Baghdad and Muscat will stop accepting flights from Iran at midnight local time today. Iranian authorities are scrambling to redirect Baghdad-bound traffic to Najaf instead, and negotiating with Oman over alternatives. It’s a visible consequence of a new US sanctions…
Air Insight•Addison Schonland2h ago
Iraq, Oman and Azerbaijan join growing list of nations suspending air travel after Scott Bessent warns of further sanctions
Iran's aviation officials negotiate with Oman and Iraq as US's Bessent targets carriers seven months into the conflict.
Al Jazeera15h ago
Dubai: The UAE has topped the Arab Digital Economy Index 2026, whose results were announced on Tuesday as Seamless Middle East 2026 opened in Dubai under the patronage of H.H. Lt. General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior, and Supreme President of the Arab Federation for Digital Economy. Held at Dubai World Trade Centre from 22nd - 24th September, the event brings together the payments, fintech, banking, digital commerce, retail, identity and logistics sectors, with more than 25,000 participants, around 800 speakers and 750 exhibitors. The opening session drew Arab and international diplomatic, government and institutional representatives, including ambassadors and delegates from Egypt, Oman, Qatar, Lebanon, Mauritania, Tunisia, Syria, Djibouti and Palestine, alongside Russian representatives and officials from international and regional organisations. UAE government, economic, financial and academic officials also attended, along with representatives of the finance, energy, customs and economic development sectors, banks, chambers of commerce, research and innovation centres and international organisations. The opening programme featured an address by Dr. Ali Mohammed Al-Khouri, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Arab Federation for Digital Economy and Advisor to the Council of Arab Economic Unity, followed by the launch of the Arab Digital Economy Index 2026. Officials from the Sharjah Research, Technology and Innovation Park and the UAE Banks Federation also addressed the event before delegates toured the exhibition. The index assesses digital-economy performance across a framework covering institutions, infrastructure, workforce, digital government, innovation, knowledge and technology, market forces, capital-market growth and sustainable development. The UAE led the highest-performing group, which also included Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and Oman. The second group, comprising countries with medium levels of performance, included Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia and Algeria. The third group, representing countries in the process of building their digital foundations, comprised Lebanon, Mauritania, Iraq, Djibouti, Comoros, Libya, Palestine, Syria, Sudan, Somalia and Yemen. The results showed stronger progress across the Arab world in digital infrastructure, government services and cybersecurity, while wider gaps remained in innovation, the data economy, research and development, and the ability to translate digital investment into productivity and economic value. Al-Khouri said the latest edition of the index places digital sovereignty at the heart of discussions on the future of Arab economies, as data, artificial intelligence, cloud infrastructure, semiconductors and cybersecurity become increasingly important to countries' economic and institutional capabilities. Commenting on the UAE's ranking, he said it reflects years of sustained investment in digital infrastructure, government services, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and the knowledge economy, establishing the country as a leading model for building an innovation-driven economy that translates technological advancement into higher productivity and economic value. Al-Khouri thanked the UAE for supporting the development of the Arab digital economy and expressed appreciation to President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan for his support and patronage of the Arab Digital Economy Vision, which he said has helped advance joint Arab action in the sector. He also praised the continued support of H.H. Lt. General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, saying his supportive role has helped transform several Arab initiatives from concepts and strategies into practical programmes, platforms and projects. The Arab Digital Economy Vision was launched in Abu Dhabi in 2018 with the support and patronage of President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and was subsequently adopted at the Arab leaders' level in 2022 as a framework for regional cooperation in the digital economy and technological transformation. The Arab Digital Economy Index is among the tools developed by the federation to measure progress, identify gaps and determine future priorities. Seamless Middle East 2026 features three days of discussions on fintech, digital payments, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, data analytics, cybersecurity and emerging technologies, bringing together government entities, financial institutions, technology companies, investors and experts from the region and beyond.
Trump will meet with leaders from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman on the sidelines of UNGA.
Al Jazeera22 Sept
Muscat: His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tariq of Oman has sent a cable of condolences and sympathy to His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, on the passing of Sheikh Ahmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. According to the Oman News Agency, Sultan Haitham expressed his sincere condolences and heartfelt sympathy to Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid. The Sultan prayed to Almighty Allah to have mercy on the deceased, grant him a place in Paradise, and inspire Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid and all members of the Al Maktoum family with patience and solace.
iFixit today published an iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max teardown in both article and video formats, providing a closer look inside the new devices. The teardown confirms the battery capacities for the eSIM-only models: iPhone 18 Pro: 4,288 mAh (+0.8% vs. 4,252 mAh for iPhone 17 Pro) iPhone 18 Pro Max: 5,567 mAh (+9.4% vs. 5,088 mAh for iPhone 17 Pro Max) eSIM-only models of the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are sold in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Japan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, and Kuwait. The devices have a SIM card tray in all other countries. Battery capacities for iPhone 18 Pro models with SIM card trays surfaced previously . The teardown also provides an in-depth look at the new variable aperture system on both models, the larger vapor chamber for cooling, and more. NAND now sits inside the dual-layer logic board, which makes storage-related repairs less convenient, according to iFixit. In addition, the screen's plastic frame cracked or broke away on three of the four iPhone 18 Pro models it opened, which is a new issue that it did not face with previous models. However, iFixit said further testing is needed. Related Roundup: iPhone 18 Pro Tags: iFixit , Teardown Buyer's Guide: iPhone 18 Pro (Buy Now) Related Forum: iPhone This article, " iFixit Shares iPhone 18 Pro Teardown With Inside Look at New Features " first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums
Countries: World, Algeria, Chad, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, India, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Tunisia, Yemen Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Please refer to the attached file. The dynamical models indicate above-normal rainfall across most of northern and eastern Africa and the Middle East from October through December, consistent with previous strong El Niño episodes. Within this region, drier-than-normal conditions are expected to emerge across North Africa by December, but elsewhere the wet pattern is likely to persist through winter. The only notable change in the forecasts this month is that the predicted wet anomaly is somewhat less pronounced in East Africa, and the forecast has also turned drier for Yemen and Oman, because the positive phase of the Indian Ocean Dipole is struggling to become established, and a less positive IOD favors relatively drier conditions around the northwestern Indian Ocean during El Niño. Nevertheless, the pronounced El Niño forcing will remain the dominant (wet) influence. These rainfall patterns can support breeding in the northern Sahel through late summer breeding season. Small-scale breeding may begin in October along the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden coasts. Precipitation
ReliefWeb•Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations21 Sept
At least two LNG carriers have transited the Strait of Hormuz so far this week, while two others were detected to have engaged in ship-to-ship transfers outside the Strait offshore Oman, tanker-tracking and satellite data compiled by Bloomberg showed on Friday. The uptick in LNG cargoes managing to exit the Strait of Hormuz signals that the LNG exporters in the Persian Gulf, mostly Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), are intensifying efforts to have LNG supply push through the chokepoint after months of near-total halt of shipments. While…
For decades, the biggest geopolitical risk hanging over the oil market has been the Strait of Hormuz. Before the conflict in Iran began in late February, roughly one-fifth of the world’s petroleum liquids moved through the narrow waterway separating Iran from Oman, making it the most important oil chokepoint in the world. Now that traffic through Hormuz has been severely disrupted, Gulf producers have increasingly relied on the limited alternatives available to keep oil moving. For Saudi Arabia, the most important of those alternatives is…
Every actor with the power to end this war has instead spent September building permanent infrastructure to live around it. The House voted for a third time Tuesday to curb Trump's war powers, passing the latest resolution 220-204, but there is little confidence it will make it through the Senate, and if it does, Trump would likely veto it. The one Gulf-wide diplomatic track aimed at reopening the strait (the Iran-GCC-Iraq meeting scheduled for September 11 in Oman) was postponed, with no new date set. And Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (the…
Saudi Arabia has sold as many as 60 million barrels of crude oil from the Persian Gulf port of Ras Tanura for September and October loadings outside the Strait of Hormuz via ship-to-ship transfers, trade sources told Reuters on Friday. Saudi oil giant Aramco has offered buyers of the crude from the Ras Tanura port to be loaded via ship-to-ship (STS) transfers at the port of Sohar in Oman just outside the Strait of Hormuz, according to the sources. Saudi Arabia has hiked shuttle-shipping to the Strait of Hormuz this week, after it was forced late…
Oman’s Sohar port is becoming a popular spot for ship-to-ship oil transfers amid continued Hormuz blockade.
Al Jazeera18 Sept
US officials met representatives of Yemen's Houthis in Oman over the weekend, five sources familiar with the matter said, days after the Iran-backed militia seized a strategic stretch of the Red Sea coast in a sweeping offensive that routed Saudi-backed forces. U.S. President Donald Trump has so far rebuffed pleas from the Saudis for military support fighting the Houthis. FRANCE 24's Fraser Jackson reports from Washington.
Oil prices are falling on Thursday on some headlines signaling potential de-escalation moves out of the Saudi-Yemen conflict, both via Reuters: China reportedly presses Iran to help rein in the Houthis after Saudi appeal, according to Retuers citing sources Oil prices fell on Wednesday after reports that Saudi Arabia was offering additional crude cargoes through Oman eased some concerns about Middle East supply disruptions, while a smaller-than-expected draw in U.S. crude inventories added further downward pressure. US crude futures…
The world's second-largest crude exporter is rerouting crude via dark shipments and ship-to-ship transfers off Oman.
Al Jazeera17 Sept
Oil prices eased today, extending losses on reports of Saudi Arabia offering extra crude cargoes through Oman, which reduced fears of supply disruptions, but stayed above $100 on concerns about the Middle East conflict expanding.
Crude oil prices, which dipped yesterday, extended their losses earlier today following reports that Saudi Arabia will be exporting more oil through Oman while the East-West pipeline is repaired. At the time of writing, Brent crude was trading at $105.89 per barrel, with West Texas Intermediate at $102.39 per barrel. Earlier in the week, Brent topped $108 briefly, and WTI spiked to over $103 per barrel. The spike followed the latest Houthi attacks on Saudi energy infrastructure, notably the East-West pipeline that was sending crude to the Red Sea…
Armed group appears to reach agreement with Trump administration over safety of Red Sea shipping Officials from the US met Houthi leaders over the weekend at the country’s embassy in Muscat, Oman, it has been confirmed, leading to the US decision not to intervene to help Saudi Arabia drive back a Houthi advance inside Yemen . The Houthis reassured the US that the ceasefire agreement between the two sides struck in 2025 still held and the movement had no intention of attacking US shipping in the Red Sea. Only Saudi-linked shipping was regarded as a target owing to its blockade of Yemen, the Houthis confirmed. Continue reading...
The Guardian•Patrick Wintour Diplomatic editor16 Sept
Ion Jauregui – Analyst at ActivTrades Oil maintains a bullish structure at the European mid-session, although with some profit-taking after the strong advance of recent sessions. At 15:20 CET, LCrude is trading around $99.60 per barrel, consolidating around a zone that is once again gaining technical relevance after recovering the highs recorded in March, April and May. The move remains supported by supply concerns. Attacks on Saudi energy infrastructure forced the interruption of the East-West Pipeline, a route capable of transporting around 4 million barrels per day to the port of Yanbu, while flows through the Strait of Hormuz remain constrained. The disruption also came after Saudi Arabia reduced some shipments to Europe. The market has, however, started to partially price in an improvement in availability. Saudi Arabia is offering additional cargoes through Oman, while U.S. inventories increased by 7.1 million barrels last week according to API data. This explains part of today's correction, although it does not eliminate the supply risk while disruptions in the Middle East persist. From a technical perspective, the current level is particularly relevant because the point of control is around $100, practically in the area where the contract is trading now. The recovery of the March, April and May highs has changed the structure of the daily chart and makes this area a reference for determining whether the move can extend towards new highs. The indicators maintain a constructive reading, although the RSI stands at 67.60, close to the overbought zone, increasing the risk of short-term corrections. The MACD continues to show the average and signal line separating to the upside, with a positive and rising histogram, indicating that buying momentum continues to expand. The behaviour of the moving averages also stands out. The 50-day moving average is approaching a recovery of its position relative to price versus the 100-day moving average, a configuration that would reinforce the bullish structure if it is ultimately confirmed. As long as the price manages to remain around $100 and the indicators maintain their momentum, the technical scenario continues to point towards a possible continuation towards previous highs. The key for crude oil now will be its ability to turn $100 into support. Consolidation above this level would keep open the possibility of a further move higher, while a clear loss of the point of control would increase the risk of a correction before another recovery attempt. ******************************************************************************************* The information provided does not constitute investment research. The material has not been prepared in accordance with the legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and such should be considered a marketing communication. All information has been prepared by ActivTrades ("AT"). The information does not contain a record of AT's prices, or an offer of or solicitation for a transaction in any financial instrument. No representation or warranty is given as to the accuracy or completeness of this information. Any material provided does not have regard to the specific investment objective and financial situation of any person who may receive it. Past performance and forecasting are not a synonym of a reliable indicator of future performance. AT provides an execution-only service. Consequently, any person acting on the information provided does so at their own risk. Political risk is unpredictable. Central bank actions can vary. Platform tools do not guarantee success.
