the project, according to the Saudi Press Agency.

David Ramos/Getty Images

Trial opens in London for UAE-backed Manchester City: What we know

The English Premier League claims Man City breached rules requiring it to provide financial data that "gives a true and fair view of the club's financial position."

United Arab Emirates

United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (R) hosted China’s Prime Minister Li Qiang in Abu Dhabi on Sept. 12, 2024.

China's premier in UAE after Saudi Arabia as Beijing deepens Gulf ties

Prime Minister Li Qiang’s visit to Abu Dhabi follows a similar trip to Saudi Arabia where he discussed Chinese-Gulf ties.

United Arab Emirates