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June 23, 2026

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French Trade & Invest Commissioner for United Arab Emirates and Middle East and Business France's regional director for the Middle East Axel Baroux. — Business France

Interview

Franco-Gulf investment holds firm despite Iran war, French official says

French investors are reallocating capital toward strategic sectors such as artificial intelligence and technology rather than pulling out of the region altogether.

Axel Baroux

France’s trade and investment commissioner for the UAE and Middle East

Latest News

Explainer

Oil’s slide wavers as Trump warns US-Iran deal ‘not final’

A general view shows the Awad oil field in the eastern Qamishli countryside in northeastern Syria, on Feb. 9, 2026.

Gulf cautiously welcomes US-Iran deal as Hezbollah congratulates Tehran

Veiled women in black Chadors wave Iran and Hezbollah flags during commemoration at the Iranian embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, on April 22, 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

Houthi followers watch as their leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi delivers a speech during a rally commemorating the death of Imam Zaid bin Ali in Sanaa, Yemen October 26, 2016. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah - RTX2QLC8

Is Yemen headed for partition?

An open-ended cease-fire is needed for Yemen, but a de facto partition of the country is more likely.

How Yemen’s war is now threatening international trade

The recent attacks on vessels in the Red Sea by Yemen's Houthis and the United States threaten international trade along this route.

United Arab Emirates

Meet the likely successor of Islamic State’s Baghdadi

After IS spokesman and second-in-command Abu Mohamed al-Adnani was killed in an airstrike last month, there are indications that Bahraini citizen Turki al-Binali may replace him.

U.S. President Barack Obama (L, in doorway) walks with UAE Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan as he plays host to leaders and delegations from the Gulf Cooperation Council countries at the White House in Washington May 13, 2015. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RTX1CV7K

Lobbying 2016: UAE cements US ties with massive lobbying operation

United Arab Emirates

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a news conference at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Turkey in this December 1, 2014 file photo. Putin signed a decree imposing economic sanctions against Turkey on Saturday, four days after Turkey shot down a Russian warplane near the Syrian-Turkish border. REUTERS/Umit Bektas/Files - RTX1W9MO

Will failed coup push Erdogan toward Iran, Russia?

The foiled coup in Turkey could lay the groundwork for closer ties with Russia and Iran, resulting in a Turkish turnabout in Syria.

A poster with an image of a soldier lies on his grave after he was killed by al Qaeda militants in the Wadi Hadramout region in northeastern Yemen, at a military cemetery in Sanaa August 10, 2014. An al Qaeda-affiliated group in Yemen said it killed 14 soldiers in an eastern province as revenge for an army offensive against its members, while a U.S. drone attack killed three suspected militants in central Yemen on Saturday, an official said. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah (YEMEN - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST MILIT

What is the real challenge for Yemen's Hadrami Elite forces?

After Yemeni government forces took over Hadramaut governorate, which was under the AQAP’s control, the Hadrami Elite’s main challenge is to keep the Islamic State away from the governorate.

A Palestinian supporter of former head of Fatah in Gaza, Mohammed Dahlan, holds a poster depicting Dahlan during a protest against Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Gaza City December 18, 2014. Dahlan, who lives in exile in the Gulf, is a powerful political foe of Abbas.
REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR4IJ8R

UAE faces off against Palestinian Authority, again

The latent crisis between the UAE and the Palestinian Authority emerged again recently, after an article was published quoting an Emirati leader who described the PA as a failed and a corrupt entity.

United Arab Emirates

Shi'ite Bahraini men sit on a wall with graffiti that reads ''People want self-determination", as they attend a rally held by the Wefaq opposition party, in the village of Boori, south of Manama, October 14, 2011, to mark the 8-month anniversary of the February 14 uprising. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed (BAHRAIN - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) - RTR2SO9O

What Bahrain’s opposition crackdown means for country’s Brotherhood

Manama’s exclusion of popular political groups from Bahrain’s political scene, accompanied by a wide crackdown on opposition figures, could lead to militancy gaining broader power and appeal in the Shiite opposition.

Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani attends the opening meeting of the Arab Summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, in the South Sinai governorate, south of Cairo, March 28, 2015. Arab League heads of state are holding a two-day summit to discuss a range of conflicts in the region, including Yemen and Libya, as well as the threat posed by Islamic State militants. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh - RTR4V93X

Can Saudis ease Egypt-Qatar tension after Al Jazeera death sentences?

Saudis want to bridge the divide between Qatar and Egypt so that its Sunni coalition can focus on Iran.

Is it Eid or not? Muslims take step toward resolving calendar dispute

Religious representatives from Islamic countries agree to embrace a common calendar to overcome a long-standing conflict on the start of Ramadan, but their past record inspires little optimism for a genuine compromise.

U.S. President Barack Obama speaks with Oman's Deputy Prime Minister Sayyid Fahd bin Mahmoud al Said (L), Saudi Arabia's King Salman (2nd R) and Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa (R) during the summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, April 21, 2016. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTX2AYPD

Congress rolls out red carpet in Washington for jilted GCC

The Senate is getting ready to extend diplomatic courtesies to the Gulf Cooperation Council as it prepares to open a Washington office.

Will 'free financial center' lure foreign banks to Iran?

Iranian authorities are weighing whether to launch a free financial center to encourage capital inflow into the economy.