United Arab Emirates - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

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United Arab Emirates

July 2, 2026

Abu Dhabi 1:31 am

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People walk past a cryptocurrency exchange office with a screen featuring US President Donald Trump holding cryptocurrency coins in Hong Kong on March 12, 2025.

Trump earns $810M from UAE-backed crypto firm: What to know

According to the disclosure, Trump earned $810 million from crypto token sales and sales of interests in UAE-backed World Liberty Financial.

United Arab Emirates

Latest News

Analysis

Why the UAE wants Indian missiles and a deeper strategic partnership

Brahmos replicas are displayed during India's 60th Republic Day parade, Jan. 26, 2009, New Delhi.

Francesco Schiavi

By Francesco Schiavi

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

Explainer

Gulf states push incentives for investors, expats after war dents image

FADEL SENNA/AFP via Getty Images

United Arab Emirates

Explainer

After UAE and Qatar, could Iraq be next to leave OPEC?

A worker at a market for fuel oil and automotive fuel on March 17, 2026, in Erbil, Iraq.

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

Mohammed Soliman

In Washington, DC, reporting on Gulf politics

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 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.

Analysis

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

ADNOC, Aramco and QatarEnergy have aggressively expanded their international portfolios in recent years, a strategy facing new constraints as the US-Israel-Iran war impacts Gulf production and exposes structural risks.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Haruna Furuhashi /Getty Images

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

The Gulf country apparently wanted reassurances from Washington in case its economy is severely damaged by the Iran war.

United Arab Emirates

Abdulla Balalaa, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Energy and Sustainability, United Arab Emirates

Interview

UAE official says opening Hormuz integral to any Iran deal, describes infrastructure damage 'manageable'

Abdulla Balalaa, UAE assistant minister of foreign affairs for energy and sustainability, spoke to Al-Monitor about the situation in the Gulf along with the UAE's focus on promoting privatization in the water sector and the 2026 UN Water Conference.

Abdulla Balalaa

Abdulla Balalaa

UAE assistant minister of foreign affairs for energy and sustainability

FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images

Saudi stocks hit 2026 high, bucking global war-driven volatility

The kingdom's stock market climbed to its highest level of the year on Wednesday, with the kingdom’s equities now far outperforming the S&P 500 and other global and regional indices.

ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

UAE's deputy PM holds first call with Ghalibaf amid push to extend US-Iran ceasefire

The Emirati vice president and Iran’s parliament speaker talked de-escalation on the phone in the first such contact since the Iran war began.

United Arab Emirates

A man walks through the atrium during the 2026 IMF and World Bank Group Spring Meetings in Washington, DC, on April 14, 2026. (Photo by Kent NISHIMURA / AFP via Getty Images)

IMF slashes Mideast outlook by nearly 3 points as Iran war hits economies

The International Monetary Fund cut gross domestic product forecasts for the Middle East and North Africa, with the fallout from the conflict exposing stark divergences between the region’s energy exporters and importers.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang meets with Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, in Beijing on April 13, 2026.

China signals bigger Gulf role as UAE crown prince visits Beijing

China, which maintains close ties with both Iran and Gulf states, is hosting one of the UAE's top officials this week as a fragile ceasefire in the region holds.

Elke Scholiers/Getty Images

Oil back above $100 as US moves to blockade Strait of Hormuz

Soaring energy prices can be expected to remain volatile while the US begins its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

TOPSHOT - People watch from a street as a tall smoke plume billows following an explosion in the Fujairah industrial zone on March 3, 2026. Iran's strikes on Gulf neighbours since February 28, following the US-Israeli attack, forced the UAE to shut its airspace, blindsiding travellers who thought they were headed to one of the region's safest holiday destinations. (Photo by Fadel SENNA / AFP via Getty Images)

UAE says no more 'niceties' with Iran, seeks clarity on fragile truce terms

The UAE said Iran must pay “compensation” for damages incurred during the conflict.

United Arab Emirates