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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

In this handout photo provided by the U.S. Navy, suspected pirates indicate their surrender with a white cloth on the bow of the Japanese-owned commercial oil tanker M/V Guanabara March 6, 2011 in the Arabian Sea.

Analysis

Why Houthi Red Sea attacks could inspire more piracy in Indian Ocean

Since November, more than 20 pirate hijackings have taken place in the Gulf of Aden and Somali Basin, adding to the current financial burden on shipping companies.

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

Attendees wearing traditional dress arrive at the Grand Palais Ephemere for the Riyadh 2030 reception event to promote Riyadh's candidacy for 2030 World Expo, in Paris on June 19, 2023. (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / AFP) (Photo by LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP via Getty Images)

Growing Middle East economic and investment cooperation caught between tailwinds and headwinds

Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

Saudi private equity investment peaked at $4B in 2023 amid rising buyouts

The kingdom's deep-pocketed sovereign wealth fund was involved in the top three private equity transactions between 2019 and 2023.

HAITHAM AL-SHUKAIRI/AFP via Getty Images

Oman launches $5 billion 'Future Fund' in sign of economic progress

Oman’s economy is improving by some metrics as the Gulf state seeks to diversify.

Lebanon's Central Bank governor Riad Salameh gives an interview with AFP at his office in the capital, Beirut, on Dec. 20, 2021.

Switzerland reports violation by Lebanon’s Audi bank in Riad Salameh probe

The action by FINMA concerns connections around disgraced former Lebanese Central Bank governor Riad Salameh.

A picture taken on March 31, 2018 shows a Saudi man standing at the entrance of a tomb at Madain Saleh, a UNESCO World Heritage site, near Saudi Arabia's northwestern town of al-Ula. - Al-Ula, an area rich in archaeological remnants, is seen as a jewel in the crown of future Saudi attractions as the austere kingdom prepares to issue tourist visas for the first time -- opening up one of the last frontiers of global tourism. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is set to sign a landmark agreement with Paris

Saudi tourism blitz accelerates as Riyadh hopes investors buy the hype

Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Picture from the Web Summit 2024 in Qatar.

Middle East sees 23% drop in VC funding: Qatar, Bahrain, UAE hardest hit

Qatar saw VC investments tumble by 57% to 43 million QR ($11.81 million), eclipsed only by Bahrain with an 82% drop.

Graphic of a planned roller coaster, Extraordinary Shenron, at the Dragon Ball Z theme park.

What's behind Saudi Arabia's decision to host first-ever 'Dragon Ball' theme park

The announcement of the park based on the popular Japanese anime show follows the kingdom’s developments in video games and mixed martial arts.

A general view of processing facilities at the Tenke Fungurume Mine, one of the largest copper and cobalt mines and the subject of a dispute between Congolese authorities and the Chinese firm CMOC, southeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, on June 17, 2023.

UAE eyes Zambia mine as minerals race heats up against Saudi Arabia, China

Wealthy Gulf countries are racing against China, Europe and the United States for minerals critical to powering the global green transition.

United Arab Emirates

Turkey GCC trade ministers

GCC, Turkey launch talks on free trade agreement

According to the Turkish trade minister, the new free trade agreement will create one of the world’s largest free trade areas.

A teller holds Turkish lira banknotes at a currency exchange office in Istanbul, Aug. 13, 2018.

Breaking | Last Updated: March 21, 2024, 12:45 pm

In surprise move, Turkey’s Central Bank hikes interest rates to 50%

The move comes after the bank announced last month that it was pausing the hikes.

Guests attend the Global AI 2020 Summit in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, on Oct. 21, 2020.

With $40B fund, Saudi Arabia looks to become world leader in AI

The fund would make the Gulf state the world’s largest investor in AI and help the kingdom realize its Vision 2030 agenda to diversify the economy away from oil.