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

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United Arab Emirates

April 21, 2026

Abu Dhabi 9:36 am

26°C

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Could UAE tap US currency swap line as Iran war strains Gulf economies?

The Gulf country apparently wanted reassurances from Washington in case its economy is severely damaged by the Iran war.

United Arab Emirates

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.

Latest News

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

ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

United Arab Emirates

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

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

UAE residents opt for staycations amid COVID-19 crisis

Hotels in the United Arab Emirates are one by one reopening across Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Ras Al Khaimah, with numerous money-saving staycation options.

United Arab Emirates

Israel, UAE test potential for cooperation on COVID-19

The agreement signed between the United Arab Emirates' Group 42 and Israel’s IAI and Rafael companies offers a glimpse of the potential for cooperation -- if not deterred by annexation.

United Arab Emirates

Emirates temporarily halts bookings to New Zealand

The Dubai-based carrier's decision follows a stoppage it placed on flights from Pakistan as countries struggle to resume flights during the pandemic.

United Arab Emirates

UAE seeks turnaround in relations with Somalia for help in Yemen war

The United Arab Emirates has offered Somalia to reopen a hospital in the capital, in exchange for backing the UAE’s involvement in the Yemeni war, but Somalia rejected this amid deteriorating relations between the two countries.

United Arab Emirates

Workers take down a Belt and Road Forum panel outside the venue of the forum in Beijing on April 27, 2019. - Chinese President Xi Jinping urged dozens of world leaders on April 27 to reject protectionism and invited more countries to participate in his global infrastructure project after seeking to ease concerns surrounding the programme. (Photo by GREG BAKER / AFP) (Photo credit should read GREG BAKER/AFP via Getty Images)

China’s 'Belt and Road' push brings risks, rewards to Mideast

China's digital and satellite advances offer new regional opportunities and challenges for the United States in countering Beijing's economic influence in the region.

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Has China gained an edge on the US in the Gulf?

China has upped the ante, but the United States holds the winning hand; Oman weighs risks and benefits of Gulf bailout; will migrant workers return to GCC?

TOPSHOT - A trader walks by beneath a stock display board at the Dubai Stock Exchange in the United Arab Emirates, on March 8, 2020. - Saudi's stock exchange fell 6.5 percent and other Gulf markets tumbled to multi-year lows at the start of trading after OPEC and its allies failed to clinch a deal over oil production cuts. (Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE / AFP) (Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images)

IMF official: Gulf economies to contract by 7.6% in 2020

The International Monetary Fund official's predictions are worse than earlier ones as the Gulf deals with oil price drops and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Members of an Indian medical team register for testing upon their arrival at Dubai International Airport on May 9, 2020, to help with the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. (Photo by Karim SAHIB / AFP) (Photo by KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images)

Negative virus test required to enter UAE

As the oil-rich Gulf country announced more than 400 new cases of the virus, it rolled out new movement restrictions in the capital.

United Arab Emirates

Israeli police man a checkpoint at the entrance of the central Israeli Elad city on June 24, 2020, as the government imposed a partial lockdown on several neighbourhoods following a recent increase in coronavirus cases. (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP) (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images)

Netanyahu announces anti-coronavirus cooperation between Israel, UAE

Private companies from Israel and the United Arab Emirates plan to cooperate on developing technologies to battle COVID-19.

United Arab Emirates

Oman weighs costs of bailout from Gulf neighbors

Gulf countries might step up to keep Oman’s public finances afloat, but experts warn strings may be attached.

An Emirates aircraft takes off from Dubai International Airport on April 6, 2020, as Emirates Airline resumed a limited number of outbound passenger flights after its COVID-19 coronavirus-enforced stoppage. (Photo by KARIM SAHIB / AFP) (Photo by KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images)

Emirates suspends passenger flights from Pakistan following virus cases

The Dubai-based airline said a number of passengers were found to have COVID-19 on a recent flight.

United Arab Emirates

People sit in a coffee shop during the reopening of malls, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at Mall of the Emirates in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, May 28, 2020. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah - RC2SXG9IIZ4G

UAE ends virus curfew

Emirati authorities announced total freedom of movement today.

United Arab Emirates