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June 9, 2026

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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

Syrian writer and journalist Samar Yazbek poses on September 26, 2014 in Paris. AFP PHOTO JOEL SAGET (Photo credit should read JOEL SAGET/AFP/Getty Images)

10 Middle Eastern writers you should know

These 10 female writers are challenging conceptions of women in the Middle East.

Alya Ahmed Saif Al-Thani, Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to the UN, speaking on behalf of the Gulf Cooperation Council, addresses the Security Council meeting on the situation in Yemen.

Qatar’s UN ambassador looks to break barriers

H.E. Sheikha Alya Bint Ahmed Bin Saif Al Thani knows how to shake up the status quo but argues that gradual change is the most effective way to advance women in the region.

Qatar's Foreign Minister Khalid bin Mohammed Al Attiyah attends an extraordinary session of the Arab League at the league's headquarters in Cairo July 14, 2014. Egypt launched an initiative on Monday to halt fighting between Israel and Palestinian militants, proposing a ceasefire to be followed by talks in Cairo on settling the conflict in which Gaza authorities say more than 170 people have died. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3YNOY

Qatar rejects Egypt’s war on terrorism

The Egyptian request to carry out, under international cover, airstrikes against Islamic State strongholds in Libya was rejected by Qatar, which reveals the emergence of new alliances in the Middle East.

A Palestinian policeman loyal to Hamas stands guard near burning tyres during a protest by Palestinians calling for reconstruction of their houses that witnesses said were destroyed by Israeli shelling during a 50-day war last summer, outside a United Nations food distribution center in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip February 16, 2015. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CRIME LAW) - RTR4PQSX

Regional events have Hamas in political limbo

Various events and unresolved regional crises have fed Hamas' reluctance to forge regional alliances and take decisive positions on developments in the Arab world.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry testifies before a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on "Authorization for the Use of Military Force Against ISIL" on Capitol Hill in Washington December 9, 2014. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTR4HCK4

Lawmakers prep defense bill, Kerry defends budget

A look at the Middle East issues Congress will be addressing the week of Feb. 23.

Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood protesters make the 'four-fingered salute' during a protest against the Egyptian Defense Minister Abdel Fattah al-Sissi as they mark the third anniversary of revolution, in front of the Egyptian embassy in Amman January 25, 2014. REUTERS/Majed Jaber (JORDAN - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX17U9I

Jordan pressured to restrict Muslim Brotherhood

Some in Jordan believe the government will not break its historical ties with the Muslim Brotherhood, while others say there will be a crackdown on the group to keep Gulf aid flowing into the kingdom.

Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal waves upon arrival at Rafah crossing in the southern Gaza Strip December 7, 2012. Meshaal arrived in the Gaza Strip on Friday, ending 45 years of exile from Palestinian land with a visit that underscored the Islamist group's growing confidence following a recent conflict with Israel. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3BB5G

Hamas leaders prefer Turkish exile to Gaza hardships

Following Qatar's ousting of Hamas' political bureau from the emirate, the group is in search of a new home.

A general view shows the newsroom at the headquarters of the Qatar-based Al Jazeera English-language channel in Doha February 7, 2011. As much as CNN capitalized on its coverage of the 1990-91 Gulf War, Al Jazeera English has won praise for its on-the-spot reporting and context about the Egyptian protests. It will be talking to U.S. cable operators about deals "in the coming days and weeks," Al Anstey, managing director of Al Jazeera's English-language service said in a telephone interview from Qatar. REUTE

Al Jazeera’s Egypt closure deals blow to Muslim Brotherhood

The suspension of Al Jazeera’s Mubasher Misr TV station in the wake of Qatar’s rapprochement with the Egyptian government has cost the Muslim Brotherhood its main media arm in the country.

Airport staff stand next to an EgyptAir plane on the runway at Cairo Airport, September 5, 2013. The ongoing political crisis in Egypt has hit the once vibrant tourism industry hard, devastating a critical part of the country's economy. And with visitors scared away by civil strife in the aftermath of the ouster of President Mohamed Mursi, Egypt's national airliner, EgyptAir has been hit hard by the tourism slowdown. The airline has taken the brunt of losses in the tourism sector, losing billions of pounds

Cairo imposes new restrictions on travelers

Egyptian authorities have implemented new measures to restrict the entry of foreigners and to prevent Egyptians from traveling to politically unfriendly countries like Qatar and Turkey.

An Egyptian woman gestures during a protest against what they say is Qatar's backing of ousted Egyptian president Mohamed Mursi's government, outside the Qatari Embassy in Cairo November 30, 2013. REUTERS/Stringer (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX15Z5S

Egypt-Qatar rapprochement rattles Hamas

Hamas is concerned that the rapprochement between Egypt and Qatar will result in Doha downgrading its ties with the Palestinian Islamist movement.

Iran's Ebrahim Sadeghisenjani (L) fights for the ball with Palestine's Rafat Ayyad (C) and Abdallatif Albahdari during their West Asian Championship soccer match in Tehran August 7, 2008. REUTERS/Fadi Al-Assaad (IRAN) - RTR20Q54

Outrage as Palestinian soccer team cancels friendly with Iran

The Palestinian soccer team canceled a friendly match with Iran, sparking online outrage that it was at the instigation of Iran's competitors.

Israeli attack intensifies Syrian anger, despair

Syrians on social media mock “right to respond”; US says Syrian rebels will not overthrow Assad; Syrian patriarch pleads for peace; Russia steps up diplomacy; Jumblatt sees no future for Assad; Turkey’s shadow government; Qatar and Turkey draw congressional ire over support for Hamas.