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United Arab Emirates

August 24, 2026

Abu Dhabi 6:11 pm

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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

Yemeni government vows to confront southern rebellion

Yemen's internationally recognized government pledged to respond to any attacks from the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council in the country's south.

UAE students stir fashion market demand amid COVID-19

Two UAE students are taking advantage of the lockdown imposed to contain the coronavirus outbreak in order to grow their sustainable fashion line.

United Arab Emirates

Medical workers wait for mock victims to arrive by ambulance to Chaim Sheba Medical Center near Tel Aviv during a drill simulating a biological attack January 13, 2010. REUTERS/Gil Cohen Magen (ISRAEL - Tags: HEALTH) - GM1E61D1ME901

Coronavirus offers Israel opportunity to strengthen ties with Gulf states

Despite recent condemnation by Gulf states of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plans to annex parts of the West Bank this summer, there are signs that Israeli-Gulf ties might benefit from shared concern over COVID-19.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a coronavirus response event in the Blue Room at the White House in Washington, U.S., May 1, 2020. REUTERS/Carlos Barria - RC2WFG9ZBEP0

Trump blasts Republicans who voted for Iran war powers bill as Senate fails to override veto

President Donald Trump laid into some of his close Senate allies for siding with Democrats on an Iran war powers bill even as Congress failed to override his veto.

A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) passenger plane arrives at the Benazir International airport in Islamabad, Pakistan, December 2, 2015. Employees of Pakistan's ailing national airline on December 15, 2015, walked out in protest over its planned privatisation, disrupting flights and undermining a central plank of reforms promised by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in return for an IMF bailout. Picture taken December 2, 2015. REUTERS/Faisal Mahmood - GF10000266349

UAE rejects Pakistani claim it is exporting virus

The UAE said it tests everyone leaving the country and bars infected individuals from traveling, but Pakistan says up to half of those repatriated on some flights had COVID-19.

United Arab Emirates

A Saudi man stands in front of a screen of stock prices at ANB Bank in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia March 15, 2020. REUTERS/Ahmed Yosri - RC2AKF95RT3F

Report: Private sectors in UAE, Egyptian, Saudi economies suffer dramatic losses

IHS Markit, a global information provider, shows how the private sector has suffered major blows in the UAE, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

Women wear protective face masks, as they walk, after Saudi Arabia imposed a temporary lockdown on the province of Qatif, following the spread of coronavirus, in Qatif, Saudi Arabia March 10, 2020. REUTERS/Stringer - RC25HF9S55OY

China ramps up COVID-19 diplomacy in Mideast

As the Trump administration tries to link the coronavirus to a Chinese laboratory, Beijing is using the pandemic to strengthen ties in the Gulf.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan attends a joint news conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin (not pictured) following their talks in Moscow, Russia March 5, 2020. Pavel Golovkin/Pool via REUTERS - RC2UDF9BM4UQ

Erdogan's cold war with Saudi Arabia and UAE

Turkey's patience with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates is running low, sources tell Al-Monitor.

People shop at a supermarket after the Saudi government eased a curfew and allowed stores to open, following the outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia April 29, 2020. REUTERS/Marwa Rashad - RC2CEG9U1YOY

Saudi Arabia eases anti-virus measures

Saudi Arabia allowed businesses to reopen today, but mosques, schools and other places remain closed.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a statement overlooking the Israeli settlement of Har Homa, located in an area of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, that Israel annexed to Jerusalem after the region's capture in the 1967 Middle East war, February 20, 2020. Debbie Hill/Pool via REUTERS - RC2E4F9ALPB6

Can anyone stop Netanyahu’s annexation plans?

A formidable array of figures is working in public and behind the scenes to block Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to annex West Bank lands.

A view shows the area outside the Dubai Mall following the outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, March 23, 2020. Picture taken March 23, 2020. REUTERS/Christopher Pike - RC2AQF9DUMUC

Dubai malls open, but residents reluctant to shop

The government of Dubai has eased some pandemic restrictions for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

United Arab Emirates

A man wearing a protective face mask walks through the deserted Barajeel Souq, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in old Dubai, United Arab Emirates, March 31, 2020. REUTERS/Christopher Pike - RC25VF9HL1I6

Dubai relaxes its coronavirus lockdown for Ramadan

Dubai will relax its strict coronavirus lockdown to allow movement without permission for much of the day during the Muslim holy month.

United Arab Emirates