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Economy & Business

Meysam MIRZADEH / TASNIM NEWS / AFP via Getty Images

Iran strikes UAE’s Fujairah oil hub as US pushes Hormuz reopening

The United States launched an initiative to restart commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz on Monday as the UAE braced for fallout amid new missile and drone attacks.

United Arab Emirates

Crops of wheat and barley in Terbol village on May 10, 2022, in Bekaa Valley, Lebanon.

Analysis

MENA wheat importers face food security risks as Hormuz crisis festers

Home to many of the world's largest wheat importers, the Middle East and North Africa face acute food security risks as the US-Israel-Iran war disrupts global fertilizer flows and pushes up prices.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

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.

Latest News

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

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.

Analysis

UAE’s OPEC exit rattles cartel as Gulf alliances shift

GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

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

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

Turkey drilling

Fourth offshore drilling ship for Turkey en route from South Korea

The advanced vessel will join Turkey’s three others in conducting energy exploration in the Mediterranean and Black seas.

MOHAMED EL-SHAHED/AFP via Getty Images

Egypt to have eight months of wheat reserves, says minister

The Russian invasion of Ukraine is threatening wheat supplies across the Middle East.

AL-MONITOR Staff

By AL-MONITOR Staff

The prices for gas and diesel fuel.

Saudi, Emirati oil prices reach record highs

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has led to historically high oil prices.

AL-MONITOR Staff

By AL-MONITOR Staff

Turkish Presidential Press Office

How Ukraine crisis undermines Turkey's economic program

Ankara’s economic program has hit a deadlock under the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, marked by a stream of fuel hikes, canceled tourism bookings and textile orders, and shortage fears in the food sector.

ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images

Turks rush to buy sunflower oil as Ukraine war menaces food prices

Despite official assurances over supplies of basic items, a holdup of imports from Russia and Ukraine has already sparked panic buying of sunflower oil.

BlackRock

UAE partners with US investing firm BlackRock

The New York-based BlackRock signed a memorandum of understanding with UAE's global investment platform Investopia.

United Arab Emirates

Employees install new solar panels at the Kalyon Energy's Karapinar Solar Power Plant, Karapinar, Turkey, Dec. 2, 2021.

Turkey balks at coal phaseout amid growing energy woes

Turkey’s pledge to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2053 has come into question after a major climate meeting ended without a coal phaseout plan.

A Syrian refugee child sells flowers in the street in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli.

Children's education at risk in Lebanon due to economic crisis

More than 700,000 kids are at risk of never returning to a classroom due to rising poverty, while thousands have dropped out of school to engage in child labor or get married.

FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images

Oil prices, Saudi Aramco shares soar as Ukraine fighting continues

Saudi Arabia, Russia and other major oil producers have so far declined to increase production despite pleas from the United States.

People look at exchange rates outside an exchange office, Ankara, Turkey, Feb. 23, 2022.

Turkey’s inflation hits 54.4% as Ukraine crisis threatens fresh blows

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is producing fresh headwinds for Turkey’s economy, including further inflationary pressure and looming blows to the country’s tourism sector, a vital source of hard currency revenues.

Leviathan natural gas platform in the Mediterranean Sea

Analysis

Israel, Egypt tighten energy ties

The natural gas pipeline agreement signed in Cairo mid-February has geostrategic importance that extends far beyond financial benefits to Israel.

Danny Zaken

In Ma'ale HaHamisha, reporting on Israel

Ukrainian tanks stand guard near a field in the village of Debaltseve, in the Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, July 31, 2014.

Analysis

Israel’s trade with Ukraine, Russia to be affected by conflict

Israel fears that the ongoing conflict could negatively affect trade with both Russia and Ukraine, in high tech, but perhaps also on wheat, coal and diamonds.

Danny Zaken

In Ma'ale HaHamisha, reporting on Israel