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Economy & Business

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.

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.

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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

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)

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

Gaza food stalls

After Hamas sits out latest conflict, Israel expands Gaza economic relief

Now that its miltiary operation has ended, Israel is continuing and expanding measures that will help Gaza’s economy grow.

People walk past a currency exchange shop displaying a giant US dollar banknote in downtown Cairo on Nov. 3, 2016.

Here's how the latest US rate hike will impact Egypt's economy

A stronger US dollar will inevitably drive higher import costs, and subsequently prices, in the most populous Arab country, yet could eventually provide a boost to the local currency with an increase in exports.

The Turkey-flagged Abdulhamid Han.

Fourth Turkish drilling ship begins energy exploration in Mediterranean

Past Turkish energy exploration activities took place in waters claimed by Greece and Cyprus, leading to significant tensions.

REMKO DE WAAL/ANP/AFP via Getty Images

Egypt creates independent fund for Suez Canal

Egypt has established a new fund for the Suez Canal manage its own revenues independently.

Cutting-edge applications of Artificial Intelligence on display at the Artificial Intelligence Pavilion.

Egypt-China ties strengthen with recent deals

China is also getting closer to Saudi Arabia, Iran and other countries in the region, primarily through economic cooperation.

A boy looks at the coins displayed at the exhibition Coins through the Ages at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, on Aug. 10, 2010.

Downward spiral causes crash in Egypt’s gold prices

Gold prices sharply dropped in Egypt amid a drop of global prices after the US Federal Reserve hiked interest rates.

An Israeli army tank deployed on the border with the Gaza Strip creates a wall of smoke (R) to protect Israeli farmers harvesting their wheat crop on April 30, 2008 in the fields near Kibbutz Beeri in southern Israel. Getty

The Middle East food security crisis and its implications

KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images

Egypt, China expand climate cooperation ahead of COP27

As Egypt prepares to host the COP27 conference, it's getting help from China to transform Sharm el-Sheikh into a green city.

A Palestinian police officer searches a truck's fabrics cargo slated for export at the Kerem Shalom crossing, Rafah, Gaza Strip, June 21, 2021.

Russia-Ukraine war leaves Hamas in financial crisis

The fragile Palestinian economy in the Gaza Strip has been largely affected by the Russian-Ukrainian war, which has caused price hikes and an increase in taxes.

An Egyptian farmer takes part in the wheat harvest in Bamha village near al-Ayyat town, Giza province, Egypt, May 17, 2022.

Egypt pins hopes on Russia-Ukraine grain agreement

Egypt, especially hit hard by the global food crisis resulting form the Russia-Ukraine war, is hoping for relief via the Black Sea Grain Initiative.

Rashid Hassan teaches visitors how to harvest lavender correctly.

Lavender ecotourism throws lifeline to rural Lebanese villages

As Lebanon experiences a tourism hike this summer, rural villages and attractions hope to draw tourists away from the capital with the help of ecotourism companies. A day spent discovering lavender in the south is one example.

A handout picture released by the Egyptian Presidency on August 14, 2018.

Saudi Arabia’s NEOM project to bring huge investments to Egypt

Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said his country will invest in Sharm el-Sheikh as part of $500 billion NEOM project.