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August 1, 2026

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Explainer

Qatar launches diamond exchange as Hormuz crisis chokes LNG exports

Qatar's new diamond exchange is an effort to diversify from the country's main exports, LNG and petroleum products, which have been severely cut as a result of the Iran war and the Strait of Hormuz crisis.

A ship sails off the coast of Ajman on July 10, 2026.

Interview

Why Strait of Hormuz no longer rattles oil markets as much: IMF

The fund's Middle East director, Jihad Azour, told Al-Monitor that the big Gulf energy producers now have more capacity to absorb the shock.

Jihad Azour

Jihad Azour

Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the International Monetary Fund

Latest News

Oil soars more than 6% as Trump rules out Iran deal, threatens more strikes

A cargo ship is pictured off coast of the Khor Fakkan Container Terminal, the only natural deep-sea port in the region and one of the major container ports in Sharjah Emirate, along the Gulf of Oman on June 28, 2026.

Samuel Wendel

Senior Market Research Analyst

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Vanessa Ghanem

In Dubai, reporting on business, energy and politics

Karen Young

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional energy

Reve Chaaban

In Doha reporting on culture

Qatar's Energy Minister and CEO of QatarEnergy Saad Sherida al-Kaabi speaks during a press conference in Doha on June 22, 2026.

Explainer

Qatar blast underscores challenges in race to restart Gulf energy flows

The deadly explosion marks an early test of Gulf efforts to revive oil and gas production following a historic energy supply shock caused by the US-Israel-Iran war.

A picture taken on June 5, 2017, shows a man walking past the Qatar National Bank branch in the Saudi capital Riyadh.

Gulf investment to turn inward to rebuild postwar infrastructure: QNB

Charles-Emmanuel de Beauregard, Qatar National Bank’s head of corporate and institutional banking, said that the Gulf countries will need to rebuild their logistics capabilities after the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Aluminum from Dubai sits in the BMW Landshut factory on Oct. 25, 2024 in Ergolding, Germany.

Analysis

Gulf aluminum pursues global deals as Hormuz crisis accelerates shift

Gulf aluminum exporters are targeting global deals amid fallout from the US-Israel-Iran war, which has pushed prices to multiyear highs in early June.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Vessels are seen anchored in the Strait of Hormuz, off the port city of Khasab on Oman's northern Musandam Peninsula, on May 17, 2026.

Analysis

Turkey pushes Iraq, Syria trade routes as Hormuz crisis disrupts Gulf shipping

Turkey is using the Hormuz crisis to promote Iraq- and Syria-based Gulf-Europe corridors, but experts say the routes remain too costly, underbuilt and politically fragile to rival maritime shipping.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security