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United Arab Emirates

September 7, 2026

Abu Dhabi 10:36 pm

36°C

The entrance to the city of Qiddiya, south of the capital Riyadh, April 25, 2019.

Analysis

Iran war tests Gulf's theme park ambitions

Saudi Arabia is pressing ahead with multibillion-dollar projects as the conflict disrupts regional tourism and exposes weaknesses in the Gulf states' entertainment strategies.

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

A man walks past a mural depicting oil pumps and the Venezuelan flag, with portraits of Venezuelan independence leader Simon Bolivar (L) and former late President Hugo Chavez (R), in Caracas, Venezuela, on Sept. 3, 2026.

Analysis

Could Trump’s oil push in Venezuela upend OPEC’s energy order?

Washington’s growing role in controlling the Latin American country's crude riches could help reshape an energy order centered on OPEC as the Hormuz crisis pressures Gulf exports.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Ongoing construction work is pictured at a site in Marota City, a new mixed-use development project near the Umayyad Square in Damascus on July 22, 2026. Syria's new leaders, who inherited a dilapidated economy, are trying to attract capital without waiting for the full lifting of international sanctions. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP via Getty Images)

UAE investment fuels Syria's postwar economic recovery with $7B property deal

The deal would see UAE-based Arada develop a major real estate project in Damascus.

JOSEPH EID/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

UAE gauges new Lebanon deals amid Levant economic stabilization push

Beirut welcomed a high-level business delegation from the UAE in late August as Abu Dhabi pursues new regional economic engagement amid Iran's waning influence.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Latest News

Analysis

UAE-China air drills deepen with fourth Falcon Shield exercise

Chinese President Xi Jinping and United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan

Francesco Schiavi

By Francesco Schiavi

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

Lebanon, UAE ink deals, deepen economic ties on Emirati Beirut visit

UAE Foreign Trade Minister Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi (L) and Lebanese Economy Minister Amr al-Bisat after signing a memorandum of understanding, Beirut, Aug. 27, 2026.

Samuel Wendel

Senior Analyst, Middle East Business & Tech

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

Intel: Trump calls on Qatar to work toward resolving Gulf dispute

President Donald Trump has asked Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to take steps to resolve the ongoing dispute with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE, which blockaded Qatar in 2017.

Repatriation flights take stranded workers home to Pakistan from UAE

The first flight of 20 special flights to repatriate Pakistanis stranded in the United Arab Emirates left Dubai on Saturday.

United Arab Emirates

UAE exempts coronavirus patients, doctors from Ramadan fast

Religious authorities in the United Arab Emirates have said patients suffering from COVID-19 and doctors treating them are exempt from fasting for Ramadan.

United Arab Emirates

For Gulf, South Asia countries, worst is yet to come

The pandemic is expected to be especially hard on migrant workers in the Mideast and South Asia, as it has left many of them unemployed and struggling to return home to an uncertain future.

Intel: Pompeo and Gulf ministers coordinate on Iran, COVID-19

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo held a flurry of phone calls on Thursday with his counterparts in Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates to discuss Iran and the COVID-19 pandemic.

United Arab Emirates

COVID-19 offers new opportunities for Israel-Arab relations

In secret diplomatic ties or in open posts on social media, Israel reaches out to Arab neighbors battling with the coronavirus.

United Arab Emirates

A Houthi supporter looks on as he carries a weapon during a gathering in Sanaa, Yemen April 2, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed al-Sayaghi - RC2CWF9RBYKA

Yemen’s Houthis seek regional role as part of Axis of Resistance

Iran-backed Ansar Allah may have ambitions well beyond Yemen.

Dubai to reopen some food stores to pre-Ramadan shoppers

UAE grocers will be allowed to briefly reopen ahead of Ramadan, with stores subject to social distancing and sanitation inspection.

United Arab Emirates

Tonnes of medical equipment and coronavirus testing kits provided bt the World Health Organisation are pictured at the al-Maktum International airport in Dubai on March 2, 2020 as it is prepared to be delivered to Iran with a United Arab Emirates military transport plane. (Photo by KARIM SAHIB / AFP) (Photo by KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images)

Saudi Arabia and the UAE’s diverging regional coronavirus strategy

The United Arab Emirates is showing openness to Iran during the coronavirus crisis, which could point to the UAE’s aim to break loose of the policies of its tradition Saudi ally.

Chairman of the House Armed Forces Committee Adam Smith (D-WA) awaits the arrival of Acting U.S. Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford to testify on the Fiscal Year 2020 National Defense Budget Request from the Department of Defense on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., March 26, 2019. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts - RC1BF79E5F30

Intel: Key Democrat says Yemen war restrictions 'on the table' in major defense bill

House Armed Services Chairman Adam Smith, D-Wash., told Al-Monitor today that Democrats are considering renewing last year’s push to cut off US support to the Saudi-led coalition that is fighting Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels as part of Congress’ annual defense authorization bill.

20,000 Pakistanis in UAE stranded by coronavirus lockdown

Travel restrictions aimed at stemming the spread of the novel coronavirus have left thousands of Pakistanis stranded in the United Arab Emirates.

United Arab Emirates

Battle for air supremacy heats up in Libya despite COVID-19 outbreak

The warring parties in Libya are locked in a battle to gain the upper hand in the skies, the outcome of which will determine who grabs the strategic advantage in the conflict.