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

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United Arab Emirates

September 29, 2026

Abu Dhabi 11:59 am

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Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed

UAE’s Sheikh Mansour to visit Saudi Arabia amid strained ties

The two Gulf countries have been at odds over Yemen, where Saudi Arabia backs Yemen’s internationally recognized government, while the UAE has supported the separatist Southern Transitional Council.

Ronen Bar, former chief of Israel's domestic Shin Bet security agency

Ex-Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar to sue Netanyahu over Oct. 7 accusations: What to know

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused former Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar of withholding information in the hours before the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, but the former security chief rejected the claim, saying he intends to file a defamation suit.

UAE President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (R) received His Excellency Hakan Fidan, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey (L), in Abu Dhabi on Sept. 28, 2026.

Turkey's FM in UAE to discuss Yemen war, Hormuz closure: What to know

The top Turkish diplomat was set to stress Ankara's support for a peaceful and “united Yemen” amid renewed Houthi advances.

Israeli PM

On secret UAE visit, Netanyahu asked MBZ to deny pre-Oct. 7 warnings

During his trip to Abu Dhabi, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked President Mohamed bin Zayed to deny reports that he had been warned ahead of the Oct. 7 attack that Hamas was preparing a major assault.

Latest News

Samuel Wendel

Senior Analyst, Middle East Business & Tech

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

UAE ambassador confident US F-35 deal will be fulfilled

"You can't … take tools away from your partners who are expected to do more," Ambassador Yousef al-Otaiba said Monday.

United Arab Emirates

Mask-clad employees of Air Arabia wait to assist passengers board the first flight to Sharjah after the resumption of air travel between Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, at Qatar's Hamad International Airport on January 18, 2021. - The first direct flights since 2017 between Qatar and its former rivals Egypt and the UAE took to the skies on January 18, following the end of a regional crisis. The first commercial flight from Qatar to Egypt in three and a half years, an EgyptAir service to Cairo, took off

UK bans travel from UAE

The United Kingdom's decision follows historic highs in daily COVID-19 cases in the United Arab Emirates.

United Arab Emirates

Biden administration pauses arms sales to Gulf pending review

The freeze includes the F-35 deal for the United Arab Emirates and bombs for Saudi Arabia.

Emirati activist held under 'abhorrent' conditions, rights group says

Since his arrest in 2017, Ahmed Mansoor has been held in solitary confinement without access to basic necessities, Human Rights Watch said.

United Arab Emirates

A member of an Israeli tech delegation uses his phone in a video call during an evening meeting with Emirati counterparts at a hotel in Dubai on October 25, 2020. - Israel and the United Arab Emirates agreed on October 19 to visa-free travel, an unprecedented arrangement between Israel and an Arab state, signed after the first ever official UAE delegation landed in Tel Aviv. (Photo by Karim SAHIB / AFP) (Photo by KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images)

Emirati investors highly interested in Israeli high-tech, agro-tech

According to estimates, $1 billion in investments between Israel and the United Arab Emirates were made in the last two months of 2020.

United Arab Emirates

Israel reopens liaison office in Morocco

The mission's reopening comes a month after Israel and Morocco agreed to establish diplomatic and economic ties.

United Arab Emirates

UAE confirms F-35 agreement inked with Trump administration

The weapons package, which includes dozens of the stealth fighter jets, drones and other munitions, is valued at $23 billion.

United Arab Emirates

An Etihad Airways Boeing 787-9 "Dreamliner" aircraft carrying a delegation from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on a first official visit, lands at Israel's Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, on October 20, 2020. - The UAE delegation left on the country's first official visit to Israel with a string of deals set to be signed after the two countries signed a deal to normalise ties last month. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP) (Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Etihad to resume flights to Doha as Gulf crisis ends

Following the United Arab Emirates reopening its airspace to Qatar, the Abu Dhabi-based airline will restart flights to the Qatari capital next month.

United Arab Emirates

An Emirati man gets vaccinated against the COVID-19 coronavirus at al-Barsha Health Centre in the Gulf Emirate of Dubai on December 24, 2020. (Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE / AFP) (Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images)

Dubai suspends nonessential surgery as COVID-19 cases soar

The emirate is also pausing live entertainment at hotels and restaurants until further notice.

United Arab Emirates

United Arab Emirates signs deal to buy F-35s, drones just before Biden sworn in

President Joe Biden has suggested his administration might review or impose conditions on arms sales, but it is not yet clear he will oppose the deal.

United Arab Emirates

A general view shows Egypt's High Dam in Aswan, some 920 kilometres south of the capital Cairo, on January 3, 2021. - Half a century since Egypt's Aswan dam was inaugurated to much fanfare, harnessing the Nile for hydropower and irrigation, the giant barrier is still criticised its human and environmental toll. But it is also a stark reminder -- amid high tensions today as Addis Ababa fills its collosal Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) upstream, Africa's largest -- of just how volatile politics over t

UAE steps in to ease Nile dam crisis

Sudanese reports recently revealed that the United Arab Emirates is seeking an initiative to bring the views of Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia closer so as to break the deadlock in the negotiations on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.

United Arab Emirates

DOHA, QATAR - DECEMBER 18: In this handout image provided by Qatar 2022/Supreme Committee, Qatar inaugurates fourth FIFA World Cup 2022 venue, Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium on December 18th, 2020 in Doha, Qatar. Qatar inaugurates fourth FIFA World Cup 2022™ venue, Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium, in front of 50% capacity crowd. The 40,000-capacity venue will host seven matches during Qatar 2022 up to the round-of-16 stage. Fans in attendance were required to show negative COVID-19 test results before entering the venue. (P

Can World Cup soccer help heal Gulf wounds?

Communities torn apart by a yearslong rift between Gulf rulers may need time to heal the wounds of a crisis that damaged social ties that have historically transcended borders.