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United Arab Emirates

August 25, 2026

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Khor Fakkan Container Terminal

Analysis

UAE-Iran trade relationship becomes key test of Trump’s wartime strategy

The Gulf state suspended trade with Iran after new attacks in August. Experts point to risks for both sides as the Trump administration seeks to squeeze Tehran economically.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Iranians drive past an anti-US billboard at Enghelab Square in central Tehran, Aug. 3, 2026.

Trump’s Iran ‘economic D-Day’ threat sends oil prices above $94

In a Truth Social post, the president threatened that any country that provides a financial lifeline to Iran will face "tremendous economic consequences."

AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP via Getty Images

Explainer

Iraq seeks special Hormuz access from Iran in scramble to keep oil flowing

As Iran's parliament speaker holds talks in Baghdad, Iraq has asked Tehran for special consideration for its oil exports.

Latest News

UAE halts all trade ties with Iran after missile attack

Ships are docked along a pier at the Khor Fakkan Container Terminal, the only natural deep-sea port in the region and one of the major container ports in Sharjah Emirate, along the Gulf of Oman on July 14, 2026.

United Arab Emirates

Oil nears $92 on UAE missile alert as Trump claims Iran talks stuck

Leon Neal/Getty Images

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

Mohammed Soliman

In Washington, DC, reporting on Gulf politics

Iranian pilgrims wait at the Imam Khomeini airport in Tehran as they depart for the annual haj pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca, in Tehran, Iran, July 31, 2017. Nazanin Tabatabaee Yazdi / TIMA via REUTERS. ATTENTION EDITORS ñ THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RTS19T5G

Iranian return to hajj could help end Saudi deadlock

The resumption of Iranian participation in the annual hajj pilgrimage may help pave the way for an end to the diplomatic deadlock between Riyadh and Tehran.

Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry (R) is pictured during a meeting with his Sudanese counterpart Ibrahim Ghandour in Cairo, Egypt June 3, 2017. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany - RTX38ST2

Egypt, Sudan stray further apart over Gulf crisis

Egypt is doubling down on its efforts to convince African countries to take a stance against Qatar, while Sudan decided to take a neutral position over the Gulf crisis.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson delivers remarks on the 2016 International Religious Freedom Annual report at the State Department in Washington, U.S. August 15, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RTS1BW4D

Trump administration presses Middle East on religious freedom

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson committed the United States to fighting for religious liberty around the world with the release of the annual International Religious Freedom Report.

NAJAF, IRAQ - MAY 2: Shiite cleric Sayed Moqtada al-Sadr sits in his offices beneath a portrait of his late father Ayatollah Mohammed Sadeq el-Sadr May 2, 2003 in Najaf, Iraq. A day earlier Iraqi Shiites gathered in the city to mark the anniversary of the death of Mohammed. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

What’s next for GCC-Iraq ties after Sadr's UAE visit?

Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has made trips to Saudi Arabia and the UAE to meet with Gulf leaders, but improving Iraq-GCC ties will be no easy task.

Dismissed governor of the southern Yemeni port city of Aden, Aidaroos al-Zubaidi (R), waves to supporters of the separatist Southern Movement as they demonstrated against recent decisions by President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi that sacked senior officials supported by the United Arab Emirates, including al-Zubaidi in Aden, Yemen May 4, 2017. REUTERS/Fawaz Salman - RTS154Z1

South Yemen leader vows to continue fight against 'rebels' in north

After his return from a tour that included Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt, Aidarous al-Zubaidi, the head of Yemen's South Transitional Council, talks to Al-Monitor about pressing local and regional issues.

Employees work inside the office of the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera network in Jerusalem August 7, 2017. REUTERS/Ammar Awad - RTS1APS5

Al Jazeera gains from Israel’s attempts to close it

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned that Al Jazeera's Jerusalem office will be closed, but this is unlikely to affect the network's work or coverage of the Palestinian-Israeli situation.

Egypt’s outer space ambitions face real world setbacks

While Egyptian officials have said that the country’s first space agency would be launched in September 2018, the law to create it has not been introduced in parliament yet, to many Egyptians' chagrin.

United Arab Emirates

Palestinians take part in a rally in support of Qatar, inside Qatari-funded construction project 'Hamad City', in the southern Gaza Strip, June 9, 2017. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa - RTX39TF1

Gaza set to become scene of Egypt-Qatar tug of war

The Gaza Strip and Hamas are attracting attention from both sides as the Gulf crisis grows, but they might have to choose between longtime supporter Qatar on one side and the UAE, Egypt and Mohammed Dahlan on the other.

United Arab Emirates

Netanyahu's crusade against Al Jazeera in Jerusalem

In an effort to repair the damage to his image caused by the Temple Mount crisis, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that he will attempt to shut down Al Jazeera's Israel bureau, again.

MOSCOW, RUSSIA - APRIL 02: Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) shakes hands with Yemen's President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi during a meeting on April 2, 2013 in Moscow, Russia. Yemen's President is in Russia for his first state visit to the country since his election in 2012. (Photo by Sasha Mordovets/Getty Images)

Moscow's shifting strategy in Yemen

With the recent appointment of Ahmed Salem al-Wahishi as Yemen's ambassador to Russia, Moscow finds itself in a strong position to lead a political solution to the Yemen conflict.

Qatari Crown Prince Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani (2ndL) and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L), walk past a guard of honor during an official welcoming ceremony prior to their meeting at the presidential palace in Ankara, Turkey, on December 19, 2014. AFP PHOTO / ADEM ALTAN (Photo credit should read ADEM ALTAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Turkey flexing military muscle in Qatar

Turkey is signaling a shift to "hard power" foreign policy by incrementally building its military presence in Qatar to a brigade-level force.

Oman's Foreign Minister Yusuf bin Alawi waves as he arrives to attend a meeting of Foreign Ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia March 30, 2017. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser - RTX33EVF

Trump administration looks to Oman for help navigating Middle East

US officials, while wary about Oman's ties with Iran, seek Oman's assistance in resolving Qatar dispute.