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

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United Arab Emirates

April 20, 2026

Abu Dhabi 8:18 pm

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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.

FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images

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

The kingdom's stock market climbed to its highest level of the year on Wednesday, with the kingdom’s equities now far outperforming the S&P 500 and other global and regional indices.

ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

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

The Emirati vice president and Iran’s parliament speaker talked de-escalation on the phone in the first such contact since the Iran war began.

United Arab Emirates

Latest News

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.

Oil back above $100 as US moves to blockade Strait of Hormuz

Elke Scholiers/Getty Images

UAE says no more 'niceties' with Iran, seeks clarity on fragile truce terms

TOPSHOT - People watch from a street as a tall smoke plume billows following an explosion in the Fujairah industrial zone on March 3, 2026. Iran's strikes on Gulf neighbours since February 28, following the US-Israeli attack, forced the UAE to shut its airspace, blindsiding travellers who thought they were headed to one of the region's safest holiday destinations. (Photo by Fadel SENNA / AFP via Getty Images)

United Arab Emirates

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

Trump White House proposes sale of 50 F-35s to United Arab Emirates

The proposed sale includes 18 MQ-9B weapons-ready drones and air-to-air and air-to-ground munitions.

United Arab Emirates

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Intel: Trump administration to propose $3 billion drone sale to UAE

News of the proposal comes a week after the administration informally notified Congress of its intent to sell F-35 fighter jets to Abu Dhabi.

United Arab Emirates

Dubai-based airline announces daily flights to Tel Aviv

The budget carrier flydubai will start flying to Israel's largest city later this month in the latest sign of deepening economic ties between Israel and the Emirates.

United Arab Emirates

Israeli farm workers harvest Cabernet Sauvignon grapes for Bazelet HaGolan winery, beneath wind turbines constructed between vineyards and fruit orchards as part of a wind farm, near El Rom settlement in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights by the border with Syria, on October 5, 2020. (Photo by MENAHEM KAHANA / AFP) (Photo by MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel boycott movement furious at UAE over deal to import wine from occupied Golan Heights

The United Arab Emirates signed a deal with Israel to buy wine produced in the settlements of the occupied Golan Heights, prompting a wave of anger among Palestinians and the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement.

United Arab Emirates

An Israeli policewoman stands guard at an entrance of the al-Aqsa compound, leading to the Dome of the Rock mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem on October 18, 2020, amid the novel coronavirus pandemic crisis. - Israel began to ease its month-long coronavirus nationwide lockdown, allowing citizens to venture further than 1km (0.6 miles) away from their home with preschools, daycare centres and places of worship reopening to all, under some restrictions. (Photo by Emmanuel DUNAND / AFP) (Photo by EMMANUEL DUN

New normal takes shape for Israel, Palestinians, UAE

Israelis and Emiratis throw themselves into their new relationship and Palestinians are throwing Gulf visitors out of Al-Aqsa Mosque.

United Arab Emirates

Benny Gantz (C), Israel's Alternate Prime Minister and Defence Minister, receives US Defense Secretary Mark Esper (2nd-R) and his wife Leah (R), all mask-clad due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, at Ben Gurion International Airport in Lod on October 29, 2020. (Photo by Paul HANDLEY / AFP) (Photo by PAUL HANDLEY/AFP via Getty Images)

After meeting Esper, Gantz says US committed to Israel’s security

It took three meetings between US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and Israel’s Defense Minister Benny Gantz to convince the latter to drop his opposition to the F-35 sale to the United Arab Emirates.

United Arab Emirates

IN FLIGHT, SCOTLAND - OCTOBER 08: An F-35B combat aircraft from the United States Marine Corp refuels from an RAF Voyager aircraft over the North Sea on October 08, 2020 in flight, above Scotland. The first air-to-air refuelling of F-35Bs from the newly-formed Carrier Strike Group took place as part of Operation Joint Warrior. Flying from HMS Queen Elizabeth, the RAF, RN and USMC Pilots (USofA) were demonstrating the operational capabilities of NATO and the UK for current and future threats. Operation Joint

Intel: Trump administration notifies Congress of proposed F-35 sale to UAE

Lawmakers have introduced legislation intended to ensure the sale does not eclipse Israel's regional military edge.

United Arab Emirates

Tourists gather at Abu Dhabi sea front before a heavy rain storm on March 9, 2016.
Schools in the United Arab Emirates were ordered to shut after rare heavy rain hit the desert Gulf state, causing flights to be suspended and flooding roads.

/ AFP / STRINGER (Photo credit should read STRINGER/AFP via Getty Images)

Why Israelis flock to the Emirates

The normalization agreement with the Emirates was signed just a few weeks ago, but Israeli businesspeople, athletes and tourists are already flocking there.

United Arab Emirates

Erel Margalit, founder and chairman of Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP), visits with members of Israeli high-tech delegation the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) on October 27, 2020. - Israel's government gave final approval to the normalisation of ties with the United Arab Emirates, an official statement said, after lawmakers ratified the pact earlier this month. (Photo by Karim SAHIB / AFP) (Photo by KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel-Emirates peace: An inside look

Crisscrossing Dubai, journalist Ben Caspit says that his four-day visit to the emirate this week reveals the intense potential that lies in the recent outing of Israel’s covert relations with the United Arab Emirates.

United Arab Emirates

IN FLIGHT, SCOTLAND - OCTOBER 08: An F-35B combat aircraft from the Royal Air Force refuels from an RAF Voyager aircraft over the North Sea on October 08, 2020 in flight, above Scotland. The first air-to-air refuelling of F-35Bs from the newly-formed Carrier Strike Group took place as part of Operation Joint Warrior. Flying from HMS Queen Elizabeth, the RAF, RN and USMC Pilots (USofA) were demonstrating the operational capabilities of NATO and the UK for current and future threats. Operation Joint Warrior t

Gantz, Netanyahu split again over US F-35 sale to UAE

Defense Minister Benny Gantz accuses Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of withholding knowledge of US-Emirates negotiations on the sale of F-35 stealth jets.

United Arab Emirates

Saudi students pass their final exams at a workshop in the Higher Institute for Plastics Fabrication on June 13, 2016 in Riyadh.
The students at the Higher Institute for Plastics Fabrication (HIPF) learn to manufacture plastic bags, pipes, bottles and other products, skills they immediately put to work in what the government says is a unique model. Reducing the kingdom's high unemployment rate is a foundation -- and major challenge -- of the government's wide-ranging Vision 2030 reform plan unveiled in Apr

Can Gulf states adopt universal basic income?

Existing social welfare systems have insulated Gulf nationals from changing economic realities and the likelihood of a major global energy transition in the coming decades.

Russian fighter jets drop bombs over the Ashuluk military base in Southern Russia on September 22, 2020 during the "Caucasus-2020" military drills gathering China, Iran, Pakistan and Myanmar troops, along with ex-Soviet Armenia, Azerbaijan and Belarus. - Up to 250 tanks and around 450 infantry combat vehicles and armoured personnel carriers will take part in the September 21 to 26 land and naval exercises that will involve 80,000 people including support staff. (Photo by Dimitar DILKOFF / AFP) (Photo by DIM

Can Russia return to Iranian arms market following end of weapons embargo?

With the end of the UN arms embargo, Iran could be looking to purchase new additions to its defense system — could Russia become a main supplier again?