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July 9, 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

Russia, Qatar explore partnership potential

Qatar and Russia both stand to benefit in the Middle East from closer relations: Russia needs Arab street cred and Qatar needs all the friends it can get.

$Her bruised eyes still swollen shut, Buthaina Muhammad Mansour, believed to be four or five, doesn't yet know that her parents, five siblings and uncle were killed when an air strike flattened their home in Yemen's capital. Despite a concussion and skull fractures, doctors think Buthaina will pull through - her family's sole survivor of the Aug 25 attack, on an apartment building, that residents blame on a Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen since 2015. The alliance said in a statement it would investigat$

Pentagon: US refueling cuts civilian deaths in Yemen

US Defense Secretary James Mattis defended the Pentagon’s refueling role in Yemen on Tuesday, saying the plan helps the Saudi-led coalition cut down on civilian casualties in the war-torn country.

Saudi Arabia looks to sports investments to score influence in Egypt

Saudi Arabia has expanded its investment in the sports sector in Egypt by pumping millions into financing clubs and youth sports activities, a move that has triggered public resentment among some who see it as a means of gaining influence.

Saudi crown prince comes under fire as he visits US

As Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman visits the United States, President Trump's pick of John Bolton as national security adviser gets the thumbs-up from the oil-rich desert kingdom.

ARLINGTON, VA - MARCH 22: U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis (L) welcomes Crown Prince Of Saudi Arabia Mohammad Bin Salman (R) during an enhanced honor cordon March 22, 2018 at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman is on a visit in Washington. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Pentagon chief presses for end to Yemen war in meeting with Saudi prince

US Defense Secretary James Mattis called on Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to “accelerate” a peaceful end to the war in Yemen even as Mattis lobbies Congress not to terminate US support for Riyadh’s air campaign against the Houthis.

A Houthi militant holds a blood-stained garment at the site of a Saudi-led air strike, north of Yemen's capital Sanaa, March 8, 2018. REUTERS/Mohamed al-Sayaghi - RC1D17254740

Iran looms large as Congress casts Yemen war vote

The Senate voted on US support for the Saudi-led war against the Houthis for the first time since the war began three years ago.

U.S. President Donald Trump welcomes Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, U.S. March 20, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RC1B9C971E60

Iran, Saudi Arabia in war of words over allegations of aiding al-Qaeda

Iranian officials have once again strongly dismissed Saudi charges that Tehran is aiding al-Qaeda.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani delivers remarks at a news conference during the United Nations General Assembly in New York City, U.S. September 20, 2017. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith - RC1D88E5F060

If Trump will meet with Kim, why not Rouhani?

The White House could signal to Saudi leader Mohammed bin Salman that the time has come to give diplomacy a chance to end the wars in Yemen and Syria.

Saudi Arabia looks to expand its footprint in Iraq

Following decades of setbacks and years of a rift, Saudi Arabia's rapprochement with Iraq and its support for stability there is accelerating, in what is deemed to be a fundamental change in the relations between the two countries.

The path to a nuclear-free Middle East

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should understand that he cannot forge a unified front with Saudi Arabia against the Iran-led Shiite axis while thwarting Saudi plans for commercial nuclear energy.

WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 13: Central Intelligence Agency Director Mike Pompeo testifies before the Senate Intelligence Committee in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill February 13, 2018 in Washington, DC. The intelligence chiefs were called to testify to the committee about 'world wide threats.' (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

State Department shake-up leaves Qatar hanging

President Trump’s ouster of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson knocks out a leading champion for resolving the monthslong Qatar crisis in the Persian Gulf.

Saudi soldiers stand in line at an airfield where Saudi military cargo planes land to deliver aid in Marib, Yemen January 26, 2018. Picture taken January 26, 2018. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser - RC1D0C8D9D00

No end to Yemen war in sight as Saudi Arabia, Iran lock horns

The war in Yemen drags on even as it continues to bleed Saudi Arabia while increasing international pressure on Iran.