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July 15, 2026

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A ship sails off the coast of Ajman on July 10, 2026.

Interview

Why Strait of Hormuz no longer rattles oil markets as much: IMF

The fund's Middle East director, Jihad Azour, told Al-Monitor that the big Gulf energy producers now have more capacity to absorb the shock.

Jihad Azour

Jihad Azour

Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the International Monetary Fund

Mohammed HUWAIS / AFP via Getty Images

Yemen’s Houthis accuse Saudi Arabia of striking Sanaa airport: What to know

The Yemeni government claimed that its armed forces struck the Sanaa International Airport to prevent an Iranian plane from landing, while the Houthis accused the government's ally, Saudi Arabia, of carrying out the strikes.

A man crosses a street while returning home from work, in Dubai on June 23, 2026. (Photo by FADEL SENNA / AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Saudi-UAE payment blocks could imperil billions in trade: What to know

Delayed bank transfers from Saudi Arabia to accounts in the United Arab Emirates could suggest the rivalry between the region's largest economies is entering a new financial phase.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Latest News

Analysis

Carney bets on Saudi Arabia to help reduce dependence on US: What to know

Canada's Mark Carney (L) and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (R) met on the heels of the NATO summit in Riyadh on July 9, 2026.

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

How Iran war could impact oil markets in 2027

Igor IVANKO / AFP via Getty Images

Oil prices ease as OPEC+ increases production, Hormuz traffic rebounds

Oil tankers and cargo vessels are anchored off the coast of Oman after being stranded for days as congestion at Port Sultan Qaboos has prevented them from docking on June 23, 2026 in Muscat, Oman. The Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route for the region's oil and gas, was effectively blockaded since the outbreak of war between the United States and Iran in late February. This week's provisional peace deal between the countries was meant to reopen the waterway to shipping traffic, but the pace of that reo

Analysis

How Iran war shaped divergent paths to security among GCC states

A man walks past the flags of the countries attending the Gulf Cooperation Council summit at Bayan palace in Kuwait City on Dec. 5, 2017.

Sabena Siddiqui

By Sabena Siddiqui

In Karachi, reporting on South Asia, Middle East, Iran

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

Francesco Schiavi

In Bologna, reporting on security, defense, economy, governance

Sabena Siddiqui

In Karachi, reporting on South Asia, Middle East, Iran

Vanessa Ghanem

In Dubai, reporting on business, energy and politics

Women walk past members of Saudi security forces as they keep guard in Manfouha, southern Riyadh, November 14, 2013. A Sudanese man was killed in a second flare of clashes since Saturday between Saudi riot police, citizens and foreign workers in Riyadh amid a clampdown on visas, state media said late on Wednesday. The report on the official Saudi Press Agency, which cited a Riyadh police spokesman, gave no further details about the dead man, but said the clashes had started as a dispute between Saudis and f

Saudi Arabia beheadings in stark contrast with fight against IS

Saudi Arabia's human rights record of public punishments and criminalization of dissent finds its roots in the Al-Saud ruling family's "contract" with Wahhabism.

The kiss that sent Saudi’s Iran ambassador home

Iran’s deputy foreign minister for Arab and African affairs has discussed in two recent interviews the major points of contention remaining between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud sits before a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry at the Royal Palace in Jeddah September 11, 2014. The United States signed up Arab allies on Thursday to a "coordinated military campaign" against Islamic State fighters, a major step in building regional support for President Barack Obama's plan to strike both sides of the Syrian-Iraqi frontier. After talks in Saudi Arabia's summer capital Jeddah, Kerry won backing from 10 Arab countries - Egypt, Iraq,

Some Shiites link Saudi king's health to end-times

Some Shiite scholars believe that the Saudi king's death will signal the resurrection of the Mahdi and the beginning of the end-times.

A boy holds up flags of the Shi'ite Houthi movement during a ceremony commemorating the birth of Prophet Mohammed in Sanaa January 3, 2015. REUTERS/Mohamed al-Sayaghi (YEMEN - Tags: RELIGION ANNIVERSARY) - RTR4JYNI

Iran’s shallow influence in Yemen

Iran believes its influence is spreading to a new country with the rise of the Houthis in Yemen in September 2014; however, Yemen is different from other Iranian-influenced countries (Syria, Lebanon and Iraq), where sectarian compositions differ.

Militant Islamist fighters take part in a military parade along the streets of northern Raqqa province June 30, 2014. Militant Islamist fighters held a parade in Syria's northern Raqqa province to celebrate their declaration of an Islamic "caliphate" after the group captured territory in neighbouring Iraq, a monitoring service said. The Islamic State, an al Qaeda offshoot previously known as Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), posted pictures online on Sunday of people waving black flags from cars

Who are the Kharijites and what do they have to do with IS?

Many Islamic authorities, including Saudi Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al ash-Sheikh, consider the Islamic State to be an extension of the Kharijites, a group of the first Muslims who rebelled against authority during the early Islamic centuries.

Shi'ite Houthi rebels drive a patrol truck past a Ansar al-Sharia flag painted on the side of a hill, along a road in Almnash, the main stronghold of Ansar al-Sharia, in Rada November 22, 2014. Shi'ite Houthi fighters recently managed to enter the area, which had long been the main stronghold of Ansar al-Sharia, the local wing of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). Picture taken November 22, 2014. REUTERS/Mohamed al-Sayaghi (YEMEN - Tags: CIVIL UNREST TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY CONFLICT) - RTR4F880

Yemen falling out of Saudis' grasp

Saudi Arabia is struggling to form an effective Yemen strategy as its three main adversaries — the Shiite Houthis, al-Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood — continue to dominate the Yemeni arena.

Will next Saudi king seize opportunity for change?

The successor to King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz needs to make real political reforms, whether pressured by citizens or not.

Is the Saudi succession near?

With an ailing king, Saudi Arabia's royal succession comes into focus, as well as the kingdom's forthcoming challenges.

An empty chair representing the Lebanese president is pictured at the opening of the Beiteddine International Festival in Beiteddine, Mount Lebanon, June 26, 2014. The annual entertainment festival takes place in the Ottoman Ruins of the Beiteddine Palace. Lebanese parliamentarians have not elected a new president since former President Michel Suleiman's term ended. REUTERS/Sharif Karim (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS ENTERTAINMENT) - RTR3VYUF

Saudi support shores up talks in Lebanon

Saudi Arabia is overwhelmed with risks on several fronts, which might explain its efforts to promote a Sunni-Shiite and a Christian-Christian dialogue in Lebanon and bring its ally Saad Hariri back to the table.

A Saudi policeman checks the ID card of a driver at a checkpoint in the mostly Shiite Qatif region of Eastern Province on November 25, 2011. Four people have been killed and nine others wounded in an exchange of gunfire between security forces and what the Saudi interior ministry called criminals serving a foreign power in the country's oil-producing Eastern Province. AFP PHOTO/FAYEZ NURELDINE (Photo credit should read FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP/Getty Images)

Saudis work together to head off sectarian violence

The November attack against Saudi Shiites in al-Ahsa governorate drew unanimous condemnation from conservative Sunnis and Shiites alike, who are determined to prevent sectarian strife.

Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah (R) meets with Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani in this handout picture released by the Hezbollah Media office and received by Reuters on December 23, 2014. REUTERS/Hezbollah Media Office/Handout via Reuters (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS) ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS IMAGE. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING O

Hezbollah, Future Movement eye presidency

Hezbollah and the Future Movement have begun a dialogue on filling Lebanon's presidency, offering some reason for hope.

Iran's Ebrahim Sadeghisenjani (L) fights for the ball with Palestine's Rafat Ayyad (C) and Abdallatif Albahdari during their West Asian Championship soccer match in Tehran August 7, 2008. REUTERS/Fadi Al-Assaad (IRAN) - RTR20Q54

Outrage as Palestinian soccer team cancels friendly with Iran

The Palestinian soccer team canceled a friendly match with Iran, sparking online outrage that it was at the instigation of Iran's competitors.