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Economy & Business

Haitham AL-SHUKAIRI / AFP via Getty Images

Oman enters Gulf AI race with new special economic zone in Muscat

Oman will create an AI-focused special economic zone in Muscat governorate.

A pumpjack stands idle in the Huntington Beach oil field, with port cranes visible in the distance, on April 23, 2026, in Huntington Beach, California.

Oil surges past $120 to war-time high as Trump rejects Iran overture

Benchmark Brent crude surpassed $120 per barrel on Wednesday, reaching the highest levels yet seen during the US-Israel-Iran war.

An Iraqi money dealer counts Iranian rial banknotes bearing a portrait of the late founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, at an exchange office in Baghdad on Feb. 3, 2012.

Iranian rial hits new record low as blockade, war take toll: What to know

The rial had another collapse in late 2025, triggering massive protests and riots in the country that were ended by a forceful government crackdown.

GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

UAE’s OPEC exit rattles cartel as Gulf alliances shift

OPEC's fourth-largest producer will leave the cartel on May 1, marking the most significant departure in the group’s history as the war changes Abu Dhabi's relationship priorities.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Latest News

Why UAE's decision to leave OPEC is major shift for cartel

MUMEN KHATIB/AFP via Getty Images

United Arab Emirates

First LNG tanker transits Strait of Hormuz since Iran war began

Yuichi YAMAZAKI / AFP via Getty Images

Pistachios reach highest prices in eight years amid Iran war

An Iranian grocer sells pistachios imported from Iran at a Persian products shop in the Gulf emirate of Dubai on July 10, 2019. (Photo by Karim SAHIB / AFP) (Photo credit should read KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images)

UAE’s cash request tests US ties as Iran war strains Gulf financial muscle

A view of Dubai Marina in Dubai on March 3, 2026.

United Arab Emirates

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

Iran market

Inflation continues to rise in Iran

Inflation may be higher than the government is letting on due to US sanctions and government fiscal policy.

Traders follow the movement of stock prices at the Boursa Kuwait (Kuwait Stock Exchange) in Kuwait City on March 2, 2022.

Kuwait benefits from oil price boom but long-term economic challenges loom

Key reforms and a lack of a diversified economy remain only two of Kuwait's major challenges.

Getty

Israel agrees for Qatar to drill in Lebanese maritime gas field

After agreeing for TotalEnergies and Eni to go ahead with exploration drilling at the Lebanese cross-border Kana-Sidon reservoir, Israel has approved the Qatari Energy Consortium to buy the drilling rights.

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund

US rate hikes make Gulf sovereign wealth funds go-to source for capital

Gulf sovereign wealth funds are flush with cash from an oil windfall, controlling more than $3 trillion worth of assets. Here's how they'll invest it.

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund

US rate hikes make Gulf sovereign wealth funds go-to source for capital

Sebastian Castelier

Sebastian Castelier

In Dubai, reporting on regional business

VLADIMIR SIMICEK/AFP via Getty Images

Kuwait, Saudi Arabia deny supporting OPEC oil production increase

Oil prices dropped after news broke of a potential production increase but have since rebounded.

Delegates gather at the Sharm el-Sheikh International Convention Center in Egypt.

Egypt, Israel seek to boost trade exchange following COP27

Israel offered Egypt to develop rice cultivation using the latest technologies and curb the water shortage crisis in Cairo, within the framework of the two countries’ efforts to increase trade exchange.

A policeman regulates traffic at an intersection during a power outage in Tehran, on May 23, 2021.

Iran begins linking electricity with Russia

Tehran is seeking help from neighboring states in part due to the impact of US sanctions on Iran’s power grid.

Google invests more than $15 million in Israeli high-tech training

World Cup stadium in Qatar

New PRO Memo: 3 scenarios for Qatar's record-breaking World Cup investment

Qatar can capitalize from pouring $300 billion into hosting the World Cup...if it can avoid more controversy.

World Cup stadium in Qatar

Qatar’s record-shattering $300B World Cup bet will deliver returns, despite missteps

Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

DENOUR/AFP via Getty Images

Gas deal strengthens Qatar-China ties

China’s connections to the Gulf continue to expand.