United Arab Emirates - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

UAE cover image

United Arab Emirates

August 16, 2026

Abu Dhabi 12:58 am

34°C

port attack

Hormuz traffic sinks to one-week low as ships attacked, talks stagnate

The United States and Yemen's Houthi rebels carried out separate attacks on commercial ships on Tuesday in the Gulf of Oman and the Red Sea.

Building construction at the Red Sea in Egypt.

Explainer

UAE-Egypt ties keep growing as Cairo navigates shifting Gulf landscape

An Emirati investor could soon strike a $2.7 billion deal to develop another tourism project on Egypt's North Coast, the latest in a string of UAE-linked pacts that have continued advancing despite turmoil from the US-Iran war.

Latest News

Analysis

Amid realignment with Egypt, Turkey steps up support for Sudan’s Burhan

Sudan's de facto leader and armed forces chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan greets supporters in Port Sudan, Dec. 29, 2024.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Oil jumps 8% as US-Iran war pressures Saudi Arabia, explosions hit Egypt

A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on July 24, 2026, in New York.

Analysis

How Gulf banks are absorbing Iran war shocks

A man counts Saudi riyal banknotes in the capital, Riyadh, Oct. 3, 2016.

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

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

Will Bahrain, Israel establish formal relations in 2018?

Bahrain could become the first Gulf Cooperation Council member to establish official diplomatic and trade relations with Israel, though this may largely depend on the GCC states' response to the Jerusalem crisis.

United Arab Emirates

Turkey's 'shadowy' gold trade raises questions about Iran's involvement

Unexplained rises in Turkey’s gold exports and imports have led experts to wonder whether Iran has reintroduced its trade mechanisms to circumvent international sanctions.

United Arab Emirates

United States ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley addresses the U.N. Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestine, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, U.S., December 8, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid - RC1606383520

Has US given up on Middle East diplomacy?

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson calls on Saudis to "consider consequences" of actions; Is Lebanese President Michel Aoun making the right call on Hariri?

Mystery surrounds former Egyptian premier's return to Cairo

Former Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq returned to Cairo from the UAE after announcing his intention to run in the upcoming presidential elections, yet questions remain surrounding his return.

United Arab Emirates

The UAE's 'alternative GCC'

With no solution to the Qatar-GCC crisis in sight, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have formed their own alliance to support their regional foreign policy.

Iranian media: Yemen ex-president's death result of his 'betrayal'

Iranian media opine that Ali Abdullah Saleh’s reported talks with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and consequently the breaking of his alliance with the Houthis led to his death.

Egypt flexes its mediation muscle in Lebanon crisis

During an emergency meeting in Cairo, the Arab League condemned Iran’s meddling in Arab affairs.

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with members of a delegation, led by Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and UAE's deputy commander-in-chief of the armed forces at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, March 24, 2016. REUTERS/Mikhail Klimentyev/Sputnik/Kremlin ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS. - GF10000358996

Russia seeks closer military-technical cooperation with UAE

Russia is looking to revive its lapsed status as a major weapons supplier to the United Arab Emirates and to develop collaborative technology projects.

United Arab Emirates

Why did Hariri go to Cairo before returning home to Lebanon?

To spare the Middle East another battleground, Cairo played a role in containing the crisis of the resignation of Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri.

A U.S. fighter stands near a military vehicle, north of Raqqa city, Syria November 6, 2016. REUTERS/Rodi Said - S1AEULHHBDAA

Pentagon reports troop surge in Middle East

Newly released Pentagon figures show a surge in US troops deployed across the Middle East this summer.

Houthi followers carry coffins of those killed in a car blast attack on Monday, and a Houthi fighter who was killed during fighting in Yemen's southern port city of Aden, in Sanaa July 22, 2015. Five people were killed in the blast that hit the Moeed mosque in Sanaa, which is used by the Houthis, police sources said. Islamic State's Yemen branch claimed responsibility for the attack, in which seven others were wounded. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah - GF10000166909

Defeating IS in Yemen

While the Islamic State has faced major defeats in Iraq and Syria, the protracted war in Yemen has provided the terrorist group's branch in that country oxygen to breathe.

White House senior adviser Jared Kushner sits behind U.S. President Donald Trump during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, U.S., November 1, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RC1D4FEC9240

Has Kushner given Riyadh carte blanche?

Diplomats and military chiefs worry Jared Kushner's peace play could be giving Saudis and Emiratis a sense of entitlement to take overreaching, hard-line actions that could destabilize the region.