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 7:44 pm

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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

Israeli protesters wearing protective masks lift national flags during an anti-government demonstration in front of the Prime Minister's residence in Jerusalem, on August 15, 2020. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP) (Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Israeli left cheers weakly as Netanyahu inks deal with UAE

The Israel-UAE deal crushes the center-left’s belief that no Arab state will make peace with Israel without the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the establishment of a Palestinian state.

United Arab Emirates

Israeli and United Arab Emirates flags line a road in the Israeli coastal city of Netanya, on August 16, 2020. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP) (Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Israeli companies enthusiastic on deal with UAE, target Gulf market

Israeli companies in the fields of cyber, water management, defense and even diamonds are lining up for launching business ventures in the United Arab Emirates.

United Arab Emirates

Trump administration goes big with UAE-Israel peace deal

Other Gulf states may follow.

A man reads a copy of UAE-based The National newspaper near the Burj Khalifa, the tallest structure and building in the world since 2009, in the gulf emirate of Dubai on August 14, 2020, as the publication's headline reflects the previous day's news as Israel and the UAE agreed to normalise relations in a landmark US-brokered deal. - The deal marks only the third such accord the Jewish state has struck with an Arab nation, an historic shift making the Gulf state only the third Arab country to establish full

Oman says it supports UAE-Israel normalization of ties

Israeli officials told the local press they are in talks with Oman to reach a similar normalization in ties.

United Arab Emirates

A file picture taken at the Israeli foreign ministry on October 15, 2015, shows Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) sitting next to Yossi Cohen, who is currently the head of Israel's National Security Council, and who was named as the 12th head of the Mossad intelligence agency by Netanyahu on December 7, 2015. Cohen will take over from outgoing Mossad head Tamir Pardo, who will be leaving his post after five years next January. AFP PHOTO / GALI TIBBON / AFP / GALI TIBBON (Photo credit should read

Mossad chief likely to continue advancing Israel, UAE contacts

Israel has plenty of professional diplomats specialized in the Arab world, yet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is relying on Mossad chief Yossi Cohen to advance ties with Gulf states.

United Arab Emirates

TOPSHOT - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a cabinet meeting of the new government at Chagall State Hall in the Knesset (Israeli parliament) in Jerusalem on May 24, 2020. (Photo by ABIR SULTAN / POOL / AFP) (Photo by ABIR SULTAN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Did Netanyahu find his legacy with UAE deal?

The announcement yesterday on normalizing ties between Israel and the United Arab Emirates reflects Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s realization that he must abandon his annexation plan.

United Arab Emirates

Palestinians express anger at UAE following US-brokered accord with Israel

Palestinians say UAE decision to normalize relations with Israel is a crime.

United Arab Emirates

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 11: Large scale models of Etihad Boeing 787 Dream Liners are displayed near Terminal Four at Heathrow Airport on August 11, 2014 in London, England. Heathrow is the busiest airport in the United Kingdom and the third busiest in the world. The airport's operator BAA wants to build a third runway to cope with increased demand. (Photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)

Etihad cancels Shanghai flights following positive virus tests

Future travelers to the Chinese city will have to comply with stricter regulations from the Abu Dhabi-based airline.

United Arab Emirates

Dubai welcomes Lebanese residents with flowers, message of hope

Following last week’s deadly explosion in the Lebanese capital of Beirut, Dubai greeted its Lebanese residents at the airport with white roses.

United Arab Emirates

State Department legally skirted Congress freeze on Saudi arms sales, inquiry finds

An inspector general's report redacted by the State Department says that while the department found ways to legally bypass congressional restrictions on arms sales to Saudi Arabia, measures that Congress had called for were not taken.

A passengers of an Emirates airlines flight departing to the Australian city of Sydney, receives a box of masks and gloves at Dubai International Airport on May 22, 2020, after the resumption of scheduled operations by the Emirati carrier, amid the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic crisis. (Photo by Karim SAHIB / AFP) (Photo by KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images)

Emirates to require negative COVID-19 test for transit passengers

The United Arab Emirates already required people entering the country to test negative for the coronavirus, but now the rule has been extended to all connecting travel on the Emirates airline.

United Arab Emirates

WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 15: (AFP-OUT) U.S. President Donald Trump welcomes Crown Prince Shaikh Mohammad bin Zayed Al Nahyan of Abu Dhabi in the Oval Office of the White House on May 15, 2017 in Washington, DC. Shaikh Mohammad is on a two-day visit to the U.S. (Photo by Chris Kleponis-Pool/Getty Images)

Intel: Trump, MBZ talk ridding Libya of proxy fighters

During a phone call Tuesday, the US president and Abu Dhabi’s crown prince discussed diffusing the Libyan crisis as a new battle looms in the strategic city of Sirte.

United Arab Emirates