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July 26, 2026

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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

Why does Hamas, Fatah reconciliation keep failing?

Despite talks, Palestinians expect strategic differences and foreign interference to once more thwart a Fatah-Hamas reconciliation agreement.

Hezbollah responds to GCC decision

In a speech following the GCC’s decision to label Hezbollah a terrorist organization, the movement’s leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, intensified his criticism of Saudi Arabia, indicating a readiness to go all the way in the confrontation.

Why canceled Arab League summit should worry Israelis

Morocco’s decision not to host the Arab League summit has unexpected implications for Israel.

A Palestinian man watches a television broadcast showing Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal in Doha, in his appliance store in Gaza City February 6, 2012. Rival Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas agreed at a meeting in Qatar on Monday to form a unified Palestinian government for the West Bank and Gaza headed by Fatah chief Abbas, a senior Palestinian official said. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR2XEA6

Another Hamas-Fatah reconciliation agreement bites the dust

The latest meetings in Doha to promote the reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas may not reach the desired results, as Egypt, which has always been a sponsor of such meetings, might not allow this.

What fading oil fortunes means for Turkey's businesses

Turkish businesspeople are losing sleep over oil-producing states' deferrals of payments to international contractors and the possible loss of mega projects.

Fighters from the Democratic Forces of Syria position themselves in Ghazila village after taking control of the town from Islamic State forces in the southern countryside of Hasaka, Syria February 17, 2016. Picture taken February 17, 2016. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RTX27JLM

Can Ankara's plans keep up with Syria's escalation?

The course of events in Syria offer opportunities but also new threats to Ankara, which still has to deal with structural flaws in its Syrian policy.

Qatar's Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani (C) arrives in Mehrabad airport ahead of the 16th summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in Tehran, August 30, 2012. REUTERS/Roohollah Vahdati/ISNA (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS) FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS - RTR379P1

Qatar's precarious position between Saudi Arabia, Iran

The recent decline in Saudi-Iranian relations has put GCC members in a bind, in particular Qatar, which for years has tried to maintain diplomatic and economic ties with Iran.

Who's to blame for recent kidnappings in Iraq?

Many foreign diplomats and workers have been kidnapped in Iraq by armed gangs that have been spreading in the absence of security measures, which could damage diplomatic representation.

Russia, Qatar pushed to compromise. But will they?

A recent visit between Qatari and Russian officials indicate that in spite of their many differences, the two states may seek to cooperate.

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on their ability to film or take pictures in Tehran.

A worker walks down a walkway on the SPQ1 gas platform on the southern edge of Iran's South Pars gasfield in the Gulf, off Assalouyeh, 1,000 km (621 miles) south of Tehran, January 26, 2011. Picture taken January 26. REUTERS/Caren Firouz (IRAN - Tags: BUSINESS ENERGY) - RTXX58R

Will South Pars help bring Iran's economy back to life?

The newly inaugurated phases 15 and 16 of Iran's giant South Pars project have the potential to greatly boost the country's economy.

Amid financial hardship, Erdogan looks to Qatar as 'rich daddy'

Turkey’s leadership, increasingly isolated in the region amid spats with Russia and Iraq, knocks on the doors of Israel and Qatar, with the latter providing much-needed foreign investment.

A soldier from the Saudi-led coalition walks past a broken-down tank on a street in Yemen's southern port city of Aden September 27, 2015. As Gulf-backed forces assemble in Marib province east of Sanaa ahead of a widely expected thrust towards the Houthi-held capital, the fate of Aden and its hinterland may offer a glimpse at whether some form of central government can be resurrected. To match Insight YEMEN-SECURITY/ADEN REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser - RTX1SQ8T

What's Saudi's new Islamic coalition really up to?

Not a lot is known about Saudi Arabia's newly announced Islamic Military Alliance, leaving observers to ponder its prospects.