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

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United Arab Emirates

September 7, 2026

Abu Dhabi 9:51 am

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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

Latifa_bint_Mohammed_bin_Rashid_Al_Maktoum_by-Tiina-Jauhiainen.jpg

UAE says Princess Latifa 'cared for at home' amid hostage claims

After Sheikha Latifa claimed she was being held hostage, the UN's High Commissioner for Human Rights asked the Emirati government to provide evidence that she is alive.

United Arab Emirates

UAE dismantling base in Eritrea following drawdown in Yemen

Images from The Associated Press show vehicles and structures being removed from the Emirates' military base.

United Arab Emirates

UAE's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash speaks during a press conference in Sudan's capital Khartoum on January 14, 2020. - Gargash arrived in Sudan for a two-day visit. (Photo by ASHRAF SHAZLY / AFP) (Photo by ASHRAF SHAZLY/AFP via Getty Images)

UAE diplomat Gargash replaced in Cabinet reshuffle

Gargash will serve as diplomatic adviser to the Emirati president, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

United Arab Emirates

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - FEBRUARY 09: A man reacts as Hope Probe enters the orbit of Mars at Burj Park on February 09, 2021 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. If successful, the UAE's space program would be the fifth to reach the Martian orbit, after the US, Russia, the EU, and India. (Photo by Francois Nel/Getty Images)

UAE probe reaches Mars' orbit

Hope Probe launched in July and is the first Mars mission conducted by an Arab state.

United Arab Emirates

An Egyptian soldier stands guard during an organised tour for diplomats to mark the 150th anniversary of the inauguration of the Suez Canal, in the northeastern city of Ismailia on November 17, 2019. - One hundred and fifty years after the Suez Canal opened, the international waterway is hugely significant to the economy of modern-day Egypt, which nationalised it in 1956. The canal, dug in the 19th century using "rudimentary tools" and which links the Mediterranean to the Red Sea, was opened to navigation i

Egypt concerned UAE-Israeli pipeline project will affect Suez Canal

Egyptian officials have been expressing concern over the anticipated competition from the Eilat-Ashkelon pipeline project that would transport Emirati oil to Ashkelon in Israel and from there to European markets.

United Arab Emirates

Israel's Netanyahu postpones trip to UAE and Bahrain amid virus surge

The prime minister cited Israel's suspension of flights for pushing back the historic trip to the Gulf.

United Arab Emirates

UAE ambassador confident US F-35 deal will be fulfilled

"You can't … take tools away from your partners who are expected to do more," Ambassador Yousef al-Otaiba said Monday.

United Arab Emirates

Mask-clad employees of Air Arabia wait to assist passengers board the first flight to Sharjah after the resumption of air travel between Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, at Qatar's Hamad International Airport on January 18, 2021. - The first direct flights since 2017 between Qatar and its former rivals Egypt and the UAE took to the skies on January 18, following the end of a regional crisis. The first commercial flight from Qatar to Egypt in three and a half years, an EgyptAir service to Cairo, took off

UK bans travel from UAE

The United Kingdom's decision follows historic highs in daily COVID-19 cases in the United Arab Emirates.

United Arab Emirates

Biden administration pauses arms sales to Gulf pending review

The freeze includes the F-35 deal for the United Arab Emirates and bombs for Saudi Arabia.

Emirati activist held under 'abhorrent' conditions, rights group says

Since his arrest in 2017, Ahmed Mansoor has been held in solitary confinement without access to basic necessities, Human Rights Watch said.

United Arab Emirates

A member of an Israeli tech delegation uses his phone in a video call during an evening meeting with Emirati counterparts at a hotel in Dubai on October 25, 2020. - Israel and the United Arab Emirates agreed on October 19 to visa-free travel, an unprecedented arrangement between Israel and an Arab state, signed after the first ever official UAE delegation landed in Tel Aviv. (Photo by Karim SAHIB / AFP) (Photo by KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images)

Emirati investors highly interested in Israeli high-tech, agro-tech

According to estimates, $1 billion in investments between Israel and the United Arab Emirates were made in the last two months of 2020.

United Arab Emirates

Israel reopens liaison office in Morocco

The mission's reopening comes a month after Israel and Morocco agreed to establish diplomatic and economic ties.

United Arab Emirates