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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

OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images

Ankara forces companies to sell hard currency as circle tightens

The Turkish government’s latest loan restriction may help the embattled lira recover to some extent, but not without the risk of damaging side effects.

Morocco drought

Morocco invests in desalination plants as drought worsens

Located in an arid zone characterized by rain disruption, Morocco seeks solutions to solve water scarcity and ensure supply for domestic, industrial, and agricultural purposes

Osama Rabie, chairman of the Suez Canal Authority, speaks during a press conference after the release of the Panama-flagged MV Ever Given container ship, in the canal's central city of Ismailia, Egypt, July 5, 2021.

Suez, Panama canals sign cooperation agreement to boost investments

The Suez and Panama canals’ economic zones seek to attract more investments through a cooperation agreement to exchange experiences and information.

Boxes of coronavirus vaccines are stacked on the tarmac after the first batch arrived at Khartoum airport on an Emirates Airlines flight, Khartoum, Sudan, March 3, 2121.

Western creditors suspend debt relief to Sudan over coup as country’s economy sinks

The Paris Club of major creditors announced the suspension of a 2021 agreement with the now-deposed transitional government to restructure the large foreign debt of Sudan.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (L) and Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry walk prior to talks of representatives of the Arab League states, Moscow, Russia, April 4, 2022.

Egypt plans to use ruble in trade with Russia

Egypt and Russia seek to switch to local currencies in their trade transactions to overcome obstacles created by Western sanctions on Moscow over the Ukraine war.

People queue to buy olive oil, which is sold cheaply by the Agricultural Products Office, Ankara, Turkey, Feb. 17, 2022.

Egypt, Turkey hold firm on interest rates

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is adamantly opposed to raising interest rates, but some observers expected Egypt to raise rates in line with Gulf banks and the US Federal Reserve.

Egypt industry

Egypt, Saudi Arabia sign economic agreements worth $7.7 billion

Saudi Arabia intends to invest about $8 billion in various economic sectors in Egypt, which will ease the Egyptian economy's wheels amid the global crisis.

An employee packs bread at a bakery on March 23, 2022, in Istanbul, Turkey.

Turkey says no evidence Ukrainian grains stolen by Russia reached its shores

Turkey is being lobbied by the UK to discuss the safe shipping of Ukrainian grain due to looming global shortages but denies any has reached its ports.

A visitor walks past a Dubai billboard at the Arabian Travel market exibition in the Gulf emirate, May 17, 2021.

Tourism to Dubai up nearly 200% this year

The Expo 2020 Dubai provided a big boost as the Emirati city continues to bounce back from the coronavirus pandemic.

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (L) and Russia's President Vladimir Putin (R).

Egypt participates in Russian economic forum

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi delivered a virtual speech at the opening session, stressing the need to find "effective solutions" to the global economic crisis.

Palestine technology

Palestinians call out PayPal for discrimination

PayPal's refusal to offer services in Palestine is impeding the region's economic growth and preventing many freelance knowledge workers from receiving digital payments.

A picture taken on Sept. 29, 2021, shows Russian tourists in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

Egypt looks for upsurge in tourists from sanctions-hit Russia

Cairo and Moscow are holding talks to allow the Russian payment system MIR in Red Sea resorts.