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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

A man walks past a money exchange company, Beirut, Lebanon, Oct. 1, 2019.

Lebanon to shift to new official lira-to-dollar exchange rate

Lebanon is shifting to a new official exchange rate to the US dollar, three years after an unprecedented financial and economic crisis that has plunged a large portion of its population under the poverty line.

NASSER AL-HARBI/AFP via Getty Images

Saudi Arabia’s industrial sector can expect boost into 2023

The Saudi Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources reports that the kingdom has been accelerating its economic diversification efforts.

Ali Metwally

By Ali Metwally

A view of the platform of the Leviathan natural gas field in the Mediterranean Sea is pictured from the Israeli northern coastal city of Caesarea on December 19, 2019. - Israel has approved the export of gas from its offshore reserves to Egypt, a spokeswoman said on December 17, with a major reservoir expected to begin operations imminently. The approval by Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz was part of a long process under which Israel will transform from an importer of natural gas from Egypt into an exporter

Egypt ‘primary actor’ in next phase of East Med natural gas development

Gerald Kepes

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional energy trends

Vice President of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (C) attends the opening of the Global Business Forum on Africa, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Nov. 1, 2017.

UAE, Tanzania sign double tax avoidance deal

The Emirates is also pursuing renewable energy projects in the southern African country.

FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images

Saudi employment numbers improve

Unemployment in Saudi Arabia is higher than in other Gulf states, but the labor market is showing signs of strength in other areas.

The Sultanate of Oman (R) and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (L).

UAE, Oman boost ties with deals on high-speed rail, combating financial crimes

The agreements are in line with the UAE’s foreign policy, which prioritizes regional partnerships.

United Arab Emirates

COMESA,

Saudi Arabia partners with Senegal on railway, desalination plant

The UAE, Israel and Turkey have also upped their engagement with African states in recent years.

Turkey economy

Erdogan initiates economic gestures ahead of Turkey's critical elections

Turkey’s president has stepped up economic pledges to the electorate ahead of next year’s polls, which loom as the toughest test of his two-decade rule.

US President Joe Biden (L) and Israel's caretaker Prime Minister Yair Lapid, take part in a virtual meeting with leaders of the I2U2 group, which includes, US, Israel, India, and the United Arab Emirates, at a hotel in Jerusalem, on July 14, 2022. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN / AFP) (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

American investment in Mideast to stay focused on larger economies amid Ukraine war

Howard J. Shatz

Howard J. Shatz

An Egyptian woman shops at a fruit market in Cairo on March 17, 2022.

Egyptian households turn to credit as inflation bites

In the past, locals used to buy only durables in installments. Today, breadwinners buy clothes, schoolbooks, stationery and groceries on credit.

Lebanese depositors queue to withdraw money from a Fransabank branch as banks partially reopened following a week of closure due to security concerns, Beirut, Lebanon, Sept. 26, 2022.

Lebanese depositors irate over closed banks

Banks in Lebanon have been shut down for nearly a week amid fears of a bank run.

BEN STANSALL/AFP via Getty Images

New EV deliveries from China expand even as Israeli car market shrinks

Fewer new cars are being delivered to Israel, but among them, Chinese electric vehicles are surging.