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February 18, 2026

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Venezuela

Qatar PM arrives in Venezuela on first trip since Maduro’s ouster: What to know

Qatar is moving to shore up ties with Venezuela as the US seeks greater control over the South American country’s oil revenues.

This photograph taken on Jan. 20, 2026, organized by the Saudi-backed Yemeni government, shows Saudi-backed Yemeni forces in the city of Mukalla in Yemen's coastal southern Hadhramaut province.

Saudi-UAE rift complicates Israel's counter-Iran efforts, normalization

Israel fears that the rivalry between the UAE and Saudi Arabia will further push Riyadh toward countries that espouse political Islam policies.

A handout photo made available by Iran's Supreme National Security Council office shows Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani (C) arriving in Muscat, Oman, on Feb. 10, 2026.

Iran’s Larijani in Qatar, meets Hamas leadership: What to know

Qatar and Oman have played a vital role in mediating between Iran and the United States to avoid military confrontation that would spill over to the rest of the region.

Latest News

Merz courts Gulf as Germany seeks energy alternatives to US, China

Merz

Syria to develop first offshore oil, gas field with US’s Chevron, Qatar’s UCC

Platform Edith, the largest of Chevron's USA's offshore production platforms, is seen off the southern California coast, on Oct. 6, 2021.

Gulf markets recover after gold rout, buoyed by Iran de-escalation hopes

A woman checks a window shop at a jewelry store in Dubai, on March 10, 2025.

United Arab Emirates

Samuel Wendel

Senior Market Research Analyst

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Vanessa Ghanem

In Dubai, reporting on business, energy and politics

Karen Young

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional energy

Reve Chaaban

In Doha reporting on culture

Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Emir of the State of Qatar, and Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Ruler of Abu Dhabi and National Security Adviser, in Doha on Sunday

What's significance of UAE's Sheikh Tahnoon third visit to Qatar in a year?

Qatar and the UAE are strengthening ties with high-profile meetings and joint investments like the $20 billion Development Road Project. However, differing views on Gaza’s future could challenge their cooperation.

United Arab Emirates

An Airbus A350 plane of Qatar Airways from Doha parks after it landed at Berlin's airport "Berlin Brandenburg Airport Willy Brandt", during the opening of the southern runway of the airport, in Schoenefeld, southeast of Berlin, on November 4, 2020. - Passenger flights are to began landing on October 31, 2020 at Berlin's new international airport, a moment many Germans thought they might never see after years of embarrassing delays and spiralling costs. (Photo by Odd ANDERSEN / AFP) (Photo by ODD ANDERSEN/AF

Qatar Airways suspends Iran, Lebanon flights, joining growing list of airlines

Amid conflict in Gaza and Lebanon, few airlines are operating in and out of Tel Aviv, and fewer still in and out of Beirut and Tehran.

Qatari candidates register to run in the country's upcoming election as members of its top advisory panel, known as the Shura Council, in the capital, Doha, on Aug. 22, 2021.

Qatar to vote on ditching legislative council elections as Gulf states balk at representative rule

Qatar's first legislative council election was held in October 2021, a year before it hosted the FIFA World Cup, but the Gulf state now looks poised to roll back citizens' involvement in the legislative process.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (R) and Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani speak to the media following talks at the Chancellery, Berlin, Germany, May 20, 2022.

Qatari emir in Germany to boost economic ties

According to the German chancellery, Scholz will host the emir at Meseberg Castle, with the meeting focusing on deepening energy, trade and regional security ties.

JOHN WESSELS/AFP via Getty Images

Gulf governments silent as Iran, proxies mourn Hamas' Yahya Sinwar

Regional governments have not commented on Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar’s killing by Israeli forces in Gaza, but Iran and its proxy groups mourned his death, vowing that the resistance against Israel will continue.

A photograph taken on October 28, 2019 shows Saudi and foreign journalists at the Future Investment Initiative (FII) badge collection centre in the Saudi capital Riyadh. - Top finance executives and political leaders have converged on Saudi capital Riyadh for a Davos-style investment forum, in stark contrast to last year's mass boycott following the murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi. US officials and the heads of giant banks, top asset management firms and major sovereign wealth funds top the g

Gulf sovereign investors unshaken by Middle East wars but opt for global markets

Gulf Cooperation Council investors accounted for 40% of deals made by sovereign investors globally in 2023 and 2024.

United Arab Emirates

Pictures of slain al-Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh hang on the facade of the building housing the television station's office in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, after Israel issued a 45-day closure order on September 22, 2024. Al Jazeera reported on September 22 that Israeli troops had raided its Ramallah bureau and informed journalists for the Doha-based network in the occupied West Bank to shutter operations. (Photo by JAAFAR ASHTIYEH / AFP) (Photo by JAAFAR ASHTIYEH/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

After Al Jazeera office closure, what's next for press freedom in Israel?

The closure of the Ramallah Al Jazeera office came after the office in Jerusalem was shut down by order of the Israeli government last May.

Mazal Mualem

By Mazal Mualem

In Tel Aviv, reporting on politics

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian attends his first press conference, after taking office. on Sept. 16, 2024 in Tehran, Iran.

Pezeshkian in Qatar as Iran pushes to revive nuclear deal, isolate Israel

Coming just a day after Tehran launched a barrage of missiles at Israel, Iran is expecting the visit to serve as a multifaceted initiative, helping shape its future standing in the volatile landscape and boost prospects of sanctions relief to salvage its battered economy.

A Middle East Airlines commercial aircraft taking off from Beirut's international airport flies amid smoke billowing above the Lebanese capital's southern suburbs, in the aftermath of overnight Israeli airstrikes, on Sept. 28,2024.

Middle East airlines alter, axe flights following Iran missile attack on Israel

Late on Tuesday, Iran launched more than 180 ballistic missiles at Israel in what it said was in retaliation for last Friday’s assassination of Hassan Nasrallah, the chief of Lebanon-based militia Hezbollah.

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 31: U.S. President Joe Biden meets with Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani, Amir of the State of Qatar, in the Oval Office on January 31, 2022 in Washington, DC. The two leaders were expected to discuss a range of issues, including global energy security as concerns about Russian natural gas supplies continue. (Photo by Tom Brenner-Pool/New York Times/Getty Images)

Qatar to join US visa-free travel list in first for Arab country

Qatar is set to become the second Middle Eastern country, behind Israel, to join the US Visa Waiver Program.

The Olympic rings are seen during preparation works at the Eiffel Tower stadium in Paris on July 24, 2024, ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Analysis

Race for historic Middle East Olympics is on post-Paris

Regional players are ready to make their case for the 2036 games but face a crowded field of bidders.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Jennifer Gnana event

Al-Monitor expands Gulf coverage with new talent led by Jennifer Gnana