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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

Turkish soldiers monitor the border line as they stand guard near the Akcakale border crossing in Sanliurfa province, southeastern Turkey, where Islamic State militants control the Syrian side of the gate, January 29, 2015. An audio message purportedly from a Japanese journalist being held by Islamic State militants said a Jordanian air force pilot also captured by the group would be killed unless an Iraqi female prisoner in Jordan was released by sunset on Thursday. The message appeared to postpone a previ

Turkish military puts brakes on Syrian intervention

While a Turkish military operation against Syria is unlikely, Mosul is another story.

Members of Libyan pro-government forces, backed by locals, walk with weapons during clashes in the streets with the Shura Council of Libyan Revolutionaries, an alliance of former anti-Gaddafi rebels who have joined forces with Islamist group Ansar al-Sharia, in Benghazi April 1, 2015. Picture taken April 1. REUTERS/Stringer - RTR4W1LK

Libya looks to Russia for arms

Disillusioned with the West, the Libya government is exploring opportunities in Russia and says it is willing to accept limited participation by Islamists that agree to play by the rules.

Palestinian workers clear the rubble of a school that witnesses said was destroyed by Israeli shelling during the most recent conflict between Israel and Hamas, in the east of Gaza City December 3, 2014. According to housing minister Mufeed al-Hasayna, Gaza needs 8,000 tonnes of cement a day to meet demand. A new system set up with the United Nations to comply with Israeli requirements lets through at most 2,000, he said. At that rate, reconstruction would take more than 30 years, said Hasayna, one of four

Will Qatar-Israel relations threaten PA’s relevance in Gaza?

Qatar’s engagement with Hamas and Israeli officials on Gaza reconstruction projects has provoked fears in the Palestinian Authority of a usurpation of its power.

A Palestinian man rides his motorcycle past a billboard with pictures depicting UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan (R), Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed (C) and UAE Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan in Gaza City March 15, 2015. The billboard reads, "Thanks Emirates. Gaza is on a date for celebration. Mass wedding project."
REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa (GAZA - Tags: SOCIETY POLITICS) - RTR4TED7

Gazans divided over billboards featuring foreign donors

The Gaza Strip has grown accustomed to billboards thanking foreign donors for their support, but these billboards have done little to lift the siege on Gaza.

United Arab Emirates

Syrian writer and journalist Samar Yazbek poses on September 26, 2014 in Paris. AFP PHOTO JOEL SAGET (Photo credit should read JOEL SAGET/AFP/Getty Images)

10 Middle Eastern writers you should know

These 10 female writers are challenging conceptions of women in the Middle East.

Alya Ahmed Saif Al-Thani, Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to the UN, speaking on behalf of the Gulf Cooperation Council, addresses the Security Council meeting on the situation in Yemen.

Qatar’s UN ambassador looks to break barriers

H.E. Sheikha Alya Bint Ahmed Bin Saif Al Thani knows how to shake up the status quo but argues that gradual change is the most effective way to advance women in the region.

Qatar's Foreign Minister Khalid bin Mohammed Al Attiyah attends an extraordinary session of the Arab League at the league's headquarters in Cairo July 14, 2014. Egypt launched an initiative on Monday to halt fighting between Israel and Palestinian militants, proposing a ceasefire to be followed by talks in Cairo on settling the conflict in which Gaza authorities say more than 170 people have died. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3YNOY

Qatar rejects Egypt’s war on terrorism

The Egyptian request to carry out, under international cover, airstrikes against Islamic State strongholds in Libya was rejected by Qatar, which reveals the emergence of new alliances in the Middle East.

A Palestinian policeman loyal to Hamas stands guard near burning tyres during a protest by Palestinians calling for reconstruction of their houses that witnesses said were destroyed by Israeli shelling during a 50-day war last summer, outside a United Nations food distribution center in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip February 16, 2015. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CRIME LAW) - RTR4PQSX

Regional events have Hamas in political limbo

Various events and unresolved regional crises have fed Hamas' reluctance to forge regional alliances and take decisive positions on developments in the Arab world.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry testifies before a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on "Authorization for the Use of Military Force Against ISIL" on Capitol Hill in Washington December 9, 2014. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTR4HCK4

Lawmakers prep defense bill, Kerry defends budget

A look at the Middle East issues Congress will be addressing the week of Feb. 23.

Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood protesters make the 'four-fingered salute' during a protest against the Egyptian Defense Minister Abdel Fattah al-Sissi as they mark the third anniversary of revolution, in front of the Egyptian embassy in Amman January 25, 2014. REUTERS/Majed Jaber (JORDAN - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX17U9I

Jordan pressured to restrict Muslim Brotherhood

Some in Jordan believe the government will not break its historical ties with the Muslim Brotherhood, while others say there will be a crackdown on the group to keep Gulf aid flowing into the kingdom.

Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal waves upon arrival at Rafah crossing in the southern Gaza Strip December 7, 2012. Meshaal arrived in the Gaza Strip on Friday, ending 45 years of exile from Palestinian land with a visit that underscored the Islamist group's growing confidence following a recent conflict with Israel. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3BB5G

Hamas leaders prefer Turkish exile to Gaza hardships

Following Qatar's ousting of Hamas' political bureau from the emirate, the group is in search of a new home.

A general view shows the newsroom at the headquarters of the Qatar-based Al Jazeera English-language channel in Doha February 7, 2011. As much as CNN capitalized on its coverage of the 1990-91 Gulf War, Al Jazeera English has won praise for its on-the-spot reporting and context about the Egyptian protests. It will be talking to U.S. cable operators about deals "in the coming days and weeks," Al Anstey, managing director of Al Jazeera's English-language service said in a telephone interview from Qatar. REUTE

Al Jazeera’s Egypt closure deals blow to Muslim Brotherhood

The suspension of Al Jazeera’s Mubasher Misr TV station in the wake of Qatar’s rapprochement with the Egyptian government has cost the Muslim Brotherhood its main media arm in the country.