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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

A man carries a bale of wheat during the harvest in the village of Bamha near al-Ayyat in Egypt.

Egypt asks World Bank for $500 million to buy wheat

Egypt is asking the World Bank for $500 million to cover its wheat needs in light of the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Emiratis walk in Masdar City, on the outskirts of the rich Emirate of Abu Dhabi, on October 7, 2015.

UAE continues renewable energy push with Azerbaijan deal

The two countries will work to develop power from wind, solar and green hydrogen sources.

Cryptocurrency

Dubai charity to accept donations in cryptocurrency

The crypto scene is rapidly expanding in the United Arab Emirates.

Israel's Foreign Minister Yair Lapid (2nd L) and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (2nd R) chat with Bahrain's Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid al-Zayani (R) and Emirati Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan (L), in Sde Boker, Israel, March 28, 2022.

With free trade agreement, Israel hopes to triple trade with Emirates

Israel and the United Arab Emirates already established a large scope of bilateral trade, but officials and businesspeople on both sides are persuaded that this is only the beginning.

A general view shows office buildings at al-Raidah Digital City of the Saudi capital Riaydh on Feb. 28, 2022.

Israelis begin doing deals in Saudi Arabia

Following a change in Saudi Arabia’s entry requirements, dozens of Israeli businesspeople arrived recently to Riyadh and even closed deals there.

A Sudanese woman and a boy gather threshed wheat stalks at the Zam Zam camp for Internally Displaced People (IDP), North Darfur, on April 9, 2015.

Can Sudan replace Ukraine as breadbasket for MENA region?

Despite Sudan’s agricultural and animal resources, political instability is hindering the country's potential to benefit itself and the region.

Jordan energy

UAE, Egypt, Jordan agree to $10 billion investment partnership

The Abu Dhabi investment firm ADQ will manage the funds, which will focus on food security and industrial integration in the region.

Israel economy

Israel interest rates to continue upward trend

Battling growing inflation, the Bank of Israel has significantly raised the country’s interest rates twice in recent weeks.

A Palestinian farmer carries boxed strawberries as they are harvested for home consumption and export in Beit Lahia, Gaza Strip, Dec. 10, 2013.

Hamas imposes new taxes on products imported from West Bank

Hamas' Ministry of Finance in the Gaza Strip is imposing a new tax on imported West Bank products, which will add to the hike in prices amid a devastated economy due to the Israeli siege and repeated Israeli wars.

A man walks outside a vegetable and fruit seller's shop in Libya's eastern town of Shahat, in the Jabal al-Akhdar (Green Mountain) region, on Feb. 10, 2022.

Libya grapples with mounting food costs, diminishing oil revenues

Breaking Chains with Blockchain

NFTs get Egyptian women out of debtor's prison

An organization that offers help to poor Egyptian women persecuted by the law has partnered with a creative collective in Dubai to raise donations and awareness, especially outside the country, using non-fungible tokens.

This picture taken on on Feb. 1, 2021 shows a view of the downtown Dubai skyline, with Burj Khalifa, as seen from the Dubai Frame vantage point.

Israel-UAE economic relations grow further with free trade agreement

A variety of economic, cultural and energy-related deals preceded the free trade agreement signed in Dubai today.