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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.

Latest News

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

Pet trader Mahmud Safwat feeds birds outside his shop, Giza, Egypt, July 2022.

Pets suffer amid Egypt's economic crisis

The Russian war on Ukraine has affected Egypt's economy in many ways and is now affecting Egyptians' ability to keep their pets at home.

A picture shows the damaged grain silos at the port of Beirut.

World Bank blames Lebanon for 'deliberate' economic crisis

The World Bank accused Lebanon’s elites of conducting “Ponzi finance” and deliberately pursuing harmful fiscal policies. Meanwhile, the Beirut port has caught fire again.

Sierra Leone-flagged cargo vessel Razoni sails along the Bosporus past Istanbul on Aug. 3, 2022, after being officially inspected.

First Ukrainian grain shipment en route to Lebanon amidst food crisis

Ukraine claims a Syrian ship docked in Lebanon is carrying Ukrainian wheat and barley that was stolen by Russia and is being offering at a discount.

People shop in a busy market ahead of the start of the holy month of Ramadan on April 1, 2022, in Istanbul, Turkey.

Turkey’s inflation hits almost 80% as Erdogan insists on low-rate policy

Despite a relative slowdown in July, Turkey’s consumer inflation appears on course to overshoot the central bank’s newly revised year-end forecast of 60.4%.

Saudi Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud addresses the 29th annual Middle East Petroleum and Gas Conference.

Breaking | Last Updated: August 3, 2022, 11:48 am

OPEC+ agrees to small oil production increase

US President Joe Biden may have been hoping for a larger boost in production.

Central bank

UAE laws clamp down on money laundering, terrorism financing

The Emirates recently sanctioned some financial institutions in the country.

United Arab Emirates

FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images

ESG investments gain momentum in Middle East

Many Middle Eastern investors consider sustainable assets attractive from an ethical perspective, though some ambiguity clouds their economic benefits.

Saudi Aramco acquires lubricant giant Valvoline

Aramco has been investing in futuristic technology amid high oil prices and profits.

stock exchange

Foreign investment grows in Abu Dhabi stock exchange

The UAE has invested in several regional states this year.

United Arab Emirates

Austrian policemen guard the entrance of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) headquarters during the 176th meeting of the OPEC conference and the 6th meeting of the OPEC and non-OPEC countries on July 1, 2019 in Vienna, Austria. (Photo by JOE KLAMAR / AFP) (Photo by JOE KLAMAR/AFP via Getty Images)

OPEC+ faces critical decision on next moves

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional energy

A member of Iraq's Hashid Shaabi paramilitary force looks on while standing along a runway at the heavily damaged airport of the northern city of Mosul.

Iraq starts rebuilding Mosul airport

Determined to complete the delayed Mosul airport reconstruction project, Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi is granting the project special exceptions to shield it from corruption and complex administrative procedures.

GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images

More gas discovered off coast of Abu Dhabi

The field, which is operated by Italy’s Eni, has yielded considerable natural gas to the UAE this year.