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January 14, 2026

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A Patriot missile battery is seen near Prince Sultan air base at al-Kharj on Feb. 20, 2020.

CENTCOM opens air defense cell at Qatar's Al Udeid base: What to know

Bringing together military officers from regional countries to coordinate air and missile defense marks a nascent step in CENTCOM’s decades-long push to diplomatically facilitate air defense cooperation between Gulf states against Iran.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro (R) gestures next to Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani (L) during a meeting at the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas on November 25, 2015. AFP PHOTO/JUAN BARRETO / AFP / JUAN BARRETO (Photo credit should read JUAN BARRETO/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

With central role for Qatar, can Gulf states mediate between US and Venezuela?

Venezuela's ties improved with Gulf states under Maduro, and some in the region voiced concern about the US operation.

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

Latest News

Gulf accounted for 43% of global sovereign wealth fund investment in 2025

Yasir Al-Rumayyan, head of the Public Investment Fund, Saudi Arabia's influential sovereign wealth fund, addresses the opening ceremony of the Future Investment Initiative, in Riyadh, on Oct. 28, 2025.

Analysis

Middle East adapts to Trump’s tech agenda as Gulf AI gamble grows in 2025

Guests stand at the booth of Saudi AI company Humain during the Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh on Oct. 29, 2025.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Analysis

Gulf finance hubs race to expand as hedge funds flock to Dubai, Abu Dhabi

Traffic moves on Sheikh Zayed Road in Dubai on March 24, 2025.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Samuel Wendel

Senior Market Research Analyst

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Sebastian Castelier

In Dubai, reporting on regional business

Jennifer Gnana

Gulf Correspondent

In Dubai, reporting on Gulf energy policy and politics

Vanessa Ghanem

In Dubai, reporting on business, energy and politics

Kate Dourian

In Dubai, reporting on energy

Karen Young

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional energy

Bahrain's Prime Minister Prince Khalifa Bin Salman al-Khalifa attends a meeting during the Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) summit at the Foreign Ministry in Bangkok, Thailand, October 10, 2016. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha - RTSRK1T

Who in the GCC wants a union?

Gulf Cooperation Council states consider transforming into a union to arm themselves against Iran’s increasing dominance and the growing instability in the Middle East.

Tunisia's President Moncef Marzouki (R) and Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani listen to their national anthems during a welcome ceremony in Tunis April 3, 2014. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi (TUNISIA - Tags: POLITICS ROYALS) - RTR3JUGT

Qatar steps up its involvement in Tunisia with investment conference

The Arab Spring’s nascent democracy is the latest theater where Gulf state rivalries are playing out.

United Arab Emirates

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump speaks at his election night rally in Manhattan, New York, U.S., November 9, 2016. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTX2SPX6

Trump win further distances US from GCC on Syria

The Gulf Cooperation Council anxiously awaits to see how US President-elect Donald Trump plans to deal with the uncertainties surrounding US Middle East policies.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu attends a meeting with Foreign Ministers of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, October 13, 2016. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTSS3HN

Does a UAE-Turkish rapprochement worry Egypt?

The UAE has grown closer to Turkey in the past month on policies related to Iran and Syria.

Assistant Treasury Secretary for Terrorist Financing Daniel Glaser testifies before a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on the situation in Ukraine on Capitol Hill in Washington on May 6, 2014. AFP PHOTO/Nicholas KAMM (Photo credit should read NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images)

US Treasury official praises Saudi cooperation against terror funding

Assistant Treasury Secretary Daniel Glaser says there has been substantial progress reducing funds amassed by the Islamic State, but warns that IS could seek external financing if it loses its "caliphate" in Iraq and Syria.

Palestinian Hamas leader in Gaza Ismail Haniyeh waves to his supporters during an anti-Israeli rally in Gaza city April 28, 2016. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem - RTX2C2YQ

Qatar or Iran: Who will save Hamas?

The Hamas delegation will split forces after performing the hajj in Mecca, with Ismail Haniyeh heading to Qatar and Mahmoud al-Zahar visiting Iran.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (L) gestures as Fatah strongman and lawmaker Mohammed Dahlan looks on (R) after meeting with British Prime Minister Tony Blair at the Palestinian Authority headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah December 18, 2006. Abbas told Blair on Monday he would push on with plans for early elections despite bitter opposition from the Hamas government. Blair said it was critical that the international community supported the moderate Abbas in the coming weeks. REUTERS/Eliana A

What it would cost Abbas to reconcile with Dahlan

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is being pressured by a group of Arab states to reconcile with former Fatah member Mohammed Dahlan and by Qatar not to do so.

The car carrying Qatar's Amir Sheikh Tameem bin Hamad Al Thani arrives on the South Lawn as U.S. President Barack Obama plays host to leaders and delegations from the Gulf Cooperation Council countries at the White House in Washington May 13, 2015. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RTX1CV83

Lobbying 2016: Qatar spends big to counter charges of lax stance on terror

United Nations Middle East peace envoy Nickolay Mladenov (R) and Qatari Mohammed al-Emadi (2nd L), of the National Committee for the Reconstruction of Gaza, visit a project financed by Qatari company Al-Emadi on September 17, 2015 in Gaza City. AFP PHOTO / MOHAMMED ABED (Photo credit should read MOHAMMED ABED/AFP/Getty Images)

Why the PA wants to stay on good terms with Qatar

The Qatari ambassador to Palestine stayed in the Gaza Strip for three weeks, holding banquets, visiting various institutions and making donations, with mixed reactions from Palestinian factions.

Palestinian Hamas-hired employees shout slogans after breaking past the gate of the Palestinian cabinet headquarters to demand their pay, in Gaza City January 13, 2015. The Palestinian unity government, based in the West Bank city of Ramallah, infuriated public workers on Hamas's payroll by saying it would vet them before paying out salaries - a process that could take months. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS SOCIETY BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT) - RTR4L86Z

Why were 3,000 Gazans excluded from Qatari grant to pay salaries?

Hamas is accusing the Ramallah government of tampering with the list of Gazan government workers who were supposed to receive payment as part of a recent grant from Qatar.

Posters depicting Qatar's former Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani (R) and Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani (L) are seen on a building as a Palestinian man holding his son waves during the opening ceremony of Qatari-funded construction project "Hamad City", in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip January 16, 2016. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa - RTX22NS9

Gazans rejoice as Qatar vows to pay one month of full salaries

Qatar has announced that it will provide about $31 million to the Gaza Strip, enough to cover one month's salary for Gaza's civil servants, who hope the aid will bypass the banks to avoid deductions for outstanding debts.

Senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh (R) shakes hands with Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah at Haniyeh's house in Gaza City October 9, 2014. Hamdallah arrived in the Hamas-dominated Gaza Strip on Thursday and convened the first meeting of a unity government there since a brief civil war in 2007 between Hamas and forces loyal to the Fatah party. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR49J7M

Did Egypt obstruct Qatar's efforts for Fatah-Hamas reconciliation?

The latest Palestinian reconciliation efforts between Fatah and Hamas hosted by Qatar have failed, but the reason may have come from outside the talks.