Qatar - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Qatar cover image

Qatar

June 9, 2026

Doha 7:40 am

37°C

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

Mario Tama/Getty Images

Container rates climb as logistic firms scale up Hormuz alternatives

The Drewry World Container Index measuring container shipping prices has soared by more than 40% since the start of the US-Israel-Iran war.

United Arab Emirates

Latest News

Analysis

As Gulf crisis reshapes energy markets, experts warn of new normal

Philippe LOPEZ / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Ports and infrastructure: UAE embraces new economic order in Syria

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrives to attend the second day of the first Syrian-Emirati (United Arab Emirates) Investment Forum, at the People's Palace in Damascus on May 12, 2026. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP via Getty Images)

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

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

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.

Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani attends the opening meeting of the Arab Summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, in the South Sinai governorate, south of Cairo, March 28, 2015. Arab League heads of state are holding a two-day summit to discuss a range of conflicts in the region, including Yemen and Libya, as well as the threat posed by Islamic State militants. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh - RTR4V93X

Can Saudis ease Egypt-Qatar tension after Al Jazeera death sentences?

Saudis want to bridge the divide between Qatar and Egypt so that its Sunni coalition can focus on Iran.

Why are some Palestinians upset over Nakba commemoration?

The organizers of this year's Nakba commemorations faced harsh criticism for their celebratory events on what is typically a solemn occasion.