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November 12, 2026

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ankers are seen at the Khor Fakkan Container Terminal, the only natural deep-sea port in the region and one of the major container ports in the Sharjah Emirate, along the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway through which one-fifth of global oil output passes, on June 23, 2025.

Explainer

UAE selling Saudi oil highlights new Gulf energy realities

News surfaced on Nov. 10 that the UAE has reportedly marketed 1.87 million barrels of Saudi crude salvaged from a damaged supertanker for sale, marking an exceptional example of energy cooperation between Gulf rivals.

United Arab Emirates

ANDY BUCHANAN / AFP via Getty Images

GCC to build military command center in Kuwait as region simmers: What to know

GCC countries have stepped up their joint defense efforts with the announcement of a new forward command center to be headquartered in Kuwait, as tensions between Iran and the US continue to escalate.

Latest News

Analysis

Syria denies sending troops to fight Houthis in return for Saudi loans

Saudi Arabia's Deputy Foreign Minister Waleed el-Khereiji (R) speaks with Syria's interim foreign minister Asaad al-Shaibani

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Iraq, Saudi Arabia face attacks as Trump pursues Iran deal

Samuel Corum/Getty Images

Analysis

Gulf’s $3 trillion US investment drive faces post-midterm Trump reckoning

WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 18: Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia and U.S. President Donald Trump shake hands during a dinner in the East Room at the White House on November 18, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump is hosting the Crown Prince for meetings aimed at strengthening economic and defense ties, including the U.S. sale of F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Samuel Wendel

Senior Analyst, Middle East Business & Tech

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

Placards can be seen outside the embassy as people protest against the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey outside the Saudi Arabian Embassy in London, Britain, October 26 2018. REUTERS/Simon Dawson - RC1CC0BA7F80

Congress struggles to sanction Saudis for Khashoggi murder

Faced with opposition from the White House and Senate Republican leadership, Congress is struggling to pass Saudi sanctions legislation.

Newly recruited troops of the UAE-backed separatist Southern Transitional Council are seen on a vehicle during their graduation in Aden, Yemen July 23, 2019. REUTERS/Fawaz Salman - RC1A52E65510

UAE faces growing resentment in southern Yemen

The United Arab Emirates is cutting back its forces in Yemen for a variety of reasons, though not exiting entirely, leaving Saudi Arabia to fill in at some strategic sites such as Aden and Perim Island to secure the Bab el-Mandeb Strait’s lucrative shipping lanes.

US Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, questions US Secretary of the Army Mark Esper, nominee to be Secretary of Defense, during a Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, July 16, 2019. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP) (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)

Intel: Why 5 Democratic presidential hopefuls just rebelled against Trump’s new defense secretary

An overwhelming bipartisan majority of the Senate voted 90-8 Tuesday to confirm former Army Secretary Mark Esper as President Donald Trump’s new defense secretary.

US troops return to Saudi Arabia after 16 years

US troops are returning to Saudi Arabia for the first time in 16 years as tensions with Iran rise and the kingdom finds itself increasingly isolated in Yemen.

Defense Secretary nominee Mark Esper testifies before a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on his nomination in Washington, U.S. July 16, 2019. REUTERS/Erin Scott - RC14D3AE8B30

Trump’s defense pick calls for US-led pact to deter Iran

Army Secretary Mark Esper, auditioning for the Pentagon’s top job Tuesday, called on allies to join the United States in fighting Iranian malfeasance in the Gulf.

Militants from the band organization Baloch Liberation Army and United Baloch Army, sit before hand over their weapons to Chieftain of Marri tribe and Pakistan's provincial minister Nawab Changaiz Marri during a surrender ceremony in Quetta on October 29, 2015. A total of 23 militants belonging to Marri tribe have surrendered to authorities with weapons in Quetta the capital of Pakistans restive southwestern province of Balochistan. AFP PHOTO/Banaras KHAN (Photo credit should read BANARAS KHAN/AFP/Ge

US ban on anti-Iran militant group could have wide-ranging impact

By expanding its terrorist watchlist, Washington is potentially making Iran, Pakistan and China happy.

Qatar, Jordan to appoint new ambassadors following diplomatic row

Jordan and Qatar are set to appoint their respective ambassadors to Amman and Doha after more than two years of diplomatic row.

For faith or money: Why Gazans are eager to perform umrah

Many Palestinians in the Gaza Strip leave the coastal enclave on a pilgrimage trip to Saudi Arabia and never come back.

(FILE) A picture taken on January 14, 2014 through the window of an airplane shows the Red Sea's Tiran (foreground) and the Sanafir (background) islands in the Strait of Tiran between Egypt's Sinai Peninsula and Saudi Arabia.
Saudi King Salman on April 11, 2016 wrapped up a landmark five-day visit to Egypt marked by lavish praise and multi-billion-dollar investment deals, in a clear sign of support for President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's regime. Egypt also agreed during the visit to demarcate its maritime bord

Egypt-Saudi Arabia maritime demarcation agreement makes headlines again

The governor of the Red Sea in Egypt revealed great gains for the Egyptian economy unknown by those opposing the controversial maritime border demarcation agreement with Saudi Arabia.

Houthis taking battle to Saudis with upgraded weapons cache

It's unclear whether Iran is providing weapons to the Houthis in Yemen, but whatever the source, the rebels are making good use of bomb-laden drones and even missiles.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during family photo session with other leaders and attendees at the G20 leaders summit in Osaka, Japan, June 28, 2019. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RC187E92FB00

Trump critics rethink US policy toward Saudi Arabia

A change in direction of US policy toward the Saudis should be part of a broader change in policy to the region, especially regarding Iran.

Gulf states divided in approach to Iran-US escalation

Not having faced a direct threat from Iran in the last few decades, the position of Oman, Kuwait and Qatar in the current tensions with Iran is that of peaceful negotations, rather than military intervention.