United Arab Emirates - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

UAE cover image

United Arab Emirates

August 24, 2026

Abu Dhabi 7:08 pm

36°C

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

An aerial view taken after the recent crowning of Al Wasl dome shows the progress of construction at the Expo 2020 site in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in this undated picture obtained September 19, 2019. Expo 2020/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC18207C2AD0

Dubai Expo 2020 likely to be postponed until October 2021

COVID-19 has put on hold the highly anticipated Dubai Expo 2020; it still is to take place, but most likely not until a year later than planned.

United Arab Emirates

New joint UAE airline venture receives permission to fly amid coronavirus downturn

Air Arabia Abu Dhabi, an independent partnership between Air Arabia and Etihad, received its air operating license on April 23.

United Arab Emirates

Intel: Trump calls on Qatar to work toward resolving Gulf dispute

President Donald Trump has asked Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to take steps to resolve the ongoing dispute with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE, which blockaded Qatar in 2017.

Repatriation flights take stranded workers home to Pakistan from UAE

The first flight of 20 special flights to repatriate Pakistanis stranded in the United Arab Emirates left Dubai on Saturday.

United Arab Emirates

UAE exempts coronavirus patients, doctors from Ramadan fast

Religious authorities in the United Arab Emirates have said patients suffering from COVID-19 and doctors treating them are exempt from fasting for Ramadan.

United Arab Emirates

For Gulf, South Asia countries, worst is yet to come

The pandemic is expected to be especially hard on migrant workers in the Mideast and South Asia, as it has left many of them unemployed and struggling to return home to an uncertain future.

Intel: Pompeo and Gulf ministers coordinate on Iran, COVID-19

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo held a flurry of phone calls on Thursday with his counterparts in Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates to discuss Iran and the COVID-19 pandemic.

United Arab Emirates

COVID-19 offers new opportunities for Israel-Arab relations

In secret diplomatic ties or in open posts on social media, Israel reaches out to Arab neighbors battling with the coronavirus.

United Arab Emirates

A Houthi supporter looks on as he carries a weapon during a gathering in Sanaa, Yemen April 2, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed al-Sayaghi - RC2CWF9RBYKA

Yemen’s Houthis seek regional role as part of Axis of Resistance

Iran-backed Ansar Allah may have ambitions well beyond Yemen.

Dubai to reopen some food stores to pre-Ramadan shoppers

UAE grocers will be allowed to briefly reopen ahead of Ramadan, with stores subject to social distancing and sanitation inspection.

United Arab Emirates

Tonnes of medical equipment and coronavirus testing kits provided bt the World Health Organisation are pictured at the al-Maktum International airport in Dubai on March 2, 2020 as it is prepared to be delivered to Iran with a United Arab Emirates military transport plane. (Photo by KARIM SAHIB / AFP) (Photo by KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images)

Saudi Arabia and the UAE’s diverging regional coronavirus strategy

The United Arab Emirates is showing openness to Iran during the coronavirus crisis, which could point to the UAE’s aim to break loose of the policies of its tradition Saudi ally.

Chairman of the House Armed Forces Committee Adam Smith (D-WA) awaits the arrival of Acting U.S. Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford to testify on the Fiscal Year 2020 National Defense Budget Request from the Department of Defense on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., March 26, 2019. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts - RC1BF79E5F30

Intel: Key Democrat says Yemen war restrictions 'on the table' in major defense bill

House Armed Services Chairman Adam Smith, D-Wash., told Al-Monitor today that Democrats are considering renewing last year’s push to cut off US support to the Saudi-led coalition that is fighting Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels as part of Congress’ annual defense authorization bill.