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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

Iranian president Hassan Rouhani gestures during a news conference in Tehran, Iran, May 22, 2017. TIMA via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. - RTX372F9

Iran questions US pivot back to region as Europe embraces Rouhani

While the United States is increasingly engaged in a war of words with Iran, the bigger story may be the impact Washington’s more hawkish line may have on Europe’s approach toward Tehran and the consequences of a suggested US pivot back to the Middle East not materializing.

TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY PAUL HANDLEY Saudi former al-Qaeda Islamists play volleyball at a rehabilitation center for militants in Riyadh on April 15, 2009. Saudi Arabia set up the pioneering rehabilitation facility three years ago for returnees from the US prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba and for militants arrested inside the country. The care centre is Saudi Arabia's front line for ensuring that Al-Qaeda does not rear its head again, after a series of lethal domestic attacks between 2003 and 2006 forced Riy

Saudis hope to halt extremism with ‘terrorist rehab’

Saudis seek to modify the thoughts and behaviors of former members of terrorist organizations like al-Qaeda and the Islamic State via rehabilitation programs, but some worry it isn't working.

Egypt hopes new residency-for-deposits system will boost investments

Kamal Amer, the head of the Egyptian parliament's National Defense and Security Committee speaks to Al-Monitor about the residency-for-deposits system in Egypt and explains Egypt’s official stance toward the Red Sea islands of Tiran and Sanafir.

U.S. President Donald Trump delivers a speech during Arab-Islamic-American Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia May 21, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTX36UI6

Russia remains unconcerned by Trump's anti-Iran rhetoric

US President Donald Trump tells the Saudis what they want to hear, but Russian experts don't expect him to renege on the Iran deal.

'Fake news' sparks real crisis in the Gulf

Controversial statements reported by Qatar's state news agency and later attributed to a hack have revealed deep tension among members of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

City council employees move flowers from the townhall in Albert Square to St Ann's Square in Manchester, Britain, May 24, 2017. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls - RTX37ERD

Iranian media ties Manchester bombing to Trump’s Saudi visit

Iranian media ties the deadly bombing in Manchester to the West’s relationship with Saudi Arabia.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu talks on a podium as U.S. President Donald Trump listens during a ceremony commemorating the six million Jews killed by the Nazis in the Holocaust, in the Hall of Remembrance at Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem May 23, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RTX376QY

How Trump's visit revamped US Mideast policy

The regional visit of US President Donald Trump revealed that he supports an anti-Iran coalition of Sunni countries and that he is determined to broker a deal between Israel and the Palestinians.

Can US-Sunni alliance lure Baghdad away from Tehran?

With US support, Sunni Arab countries in the Gulf hope to bring Iraq into their fold and away from Iran's powerful grasp.

Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud stands next to U.S. President Donald Trump during a reception ceremony in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, May 20, 2017. Bandar Algaloud/Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. - RTX36OPM

Riyadh, not Trump, holds key to Israel-Palestinian peace

A peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians could be born only out of direct negotiations between Israel and pragmatic Arab leaders, not out of a deal proposed by US President Donald Trump.

Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud welcomes U.S. President Donald Trump during a reception ceremony in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, May 20, 2017. Bandar Algaloud/Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. - RTX36OPZ

Trump goes on Iran-bashing tour

Iran has replaced the Islamic State as Donald Trump’s boogeyman during his first trip abroad, to the delight of the Saudis and Israel.

U.S. President Donald Trump, flanked by Ivanka Trump and White House senior advisor Jared Kushner, delivers remarks to the Arab Islamic American Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia May 21, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RTX36VDD

7 perils of Trump's attempt to isolate Iran

President Donald Trump’s alignment of US foreign policy with that of Saudi Arabia will only serve to exacerbate tension and confrontation in the Middle East.

U.S. President Donald Trump (2nd L) and first lady Melania Trump (3rd L) stand with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (2nd R), his wife Sara (R) and Israel's President Reuven Rivlin (L) upon their arrival at Ben Gurion International Airport in Lod near Tel Aviv, Israel May 22, 2017. REUTERS/Amir Cohen - RTX36ZTW

Will Trump’s Middle East deal work?

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is all in favor of a regional alliance with pragmatic Sunni states, but he will do everything in his power to remove a deal with the Palestinians.