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July 6, 2026

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Oil tankers and cargo vessels are anchored off the coast of Oman after being stranded for days as congestion at Port Sultan Qaboos has prevented them from docking on June 23, 2026 in Muscat, Oman. The Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route for the region's oil and gas, was effectively blockaded since the outbreak of war between the United States and Iran in late February. This week's provisional peace deal between the countries was meant to reopen the waterway to shipping traffic, but the pace of that reo

Oil prices ease as OPEC+ increases production, Hormuz traffic rebounds

Brent crude, the international benchmark, fell 0.15% to $71.87 a barrel as of 8:07 a.m. EDT after dropping as low as $71.09 earlier in the session, its lowest level since before the US-Israel-Iran war began on Feb. 28.

A man walks past the flags of the countries attending the Gulf Cooperation Council summit at Bayan palace in Kuwait City on Dec. 5, 2017.

Analysis

How Iran war shaped divergent paths to security among GCC states

The Iran war left the Gulf more fragmented than united, with competing security strategies replacing any prospect of a common regional defense.

Sabena Siddiqui

By Sabena Siddiqui

In Karachi, reporting on South Asia, Middle East, Iran

Oil drilling near Dakhiliyah in the desert region of Hasakah, Syria, Jan. 25, 2026.

Syria launches gas project with Saudi firm in latest Gulf energy partnership

The project is the latest in a series of Gulf-backed investments aimed at rebuilding Syria's energy sector after the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.

Crude oil tankers, bulk carriers and vessels sit anchored around Qaboos Port on June 22, 2026, in Muscat, Oman.

Oil falls below $71 as US-Iran talks continue, Gulf exports rebound

Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson said in an X post on Wednesday that Iran and the United States had made "positive progress."

Latest News

Explainer

Saudi FM concludes China visit amid Trump-MBS friction: What to know

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) shakes hands with Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud before a family photo for the attendees of a meeting of foreign ministers from Arab and Muslim-majority nations at the Diaoyutai State Guest House in Beijing on November 20, 2023. The international community must take urgent action to stop the "humanitarian disaster" unfolding in Gaza, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told visiting diplomats from Arab and Muslim-majority nations on Novembe

Saudi Arabia's FM heads to China amid differences with US on Iran war

PEDRO PARDO/AFP via Getty Images

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

Francesco Schiavi

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

Sabena Siddiqui

In Karachi, reporting on South Asia, Middle East, Iran

Vanessa Ghanem

In Dubai, reporting on business, energy and politics

People enter the State Department Building in Washington, U.S., January 26, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts - RC1D48272C00

Intel: US rescinds ban on British defense firm implicated in Saudi weapons fraud

The US State Department is rescinding a 9-year-old policy that barred it from doing business with the Saudi subsidiary of a British defense firm, which pled guilty to fraud in a multibillion-dollar arms deal in 2010.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks the press at the State Department in Washington, DC, on May 20, 2020. (Photo by NICHOLAS KAMM / POOL / AFP) (Photo by NICHOLAS KAMM/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Intel: Pompeo refused interview on Saudi arms sale investigation before firing Linick

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo refused to give an interview for State Department Inspector General Steve Linick’s investigation into a massive Saudi arms sale deal before asking President Donald Trump to fire the watchdog, Al-Monitor has learned.

Residents hang their laundry off the railing on their balconies at their apartment building, to disinfect them under sunlight, in the city of Dubai on May 17, 2020, during the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by Karim SAHIB / AFP) (Photo by KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images)

Gulf countries increase virus-related restrictions after new cases

The United Arab Emirates and Qatar registered more than 2,000 coronavirus cases between the two of them on Monday alone.

The sun is seen behind high-voltage power lines and electricity pylons at a highway northeast of Cairo, Egypt, March 13, 2019. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh - RC19CACD69D0

Egypt to export electricity to Saudi Arabia

An interconnection power line between Egypt and Saudi Arabia is expected to generate important economic benefits for Egypt and boost its aspiration to become a regional energy hub.

Intel: Saudi arms sale probe factored in Trump's firing of watchdog

President Donald Trump fired State Department Inspector General Steve Linick last week in part because of an investigation into an $8 billion emergency arms sales for Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, a source on Capitol Hill told Al-Monitor.

Iraqi series produced by Saudi Arabia sparks controversy

Some TV programs on Saudi-funded channels have sparked controversy among Iraqis.

Gulf’s megaprojects face delays, reassessment

Saudi Arabia has cut capital expenditure for a number of Vision 2030 projects amid a drop in oil prices and Chinese investment. Will other Gulf states follow suit?

TOPSHOT - Fighters from of the Southern Transitional Council (STC) fire towards the positions of Saudi-backed government forces during clashes in the Sheikh Salim area in the southern Abyan province on May 11, 2020. (Photo by Nabil HASAN / AFP) (Photo by NABIL HASAN/AFP via Getty Images)

South Yemen in tumult as Yemen government, separatists face off in Abyan

Saudi-backed government forces in Yemen launched an offensive in the southern province of Abyan against UAE-backed southern secessionists who declared self-rule in the southern governorates last month.

Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Barry (DDG 52) launches a Tomahawk missile in support of Operation Odyssey Dawn in the Mediterranean Sea in this handout photo March 19, 2011. This was one of approximately 110 cruise missiles fired from U.S. and British ships and submarines that targeted about 20 radar and anti-aircraft sites along Libya's Mediterranean coast. Joint Task Force Odyssey Dawn is the U.S. Africa Command task force established to provide operational and tactical command and contr

Intel: US contracts Boeing to build new cruise missiles for Saudi Arabia, Qatar

The US Navy awarded Boeing a nearly $2 billion contract Wednesday to provide Saudi Arabia with 650 new land attack cruise missiles, as well as to upgrade existing ones by the end of 2028.

An investor walks past a screen displaying stock information at the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia June 29, 2016. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser - S1AETMRJVXAC

Have taxes killed GCC economic integration?

Saudi Arabia's recent decision to increase its value-added tax by 200% could spell the end of chances for regional economic integration and policy coordination.

A delivery man wearing a protective face mask rides his bicycle, amid fear of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Sanaa, Yemen April 10, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed al-Sayaghi - RC2Q1G92ES6L

Report: Yemen has more coronavirus cases than official numbers show

Houthi authorities have not reported test results for many suspected coronavirus cases, news organizations say.

An employee rides a bicycle next to oil tanks at Saudi Aramco oil facility in Abqaiq, Saudi Arabia October 12, 2019. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov - RC23VF99O3SV

Saudi Aramco first-quarter revenues fall

The state-owned company still had a profit of $16.7 billion and gave its shareholders a big payout.