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

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United Arab Emirates

April 28, 2026

Abu Dhabi 8:25 pm

32°C

Yuichi YAMAZAKI / AFP via Getty Images

First LNG tanker transits Strait of Hormuz since Iran war began

Thomas Kronsteiner/Getty Images)

Breaking | Last Updated: April 28, 2026, 8:54 am

UAE to leave OPEC on May 1

The United Arab Emirates says it will focus more on domestic production amid the US-Israel-Iran war.

United Arab Emirates

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

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

Amid growing economic fallout from the regional war, Abu Dhabi’s bombshell request for a war-time financial lifeline from the United States is less about cash and more about clout — for now.

United Arab Emirates

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

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

A wave of new LNG supplies will be delayed for at least two years due to war-related damage to Qatari energy infrastructure, according the International Energy Agency's latest market update.

Latest News

Analysis

Gulf energy deals face Iran war stress test as global expansion meets oil shock

A picture shows the Ras Laffan Industrial City, Qatar's principal site for production of liquefied natural gas and gas-to-liquid, administrated by Qatar Petroleum, some 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of the capital Doha, on Feb. 6, 2017.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Could UAE tap US currency swap line as Iran war strains Gulf economies?

Haruna Furuhashi /Getty Images

United Arab Emirates

Interview

UAE official says opening Hormuz integral to any Iran deal, describes infrastructure damage 'manageable'

Abdulla Balalaa, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Energy and Sustainability, United Arab Emirates

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

This photograph taken on Sept. 21, 2023, shows a view of a hybrid solar power plant, with solar panels on ground and floating, in southwestern France.

UAE’s Masdar to triple Southeast Asia’s largest floating solar plant

The new agreement between Masdar and Indonesian power utility PLN Nusantara Power will launch Phase II of the Cirata floating solar plant in the Indonesian province of West Java.

United Arab Emirates

Gold bar wrapped in a financial newspaper.

Russia becomes UAE’s top gold supplier as Ukraine sanctions bite

The United Arab Emirates bought 96.4 tons of gold from Russia in 2022, making it Moscow's top gold importer.

United Arab Emirates

AIIB

China development financier AIIB opens first global office in UAE

Bank officials expect that the new Abu Dhabi location will help extend their reach to finance sustainable development projects.

United Arab Emirates

King of Jordan

Highlights: Al-Monitor/Semafor Middle East Global Summit

The Al-Monitor & Semafor inaugural Middle East Global Summit on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meetings on Wednesday brought together the region’s leaders, newsmakers and business heads.

UAE trade minister

UAE eyes Serbia trade deal as CEPA blitz continues

Non-oil trade between the two countries reached $57.6 million in the first half of 2023, surpassing their entire non-oil trade value for the year 2020.

United Arab Emirates

La Mer North marina is seen with the Burj Khalifa and the Dubai skyline seen in the background, United Arab Emirates, Feb. 1, 2020.

UAE revenue jumps 31.8% in 2022

The UAE Ministry of Finance reported a 6.1% increase in expenditure last year compared to 2021, which amounted to around $116.3 billion.

United Arab Emirates

This image shows high-rise buildings in Dubai, on Feb. 18, 2023.

Dubai ranks first in luxury home sales in second quarter: report

Dubai was one of only four markets to see growth in its overall sales volume of luxury homes between Q2 2022 and Q2 2023 at 79%, along with Sydney (46%), Paris (17%) and Geneva (7%).

United Arab Emirates

Captagon

Dubai's $1 billion Captagon bust ranks as one of world’s biggest

Sales of the highly addictive stimulant continue to fund the Syrian government, despite regional efforts to break up smuggling rings.

United Arab Emirates

China's President Xi Jinping (C) talks with United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan (L) at the opening of the G20 Summit in Nusa Dua on the Indonesian resort island of Bali on November 15, 2022. (Photo by BAY ISMOYO / POOL / AFP) (Photo by BAY ISMOYO/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

China's VP meets UAE's Ghubash as BRI summit convenes in Hong Kong

The UAE’s goal at the two-day summit in Hong Kong is to enhance joint trade and investment particularly in areas of new economy, technology, and entrepreneurship.

United Arab Emirates

Francois Nel/Getty Images

Dubai apartment prices soar, spooking expats

The cost of the average apartment in Dubai rose 20% in one year through August.

United Arab Emirates

Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron, China's President Xi Jinping, Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak, head of the Elite Development Patrick Vieira and striker Sergio Kun Aguero during a visit to the City Football Academy on October 23, 2015 in Manchester, England. The President of the People's Republic of China, Xi Jinping and his wife, Madame Peng Liyuan, are paying a State Visit to the United Kingdom as guests of The Queen. They will stay at Buckingham Palace and undertake engagements in Lon

Mubadala opens office in Beijing as UAE-China ties grow

The United Arab Emirates' Mubadala Investment Company began operations in the Chinese capital this week.

Solar panels used to generate renewable energy at the Sustainability Pavilion during a media tour at the Dubai Expo 2020, a week ahead of its public opening, in the United Arab Emirates.

UAE places technology at top of COP28 agenda in Dubai

The UAE Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology, UAE Space Agency and COP28 signed an agreement in July to coordinate on technology-focused sustainable solutions ahead of the major climate change conference in Dubai later this year.

United Arab Emirates