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United Arab Emirates

April 23, 2026

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A picture shows the Ras Laffan Industrial City, Qatar's principal site for production of liquefied natural gas and gas-to-liquid, administrated by Qatar Petroleum, some 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of the capital Doha, on Feb. 6, 2017.

Analysis

Gulf energy deals face Iran war stress test as global expansion meets oil shock

ADNOC, Aramco and QatarEnergy have aggressively expanded their international portfolios in recent years, a strategy facing new constraints as the US-Israel-Iran war impacts Gulf production and exposes structural risks.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Haruna Furuhashi /Getty Images

Could UAE tap US currency swap line as Iran war strains Gulf economies?

The Gulf country apparently wanted reassurances from Washington in case its economy is severely damaged by the Iran war.

United Arab Emirates

Abdulla Balalaa, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Energy and Sustainability, United Arab Emirates

Interview

UAE official says opening Hormuz integral to any Iran deal, describes infrastructure damage 'manageable'

Abdulla Balalaa, UAE assistant minister of foreign affairs for energy and sustainability, spoke to Al-Monitor about the situation in the Gulf along with the UAE's focus on promoting privatization in the water sector and the 2026 UN Water Conference.

Latest News

Saudi stocks hit 2026 high, bucking global war-driven volatility

FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images

UAE's deputy PM holds first call with Ghalibaf amid push to extend US-Iran ceasefire

ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

United Arab Emirates

IMF slashes Mideast outlook by nearly 3 points as Iran war hits economies

A man walks through the atrium during the 2026 IMF and World Bank Group Spring Meetings in Washington, DC, on April 14, 2026. (Photo by Kent NISHIMURA / AFP via Getty Images)

China signals bigger Gulf role as UAE crown prince visits Beijing

Chinese Premier Li Qiang meets with Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, in Beijing on April 13, 2026.

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

Sabena Siddiqui

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

Vanessa Ghanem

In Dubai, reporting on business, energy and politics

Mohammed Soliman

In Washington, DC, reporting on Gulf politics

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (R) welcomes General Khalifa Haftar (L), commander in the Libyan National Army (LNA), during a meeting in Moscow, Russia August 14, 2017. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin - RTS1BPNE

Russia weighs its role as arbiter in Libya

As Moscow works to shore up its influence in bringing Libya’s rival governments together, it is examining whether Gen. Khalifa Hifter is more of an asset or a liability.

United Arab Emirates

Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (R) talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, June 19, 2017. Bandar Algaloud/Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RTS17RSB

Saudi Arabia engages Iraq at Iran's dismay

Iraq's rapprochement with Arab Sunni countries including Saudi Arabia is putting increased pressure on Iran.

Iranian pilgrims wait at the Imam Khomeini airport in Tehran as they depart for the annual haj pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca, in Tehran, Iran, July 31, 2017. Nazanin Tabatabaee Yazdi / TIMA via REUTERS. ATTENTION EDITORS ñ THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RTS19T5G

Iranian return to hajj could help end Saudi deadlock

The resumption of Iranian participation in the annual hajj pilgrimage may help pave the way for an end to the diplomatic deadlock between Riyadh and Tehran.

Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry (R) is pictured during a meeting with his Sudanese counterpart Ibrahim Ghandour in Cairo, Egypt June 3, 2017. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany - RTX38ST2

Egypt, Sudan stray further apart over Gulf crisis

Egypt is doubling down on its efforts to convince African countries to take a stance against Qatar, while Sudan decided to take a neutral position over the Gulf crisis.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson delivers remarks on the 2016 International Religious Freedom Annual report at the State Department in Washington, U.S. August 15, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RTS1BW4D

Trump administration presses Middle East on religious freedom

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson committed the United States to fighting for religious liberty around the world with the release of the annual International Religious Freedom Report.

NAJAF, IRAQ - MAY 2: Shiite cleric Sayed Moqtada al-Sadr sits in his offices beneath a portrait of his late father Ayatollah Mohammed Sadeq el-Sadr May 2, 2003 in Najaf, Iraq. A day earlier Iraqi Shiites gathered in the city to mark the anniversary of the death of Mohammed. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

What’s next for GCC-Iraq ties after Sadr's UAE visit?

Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has made trips to Saudi Arabia and the UAE to meet with Gulf leaders, but improving Iraq-GCC ties will be no easy task.

Dismissed governor of the southern Yemeni port city of Aden, Aidaroos al-Zubaidi (R), waves to supporters of the separatist Southern Movement as they demonstrated against recent decisions by President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi that sacked senior officials supported by the United Arab Emirates, including al-Zubaidi in Aden, Yemen May 4, 2017. REUTERS/Fawaz Salman - RTS154Z1

South Yemen leader vows to continue fight against 'rebels' in north

After his return from a tour that included Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt, Aidarous al-Zubaidi, the head of Yemen's South Transitional Council, talks to Al-Monitor about pressing local and regional issues.

Employees work inside the office of the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera network in Jerusalem August 7, 2017. REUTERS/Ammar Awad - RTS1APS5

Al Jazeera gains from Israel’s attempts to close it

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned that Al Jazeera's Jerusalem office will be closed, but this is unlikely to affect the network's work or coverage of the Palestinian-Israeli situation.

Egypt’s outer space ambitions face real world setbacks

While Egyptian officials have said that the country’s first space agency would be launched in September 2018, the law to create it has not been introduced in parliament yet, to many Egyptians' chagrin.

United Arab Emirates

Palestinians take part in a rally in support of Qatar, inside Qatari-funded construction project 'Hamad City', in the southern Gaza Strip, June 9, 2017. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa - RTX39TF1

Gaza set to become scene of Egypt-Qatar tug of war

The Gaza Strip and Hamas are attracting attention from both sides as the Gulf crisis grows, but they might have to choose between longtime supporter Qatar on one side and the UAE, Egypt and Mohammed Dahlan on the other.

United Arab Emirates

Netanyahu's crusade against Al Jazeera in Jerusalem

In an effort to repair the damage to his image caused by the Temple Mount crisis, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that he will attempt to shut down Al Jazeera's Israel bureau, again.

MOSCOW, RUSSIA - APRIL 02: Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) shakes hands with Yemen's President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi during a meeting on April 2, 2013 in Moscow, Russia. Yemen's President is in Russia for his first state visit to the country since his election in 2012. (Photo by Sasha Mordovets/Getty Images)

Moscow's shifting strategy in Yemen

With the recent appointment of Ahmed Salem al-Wahishi as Yemen's ambassador to Russia, Moscow finds itself in a strong position to lead a political solution to the Yemen conflict.