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Free

It is a question often asked, the frequent subject of private conversations and regional chat show debates: how Islamic is Islamic finance?

Free

Expatriates in the Gulf are used to horror stories about exit permits refused, passports withheld and people being held indefinitely under house arrest, but most accept it as one of the risks of working in a developing country

Bahrain | United Arab Emirates (UAE) | Qatar
Free

Iranian forces on 4 January hijacked the South Korean tanker Hankuk Chemi, in an apparent effort to pressurise Seoul into releasing some $7bn in oil-related assets that are frozen for breaching US sanctions. It came just a few days after a thwarted mine attack against the Liberian-flagged tanker MT Pola off the Iraqi port of Basra, following a campaign of intensified mining attacks on tankers in the Red Sea, most recently against vessels discharging oil products at the Saudi ports of Jeddah and Al-Shuqaiq.

Iran
Free

While America and Europe continue to present a united front in response to Russia’s war in Ukraine, the UAE’s more ambivalent stance continues to cause concern in western capitals – and has the potential to undermine, or at least complicate, the country’s diplomatic and commercial relations with the United States and its allies.

United Arab Emirates (UAE)
Free

With increasing amounts of Moscow's business now being transacted through Gulf states, impending G7 and EU sanctions on Russian diamond exports offer opportunities and risks for the Dubai Diamond Exchange, which has grown rapidly to become the largest trading hub in the world for the rough gems. 

United Arab Emirates (UAE)
Free

Sheikh Khalid Bin Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan has attempted to cement his status within the political arena and strengthen his profile among local citizens since he was named Abu Dhabi’s crown prince on 29 March, in a move which put the 41 year-old first in line to succeed his father, President Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan (MBZ). 

United Arab Emirates (UAE)
Free

The influence and financial muscle of Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) states was more apparent than ever at the 6-9 October International Monetary Fund/World Bank annual meetings in Washington.

Free

While the Dubai PR machine seeks to persuade the outside world that all is well following the commercial emirate’s debt crisis, the senior Al-Maktoum leadership has looked to itself to take a leading role in dragging injured financial institutions back to health. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum (MBR) has, in many respects, adopted a conservative response to cleaning up after the debt bubble, which burst in late 2008 and continues to make waves.

United Arab Emirates (UAE)
Free

When foreign ministers of the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) met recently in Jeddah to discuss (among other issues) proposals for a Gulf Union, the outcome – in so far as there was one – was further delay.

Free

When devastating earthquakes hit Iran’s north-east on 11 August, questions were raised about the impact of sanctions on the rescue of survivors. “Helicopters had to suspend rescue operations during the night as Iran — under international sanctions over its nuclear programme — is barred from purchasing night-vision material,” the New York Times wrote on 12 August.

Iran
Free

Plenty of financial issues remain to be resolved, and analysts observe that Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum (MBR) is still less prominent on the world stage than he was before becoming UAE premier in 2006. But something of the old strut is returning to Dubai.

United Arab Emirates (UAE)
Free

Seen from the corridors of power in other Gulf capitals, Kuwait has long been a poor argument for allowing a more open political environment. Recent weeks have been no exception, with the National Assembly (parliament) still refusing to pass a long-needed debt law. This position is accentuating a fiscal crisis caused by low oil revenues and the economic damage wrought by the coronavirus pandemic.

Kuwait
Free

The latest report by the Panel of Experts on Yemen to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), released in late January, has highlighted how all parties to the conflict are guilty of economic profiteering which, alongside the fighting and human rights violations, is exacerbating the country’s dire situation. The UN Panel offered more details on the strength of the Houthi-Iran relationship, as well as corruption within the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, and violations of UNSC resolutions by the Southern Transition Council (STC).

Yemen
Free

A series of talks between Iranian and GCC officials have been held during December and early January in Gulf capitals, as well as on the sidelines of events in Jordan and Brazil, in moves that suggest Tehran is recalibrating its relations with neighbouring monarchies during a period of intense domestic tensions.

Iran | Saudi Arabia | Oman | United Arab Emirates (UAE)
Free

Oman's Sultan Haitham Bin Tariq Al-Said was unusually active in late May, making trips to Cairo and Tehran in quick succession, just as Egypt and Iran were edging towards a diplomatic rapprochement. Recent reports also suggest Oman may once again be acting as a mediator between Washington and Tehran.

Oman