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

UAE cover image

United Arab Emirates

June 30, 2026

Abu Dhabi 6:17 pm

32°C

Brahmos replicas are displayed during India's 60th Republic Day parade, Jan. 26, 2009, New Delhi.

Analysis

Why the UAE wants Indian missiles and a deeper strategic partnership

Talks on BrahMos cruise missiles and the Akashteer air defense network highlight Abu Dhabi’s effort to diversify military partnerships and reshape its postwar security strategy.

Francesco Schiavi

By Francesco Schiavi

In Bologna, reporting on security, defense, economy, governance

FADEL SENNA/AFP via Getty Images

Explainer

Gulf states push incentives for investors, expats after war dents image

Several Gulf states are working to recover their images as global havens of stability in the wake of the Iran war.

United Arab Emirates

Latest News

Explainer

After UAE and Qatar, could Iraq be next to leave OPEC?

A worker at a market for fuel oil and automotive fuel on March 17, 2026, in Erbil, Iraq.

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

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 21: Special counsel Robert Mueller (C) leaves after a closed meeting with members of the Senate Judiciary Committee June 21, 2017 at the Capitol in Washington, DC. The committee meets with Mueller to discuss the firing of former FBI Director James Comey. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

The dealmaker: Mueller witness helped broker $4.2 billion Iraq-Russia arms deal

Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s latest interest, Lebanese-American businessman George Nader, has a long history of mysterious dealings in the Middle East despite a low profile in Washington.

United Arab Emirates

Smoke rises after an airstrike on the military site in Sanaa, Yemen January 11, 2018. REUTERS/Mohamed al-Sayaghi - RC142F21CA80

US still pouring weapons into Yemen war

The United States sold Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates more than $650 million in weapons last year for their war against the Houthis, according to a new report.

Mohammed Dahlan, a former Fatah security chief, gestures in his office in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates October 18, 2016. Picture taken October 18, 2016. REUTERS/Stringer - S1AEUJEJBIAA

Dahlan encouraged to form Palestinian party outside Fatah

Despite his reluctance, dismissed Fatah leader Mohammed Dahlan is getting support from other countries to challenge Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin (R) approaches to shake hands with Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani during a meeting in Moscow, Russia, January 18, 2016. REUTERS/Yuri Kochetkov/Pool - GF20000098937

Russia, Qatar move forward on military cooperation

The Kremlin tightens its military relationship with Qatar, with Doha finalizing the purchase of S-400 air missile defense systems from Russia.

A Palestinian woman sits on a donkey car after receiving food supplies from the United Nations' offices in the southern Gaza Strip February 11, 2018. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa - RC11BF8E4BA0

Will the crisis in Gaza finally force Israel to lift its siege?

Qatar and the UAE have donated money to ease the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, but such assistance will likely only postpone an implosion in the absence of arriving at a solution to the enclave's isolation and lifting of the Israeli blockade.

United Arab Emirates

Will Iraq's Sunnis get own political-religious authority?

Some Sunni groups are seeking to establish a unified religious leadership, setting Sunnis up to play a stronger role in the upcoming elections.

Congress skeptical of Saudi nuclear energy demands

Lawmakers are making it clear that any proposal to share civilian nuclear technology with Saudi Arabia must include robust nonproliferation safeguards.

Anxious Turkish investors eyeing opportunities abroad

Mounting political tensions, uncertainties and declining rule of law in Turkey are pushing Turkish entrepreneurs to consider investing abroad.

United Arab Emirates

Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi attends the Dialogue of Emerging Market and Developing Countries in Xiamen in southeastern China’s Fujian Province, Sept. 5, 2017. REUTERS/Mark Schiefelbein/Pool - RC171B1A3CC0

What’s behind Sisi’s recent trip to Oman?

While Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is calling on Tehran and Riyadh to cool their tensions, Egypt is strengthening its ties to Oman, which has become a stable and trustworthy ally.

Saudi, UAE involvement in eastern Yemen unsettles Oman

Reports that Saudi Arabia is planning to militarize its presence in Yemen’s easternmost governorate have raised security concerns in neighboring Oman.

Yemeni Foreign Minister Abdel-Malek al-Mekhlafi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrive for a joint news conference following their meeting in Moscow, Russia January 22, 2018. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov - UP1EE1M0TSQ8N

What role will Moscow assume in Yemen's civil war?

Russia is expanding its reputation as a mediator in various conflicts and could wield its influence in Yemen to bring both sides to the negotiating table.

United Arab Emirates

Supporters of the Transitional Southern Council attend a rally to demand the secession of south Yemen, in the southern port city of Aden, Yemen July 7, 2017. REUTERS/Fawaz Salman - RC129FE53400

Yemen’s southern separatists take case to Congress

Yemen’s UAE-backed secessionists have hired a US lobby firm to build support for their cause as they threaten to overthrow the UN-backed government in Aden.

United Arab Emirates