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July 26, 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

Latest News

Oil soars more than 6% as Trump rules out Iran deal, threatens more strikes

A cargo ship is pictured off coast of the Khor Fakkan Container Terminal, the only natural deep-sea port in the region and one of the major container ports in Sharjah Emirate, along the Gulf of Oman on June 28, 2026.

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

Will Hamas, Israel call Qatar-brokered truce?

Qatar has been increasingly involved in talks between Hamas and Israel in what raises questions about its exploitation of the Gaza card in the Gulf crisis.

What Israel wants from Qatar

By signing an arrangement with Hamas, and meeting Qataris, Israel opens the door for Qatari and Iranian influence in the Gaza Strip, and even in the West Bank.

Israel-Hamas talks isolate Abbas

Israel negotiates with Hamas, despite its ideology of destroying the Jewish state, while ignoring Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, its only security partner against terror.

Can Qatar and Germany save Turkey’s economy?

The Turkish lira was up a few points after Qatar's leaders pledged to help Turkey and German Chancellor Angela Merkel made some positive statements, but will this be enough to get Turkey through its currency crisis?

Qatari envoy to Gaza rouses Hamas' ire

Palestinians have expressed their anger at the Qatari ambassador’s statements in which he claimed that Hamas and Israel are conducting secret negations to avoid war.

A Palestinian waits for his relatives to return into Gaza after the Egyptian Authority opened the Rafah Border Crossing for one day, in the southern Gaza Strip February 19, 2018. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa - RC179BE19FB0

How Israel and Egypt are coordinating on Gaza

By threatening to close the Gaza Rafah crossing point, Egypt signals to Hamas that it must reconcile with Fatah.

Is the GCC dead?

The Gulf Cooperation Council is broken and may not be fixable.

Does latest Gulf aid to Jordan come with strings?

Analysts wonder whether a Gulf aid package to help Jordan deal with its current economic crisis is in fact an attempt to pressure the kingdom into accepting the Israeli-Palestinian peace plan being developed by the United States.

Saudi Arabia bails out Jordan

In light of Jordan's latest protests that toppled the prime minister, Saudi Arabia initiated a summit June 10 where a $2.5 billion five-year aid program was agreed on to help the Hashemite Kingdom regain a position of stability in the region.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo walks with Saudi's Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir upon his arrival in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia April 28, 2018. Saudi Press Agency/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY - RC1F96F4FE60

America’s hawkish turn on Iran threatens Gulf alliance

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s new Iran policy announcement could have repercussions on US efforts to save the Gulf Cooperation Council.

An American made Patriot missile launcher of the Kuwait Air Force, used
to shoot down incoming ballistic missiles, is deployed in an undated
file photograph. A U.S. Patriot missile battery may have engaged a
British Royal Air Force aircraft near

the Kuwaiti border on Sunday, a Pentagon spokesman said. REUTERS/Kuwait
Ministry of Defence - RP3DRINEPZAA

Congress nudges Trump toward Gulf missile defense

Congress is trying to revive US-led talks for a GCC-wide missile shield against Iran that have stalled amid tensions with Qatar.

Detained Egyptian journalist receives UNESCO award

UNESCO's decision to grant the Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize to detained photojournalist Mahmoud Abu Zeid, known as Shawkan, has sparked anger among Egyptian authorities.