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United Arab Emirates

April 30, 2026

Abu Dhabi 1:18 am

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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.

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Latest News

First LNG tanker transits Strait of Hormuz since Iran war began

Yuichi YAMAZAKI / AFP via Getty Images

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

Israel, UAE agree Emiratis can stay without visas for 90 days

Diplomats from the two Middle East countries also struck agreements on investment and aviation.

United Arab Emirates

First UAE delegation visits Israel amid Palestinian opposition

Palestinians continue to oppose the UAE's normalization with Israel, as UAE and Israeli officials sign agreement on visa-free travel in Tel Aviv today.

United Arab Emirates

An Etihad Airways plane carrying a delegation from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on a first official visit, lands at at Israel's Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, on October 20, 2020. - The UAE delegation left on the country's first official visit to Israel with a string of deals set to be signed after the two countries signed a deal to normalise ties last month. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP) (Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

UAE delegation arrives in Israel

The first official delegation has arrived from the United Arab Emirates to Israel to sign four cooperation agreements, including a visa-exemption treaty.

United Arab Emirates

Israeli Knesset member (MK) Miki Zohar (C) intervenes between Israeli-Arab MK Ayman Odeh (L) and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) following an argument in the main Knesset chamber in Jerusalem on September 11, 2019. - A rare clash erupted between Netanyahu and Joint List Chairman Odeh on September 11 at the Knesset during a discussion ahead of a vote on a controversial, Likud party-sponspored bill to allow cameras in polling booths. (Photo by Gil COHEN-MAGEN / AFP) (Photo credit should read GIL

Israeli-Arab lawmakers reject normalization deal with Emirates

Many Arab-Israelis disagree with the stance taken by the Joint List against the normalization deal with the United Arab Emirates.

United Arab Emirates

As China-Iran talks continue, Beijing keeps up outreach to Gulf

While Iran and China are still working to finalize a 25-year strategic partnership plan, Chinese officials continue to expand bilateral ties with the Gulf, something that could have unexpected implications for Iran-GCC ties.

United Arab Emirates

The Bahraini, Israeli and US flags are picture in front of El Al plane ahead of the flight to Bahrain's capital Manama at Israel's Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv on October 18, 2020, after the two states reached a US-brokered normalisation deal last month. - Israel and Bahrain will officially establish diplomatic relations at a ceremony in Manama, an Israeli official said, after the two states reached a US-brokered normalisation deal last month. (Photo by RONEN ZVULUN / POOL / AFP) (Photo by RONEN ZVULUN/

Virus may restrict first UAE visit to Israeli airport

COVID-19 concerns may keep Emirati diplomats in the airport during their first official visit to Israel, which is experiencing an outbreak.

United Arab Emirates

US President Donald Trump (R) with UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan (L), Bahrain Foreign Minister Abdullatif al-Zayani (2-L) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C) pose for pictures in the colonnade at the White House before the signing of the Abraham Accords where the countries of Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates recognize Israel, in Washington, DC, September 15, 2020. - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the foreign ministers of Bahrain and the United Arab Emirat

Israel’s Cabinet ratifies Abraham Accords

Shortly before the Cabinet approved the normalization agreement with the United Arab Emirates, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan spoke over the phone and agreed to meet "soon."

United Arab Emirates

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (C) participates in a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) meeting in New York on September 28, 2018. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP) (Photo credit should read JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)

As US elections near, GCC states chart middle course between US and China

Former Vice President and Democratic candidate for president Joe Biden's previous statement to make Saudi Arabia a 'pariah' hangs over the region.

For Arab youth, the future is in the Gulf

The most recent Arab Youth Survey shows the United States is gaining ground on Russia and China as perceived "allies."

United Arab Emirates

Israel hopes aviation agreement warms up ties with Jordan

Israel and Jordan sign agreement to allow overflights flights through each other's airspace.

United Arab Emirates

The United Arab Emirates embassy is pictured in the Syrian capital Damascus on December 27, 2018 after its reopening, the latest sign of efforts to bring the Syrian government back into the Arab fold. - The UAE broke ties with Syria in February 2012, as the repression of nationwide protests demanding regime change was escalating into a devastating war. (Photo by Maher AL MOUNES / AFP) (Photo credit should read MAHER AL MOUNES/AFP via Getty Images)

Intel: Oman ambassador returns to Syria

With much of Syria now under Syrian President Basher al-Assad's control, some Arab states are slowly considering the reopening of foreign missions in Damascus.

(L-R) Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas and UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan pose as they visit the Holocaust memorial prior to their historic meeting in Berlin, on October 6, 2020. (Photo by MICHELE TANTUSSI / POOL / AFP) (Photo by MICHELE TANTUSSI/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Israeli, Emirati diplomats meet in Germany

The meeting was the countries' first since signing a normalization agreement last month.

United Arab Emirates