United Arab Emirates - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

UAE cover image

United Arab Emirates

April 29, 2026

Abu Dhabi 4:12 pm

34°C

GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

UAE’s OPEC exit rattles cartel as Gulf alliances shift

OPEC's fourth-largest producer will leave the cartel on May 1, marking the most significant departure in the group’s history as the war changes Abu Dhabi's relationship priorities.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

MUMEN KHATIB/AFP via Getty Images

Why UAE's decision to leave OPEC is major shift for cartel

The UAE accounts for 12% of OPEC's output, but tensions had been simmering over intragroup rivalries and the country wanting to export more oil.

United Arab Emirates

Yuichi YAMAZAKI / AFP via Getty Images

First LNG tanker transits Strait of Hormuz since Iran war began

Latest News

UAE to leave OPEC on May 1

Thomas Kronsteiner/Getty Images)

United Arab Emirates

UAE’s cash request tests US ties as Iran war strains Gulf financial muscle

A view of Dubai Marina in Dubai on March 3, 2026.

United Arab Emirates

IEA delivers grim gas supply forecast as oil notches 15% weekly rise

A liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker is moored at a LNG berth in Kawasaki, Kanagawa, prefecture April 8, 2026.

Samuel Wendel

Senior Market Research Analyst

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

U.S. President Barack Obama meets with Saudi Arabia's King Salman (R) at Erga Palace in Riyadh, January 27, 2015. Obama is stopping in Saudi Arabia on his way back to Washington from India to pay his condolences over the death of King Abdullah and to hold bilateral meetings with King Salman. REUTERS/Jim Bourg (SAUDI ARABIA - Tags: POLITICS ROYALS) - RTR4N551

What Obama should say to King Salman during his visit

The inaugural visit of Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud to Washington offers US President Barack Obama a unique opportunity to address the long-standing tensions and rivalry between Iran, Iraq and the GCC states.

Iranian ambassador to the UAE: Iran wants to remove tensions with neighbors

Mohammad Reza Fayyaz, the Iranian ambassador to the UAE, blames Saudi Arabia for many of the problems in the region.

A part of a window frame is seen in front of government compound, destroyed by recent Saudi-led air strikes, in Yemen's northwestern city of Amran July 27, 2015. Yemen's Houthi group carried on fighting across Yemen on Monday despite a ceasefire announcement by its Saudi-led foes, and media controlled by the Iran-allied movement acknowledged that its forces had shelled targets inside Saudi Arabia. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah - RTX1LZDB

Yemen war escalates

The Yemeni people are paying a frightful toll as Saudi Arabia and its allies escalate the war in the country.

Lobbying 2015: UAE asserts itself with record-smashing lobby blitz

The United Arab Emirates spent a record $12.7 million last year to face down criticism from Islamists and US airlines.

United Arab Emirates

Shi'ite fighters from Hashid Shaabi forces walk with their weapons at the front line at the Shi'ite Turkman village of Bashir, 20km south of Kirkuk, March 14, 2015. Kurdish peshmerga forces, backed by Shi'ite militia fighters, have been attacking Islamic State-held towns and villages south and west of the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, peshmerga sources said. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT POLITICS MILITARY) - RTR4TCDN

Leaked cables show Gulf leery of Shiite expansion

The Gulf states are concerned about the growing influence of Shiites in neighboring countries, expressing their fears of the relations established between the Shiites of Iran and Iraq and their own Shiite communities.

A helicopter from the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) hovers over an Iranian patrol ship during a transit through the Strait of Hormuz, February 14, 2012. REUTERS/Jumana El Heloueh (GULF - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) - RTR2XU5R

How security in Strait of Hormuz brings US, Iran closer

Gulf and international security are closely linked to the security of the Strait of Hormuz, which is currently facing many challenges that require a joint action between all affected countries.

Police officers walk during the Arabian Travel Market exhibition in Dubai May 6, 2013. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah (UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - Tags: CRIME LAW TRAVEL BUSINESS) - RTXZCAO

How security forces keep critics quiet in 'progressive' UAE

The enigmatic UAE security forces have perfected the art of silencing critics and created an environment in which nearly everyone is afraid to say anything remotely resembling criticism of the government.

United Arab Emirates

Committee Chairman Representative Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) (L) presides over a House Financial Services Committee hearing on the Export-Import Bank's reauthorization, on Capitol Hill in Washington June 3, 2015. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RTR4YP2O

Gulf countries rake in billions in Ex-Im Bank subsidies

Several Middle East nations are taking full advantage of a US export financing program whose loans and guarantees supporters say create American jobs and critics claim undermine the US economy. Scroll down to see our interactive table.

Sheikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, UAE Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, arrives during the opening of the Abu Dhabi Film Festival October 11, 2012. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah (UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - Tags: ENTERTAINMENT EDUCATION POLITICS) - RTR39114

What happened to the Abu Dhabi Film Festival?

The Abu Dhabi Film Festival has been unexpectedly canceled, begging questions about the reasons behind the decision and its impact on the film industry in the region.

United Arab Emirates

Helicopters fly from the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) during a resupply mission with the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) in this U.S. Navy handout picture taken in the Gulf of Oman April 13, 2015 and released April 20, 2015. The U.S. Navy sent the carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt and its escort cruiser, USS Normandy, from the Gulf into the Arabian Sea on Sunday. Army Colonel Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman, denied reports the ships were on a mission to intercept Iranian arms

GCC won’t get written defense guarantees at Camp David

Former Pentagon official says formal defense treaty with GCC is “not in the cards” at next week’s summit.

Morocco battles Islamic State cells

After attacks in neighboring Tunisia, Morocco is doing all it can to crack down on Islamic State sympathizers.

United Arab Emirates

Bahamas Prime Minister Perry Christie (L) looks on as US Vice President Joseph R. Biden (C) and Amos J. Hochstein, US State Department Special Envoy and Coordinator for International Energy Affairs, talk before the Caribbean Energy Security Initiative Luncheon during the Caribbean Energy Security Summit at the US Department of States January 26, 2015 in Washington, DC. Leaders from around the Caribbean attended the summit to discuss energy and regional issues. AFP PHOTO/BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI (Photo cre

Price impact of Iranian oil uncertain, says US official

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Amos Hochstein, special envoy and coordinator for International Energy Affairs at the US State Department, says Middle Eastern countries are increasingly investing in renewables, international oil companies are returning to Egypt and Israel needs get its regulatory house in order if it wants foreign investments in offshore natural gas.