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 11:27 am

40°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

Yemen's African connection

Amid the withholding of the details of the Emirati death toll in Yemen, African soldiers are set to step up their role in Operation Restoring Hope.

U.S. President Barack Obama (L) shakes hands with Saudi Arabia's King Salman at the start of a bilateral meeting at Erga Palace in Riyadh January 27, 2015. Obama sought to cement ties with Saudi Arabia as he came to pay his respects on Tuesday after the death of King Abdullah, a trip that underscores the importance of a U.S.-Saudi alliance that extends beyond oil interests to regional security. REUTERS/Jim Bourg (SAUDI ARABIA - Tags: POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR4N5LG

What will US-Saudi summit mean for Iranian policy in the Middle East?

In a meeting Sept. 4 with US President Barack Obama, Saudi King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud was assured that the nuclear deal prevents Iran — whose influence in the region the kingdom is eager to counter — from acquiring a nuclear weapon.

Will King Salman’s visit to Washington reset US-Saudi relations?

The joint statement released following King Salman's meeting at the White House with President Barack Obama Sept. 4 indicates that they discussed the region's most pressing issues including the Iran nuclear deal, the Syrian civil war, the fight against the Islamic State and the war in Yemen.

U.S. President Barack Obama meets with Saudi Arabia's King Salman (R) at Erga Palace in Riyadh, January 27, 2015. Obama is stopping in Saudi Arabia on his way back to Washington from India to pay his condolences over the death of King Abdullah and to hold bilateral meetings with King Salman. REUTERS/Jim Bourg (SAUDI ARABIA - Tags: POLITICS ROYALS) - RTR4N551

What Obama should say to King Salman during his visit

The inaugural visit of Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud to Washington offers US President Barack Obama a unique opportunity to address the long-standing tensions and rivalry between Iran, Iraq and the GCC states.

Iranian ambassador to the UAE: Iran wants to remove tensions with neighbors

Mohammad Reza Fayyaz, the Iranian ambassador to the UAE, blames Saudi Arabia for many of the problems in the region.

A part of a window frame is seen in front of government compound, destroyed by recent Saudi-led air strikes, in Yemen's northwestern city of Amran July 27, 2015. Yemen's Houthi group carried on fighting across Yemen on Monday despite a ceasefire announcement by its Saudi-led foes, and media controlled by the Iran-allied movement acknowledged that its forces had shelled targets inside Saudi Arabia. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah - RTX1LZDB

Yemen war escalates

The Yemeni people are paying a frightful toll as Saudi Arabia and its allies escalate the war in the country.

Lobbying 2015: UAE asserts itself with record-smashing lobby blitz

The United Arab Emirates spent a record $12.7 million last year to face down criticism from Islamists and US airlines.

United Arab Emirates

Shi'ite fighters from Hashid Shaabi forces walk with their weapons at the front line at the Shi'ite Turkman village of Bashir, 20km south of Kirkuk, March 14, 2015. Kurdish peshmerga forces, backed by Shi'ite militia fighters, have been attacking Islamic State-held towns and villages south and west of the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, peshmerga sources said. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT POLITICS MILITARY) - RTR4TCDN

Leaked cables show Gulf leery of Shiite expansion

The Gulf states are concerned about the growing influence of Shiites in neighboring countries, expressing their fears of the relations established between the Shiites of Iran and Iraq and their own Shiite communities.

A helicopter from the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) hovers over an Iranian patrol ship during a transit through the Strait of Hormuz, February 14, 2012. REUTERS/Jumana El Heloueh (GULF - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) - RTR2XU5R

How security in Strait of Hormuz brings US, Iran closer

Gulf and international security are closely linked to the security of the Strait of Hormuz, which is currently facing many challenges that require a joint action between all affected countries.

Police officers walk during the Arabian Travel Market exhibition in Dubai May 6, 2013. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah (UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - Tags: CRIME LAW TRAVEL BUSINESS) - RTXZCAO

How security forces keep critics quiet in 'progressive' UAE

The enigmatic UAE security forces have perfected the art of silencing critics and created an environment in which nearly everyone is afraid to say anything remotely resembling criticism of the government.

United Arab Emirates

Committee Chairman Representative Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) (L) presides over a House Financial Services Committee hearing on the Export-Import Bank's reauthorization, on Capitol Hill in Washington June 3, 2015. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RTR4YP2O

Gulf countries rake in billions in Ex-Im Bank subsidies

Several Middle East nations are taking full advantage of a US export financing program whose loans and guarantees supporters say create American jobs and critics claim undermine the US economy. Scroll down to see our interactive table.

Sheikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, UAE Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, arrives during the opening of the Abu Dhabi Film Festival October 11, 2012. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah (UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - Tags: ENTERTAINMENT EDUCATION POLITICS) - RTR39114

What happened to the Abu Dhabi Film Festival?

The Abu Dhabi Film Festival has been unexpectedly canceled, begging questions about the reasons behind the decision and its impact on the film industry in the region.

United Arab Emirates