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Economy & Business

A view of Dubai Marina in Dubai on March 3, 2026.

UAE’s cash request tests US ties as Iran war strains Gulf financial muscle

Amid growing economic fallout from the regional war, Abu Dhabi’s bombshell request for a war-time financial lifeline from the United States is less about cash and more about clout — for now.

United Arab Emirates

A liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker is moored at a LNG berth in Kawasaki, Kanagawa, prefecture April 8, 2026.

IEA delivers grim gas supply forecast as oil notches 15% weekly rise

A wave of new LNG supplies will be delayed for at least two years due to war-related damage to Qatari energy infrastructure, according the International Energy Agency's latest market update.

A person walks past the closed Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center on Jan. 7, 2021, in New York City.

Why did the Met Opera lose its Saudi funding deal?

The deal, announced as a nonbinding memorandum of understanding last September, would have seen the PIF inject up to $200 million into the opera institution over the next eight years.

Refueling trucks are seen at Southend Airport on April 17, 2026, in Southend, England.

Which airlines are cutting flights amid Hormuz fuel disruption?

European and Asian airlines have been most impacted by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which is throttling jet fuel supplies.

Latest News

How are Iran-linked tankers still moving through Hormuz blockade?

BAY ISMOYO / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Gulf energy deals face Iran war stress test as global expansion meets oil shock

A picture shows the Ras Laffan Industrial City, Qatar's principal site for production of liquefied natural gas and gas-to-liquid, administrated by Qatar Petroleum, some 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of the capital Doha, on Feb. 6, 2017.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Could UAE tap US currency swap line as Iran war strains Gulf economies?

Haruna Furuhashi /Getty Images

United Arab Emirates

EU to restore Syria cooperation pact ahead of May talks: What to know

Tobias SCHWARZ / 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

KARIM JAAFAR/AFP via Getty Images

Qatar places major bet on gas as Saudi Aramco scores new find in Jafurah

Asian liquefied natural gas prices have fallen to a nearly three-year low as warmer winter temperatures have dampened demand.

The picture illustrates euro and United States 100-dollar banknotes bearing the portrait of US statesman, inventor and diplomat Benjamin Franklin next to Iran's rial banknotes, bearing a portrait of Iran's late founder of Islamic Republic Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in Tehran on September 30, 2012. Iran's currency, the rial, dived to a new low of around 29,600 to the dollar in open trading, losing over 60 percent of its value since the end of last year according to exchange tracking websites as draconian We

Will the value of the Iranian Rial collapse?

Bijan Khajehpour

Bijan Khajehpour

In Vienna, reporting on Iranian politics

A Hermes 900 unmanned aerial vehicle is displayed at the Singapore Airshow in Singapore on Feb. 21, 2024.

Israel’s military exports to India booming, 'unaffected' by war in Gaza

Israel has been one of the top military exporters to India over the past decade.

Getty

Egypt, UAE sign $35 billion development deal amid foreign currency crunch

The deal could help Egypt’s struggling economy and builds on previous Emirati investment in the North African country.

MOHAMMED SAWAF/AFP via Getty Images

Iraq reopens major Baiji oil refinery after 10 years of closure

The North Oil Refinery was taken by the Islamic State in 2014 and took years to rehabilitate.

A boat sails at the Dubai marina with a view of the Gulf Emirate's skyline on Dec. 15, 2023.

UAE dropped from global watchdog’s illicit finance list in quick turnaround

The Gulf country was added to the Financial Action Task Force's grey list in March 2022.

United Arab Emirates

Kenyan Cabinet Secretary for Investments, Trade and Industry Rebecca Miano with UAE Minister of Foreign Trade Thani bin Ahmed Al-Zeyoudi at a signing ceremony following a joint statement on the conclusion of the talks regarding the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement in Dubai, Feb. 22, 2024.

UAE, Kenya conclude trade deal talks as Abu Dhabi expands influence in Africa

The United Arab Emirates has established economic partnership agreements with 10 countries as it seeks to diversify its oil-based economy.

Morocco's Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch (R) meets with his Spanish counterpart, Pedro Sanchez (L), in Rabat, on Feb. 2, 2023.

Morocco-Spain thaw continues with investment pledge, aerospace deal

Spain and Morocco have historically been at odds over Western Sahara, migration and territorial disputes.

A ship transits the Suez Canal toward the Red Sea on Jan. 10, 2024, in Ismailia, Egypt.

Analysis

How Red Sea crisis is battering Egypt's manufacturing, textile industries

The Suez Canal is a cornerstone of the Egytian economy, providing a vital source of foreign currency for the cash-strapped country.

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

Laborers work at the construction site of Saudi Aramco's (the national oil company) Al-Khurais central oil processing facility.

Saudi Arabia reports oil export slump after OPEC cuts

The dip in exports for the fourth quarter of 2023 was due to Saudi Arabia’s decision to reduce crude output in accordance with the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies — the kingdom has also implemented voluntary cuts.

Guests attend the Global AI 2020 (Artificial Intelligence) Summit in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, on Oct. 21, 2020.

Saudi tech giant expands investments into China, AI as part of $100B plans

Alat plans to invest $100 billion by 2030 to coincide with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 plan to wean the kingdom’s economy off of its reliance on oil.

Container ships moving on Suez Canal.

Egypt’s Sisi: Suez Canal revenue down as much as 50% over Red Sea attacks

The decrease in revenue and traffic in the canal due to attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels is exacerbating Egypt’s foreign currency shortage and overall economic crisis.