Middle East

Fortune Gulf Brief is Fortune's weekly Tuesday newsletter covering business, investment, and economic trends across the Middle East, written by Fortune writer Melissa Hancock. It delivers expert analysis on the deals, leaders, and policies shaping the GCC region for global executives. Sign up here.

Jeff Zucker is banking on the UAE to help build his new $8 billion entertainment empire

Jeff Zucker is banking on the UAE to help build his new $8 billion entertainment empire

The $8B Banijay-All3Media merger has created a global media and entertainment powerhouse—and Jeff Zucker believes the Gulf has a starring role to play.

By Melissa HancockJuly 28, 2026

‘The UAE has been a fantastic investor’: Jeff Zucker hails UAE partnership after Banijay merger

‘The UAE has been a fantastic investor’: Jeff Zucker hails UAE partnership after Banijay merger

By Melissa HancockJuly 28, 2026

Record heat gives way to global winter gas shortage fears as Iran war rages on

Record heat gives way to global winter gas shortage fears as Iran war rages on

By Jordan BlumJuly 28, 2026

Mideast oil may soon have no way out amid ‘everything everywhere all at once’ wars, but the crisis in refined products is even worse

Mideast oil may soon have no way out amid ‘everything everywhere all at once’ wars, but the crisis in refined products is even worse

By Jason MaJuly 26, 2026

Ukraine’s attack on an Iranian ship in the Caspian Sea could signal a new battlefront as U.S. seeks to form ‘a ring of economic and military pressure’

Ukraine’s attack on an Iranian ship in the Caspian Sea could signal a new battlefront as U.S. seeks to form ‘a ring of economic and military pressure’

By Jason MaJuly 26, 2026

Trump pulls back after Iran crosses his red line as U.S. military breaks two-week streak of air strikes amid talks for potential Hormuz deal

Trump pulls back after Iran crosses his red line as U.S. military breaks two-week streak of air strikes amid talks for potential Hormuz deal

By Jason MaJuly 25, 2026

Latest stories from Fortune

Elon Musk’s fortune slumps to pre-SpaceX IPO levels after rout

Elon Musk’s fortune slumps to pre-SpaceX IPO levels after rout

By Tom Maloney and BloombergAugust 1, 2026

Exxon, Chevron warn fuel prices to endure as war knocks refining

Exxon, Chevron warn fuel prices to endure as war knocks refining

By Kevin Crowley and BloombergAugust 1, 2026

Bessent joins Japan to help reverse months of yen losses

Bessent joins Japan to help reverse months of yen losses

By Shintaro Inkyo, Masahiro Hidaka and BloombergAugust 1, 2026

A dead SpaceX rocket that’s been adrift for over a year is about to slam into the moon, carving out a new crater with the equivalent of 3 tons of TNT

A dead SpaceX rocket that’s been adrift for over a year is about to slam into the moon, carving out a new crater with the equivalent of 3 tons of TNT

By Marcia Dunn and The Associated PressAugust 1, 2026

After Trump threatens more strikes on Iran, Kuwait and Hormuz shipping face new attacks, while Israel hits Gaza despite Hamas pledge to disarm

After Trump threatens more strikes on Iran, Kuwait and Hormuz shipping face new attacks, while Israel hits Gaza despite Hamas pledge to disarm

By Samy Magdy, Aamer Madhani and The Associated PressAugust 1, 2026

A loneliness epidemic is creating a new type of third space: the one built around curiosity

A loneliness epidemic is creating a new type of third space: the one built around curiosity

By Tatiana SatauaAugust 1, 2026

Jensen Huang

Jensen Huang says ‘a lot’ of six-figure jobs in plumbing and construction will soon be unlocked because someone needs to build new AI centers

By Preston ForeAugust 1, 2026

Inside Miami’s ‘Billionaire Bunker,’ a man-made island for the .01% where billionaires like Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg shell out for total privacy

Inside Miami’s ‘Billionaire Bunker,’ a man-made island for the .01% where billionaires like Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg shell out for total privacy

By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezAugust 1, 2026

More Middle EastPage 4 of 20

The Iran conflict has disrupted oil supply. Gulf states are now looking to multi-billion-dollar investments in renewables

The Iran conflict has disrupted oil supply. Gulf states are now looking to multi-billion-dollar investments in renewables

By Melissa HancockJune 1, 2026

India brings back COVID-era work-from-home rules and asks farmers to halve fertilizer use as the Iran war chokes its oil lifeline

India brings back COVID-era work-from-home rules and asks farmers to halve fertilizer use as the Iran war chokes its oil lifeline

By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezMay 12, 2026

A driver pumps gasoline at a gas station in Brooklyn, New York, in March.

Activists call surging oil and gas profits ‘horrifying’ as energy giants post profits twice as high as 2025

By Tristan BoveApril 28, 2026

A replica of a Lockheed Martin missile

‘A golden opportunity right now based on who’s in government.’ Trump’s bellicose presidency means defense firms are raking it in

By Tristan BoveApril 25, 2026

A person points at a page on the Marinetraffic website that shows commercial boats traffic on the edge of the Strait of Hormuz near the Iranian coast, in Paris on March 4, 2026. (Photo by JULIEN DE ROSA / AFP via Getty Images)

Iran has reopened the Strait of Hormuz—but experts say it now holds a card that works ‘almost like a nuclear deterrent’

By Eva RoytburgApril 17, 2026

Pope Leo XIV waving to a crowd

U.S. Catholic leaders criticize Trump for ‘disparaging words’ about the pope as Vatican clash risks alienating Catholic voters

By Tristan BoveApril 16, 2026

Pete Hegseth speaks with both hands in the air as Donald Trump looks on in the background.

‘I am certain’: Harvard policy expert warns the true cost of the Iran war to U.S. taxpayers will exceed $1 trillion

By Sasha RogelbergApril 15, 2026

U.S. President Donald Trump waves to the media after walking off of Air Force One at Miami International Airport on April 11, 2026 in Miami, Florida.

Trump says the Iran war is ‘very close to over’—despite no deal, a live blockade, and threats mounting

By Eva RoytburgApril 15, 2026

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - DECEMBER 12: President-elect Donald Trump rings the opening bell on the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on December 12, 2024 in New York City. Trump was invited to the Exchange after being named TIME’s “Person of the Year” for the second time. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Wall Street is the biggest winner of the Iran war—and the S&P 500 just turned positive for the year

By Eva RoytburgApril 13, 2026

U.S. President Donald Trump salutes as a U.S. Army carry team moves a flag-draped transfer case containing the remains of Sgt. Declan J. Coady at Dover Air Force Base on March 07, 2026 in Dover, Delaware.

Trump has wanted to humble Iran since 1980. He may be humbling the American empire instead

By Eva Roytburg and Nick LichtenbergApril 13, 2026

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on April 04, 2025 in New York City.

Within a day, the Iran-U.S. ceasefire began breaking down. Markets shrugged

By Eva RoytburgApril 8, 2026

US President Donald Trump speaks about the conflict in Iran in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House on April 6, 2026, in Washington, DC. (

Markets cheer as Trump says he’s in ‘heated negotiations’ over a new Pakistani two-week ceasefire plan

By Eva RoytburgApril 7, 2026

Members of security forces watch over the crowd during a funeral procession held for IRGC Navy Chief Alireza Tangsiri, alongside other senior naval commanders and their families who were killed in US-Israeli strikes in late March, on April 1, 2026 in Tehran, Iran.

Iranians begin forming human chains around power plants ahead of Trump’s deadline, social media videos show

By Eva RoytburgApril 7, 2026

UNITED STATES - APRIL 6: President Donald Trump talks with reporters on the South Lawn during the White House Easter Egg Roll on Monday, April 6, 2026. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Trump’s dire warning to Iran: ‘A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again’

By Eva RoytburgApril 7, 2026

US President Donald Trump gestures as he speaks about the conflict in Iran in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House on April 6, 2026, in Washington, DC.

Trump threatens to ‘take out’ all of Iran in one night. From blackout bombs to ‘discombobulators,’ here’s what that could actually mean

By Eva RoytburgApril 6, 2026

US President Donald Trump blows a whistle as children participate in the annual Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn of the White House on April 6, 2026, in Washington, DC.

Wall Street knows something about Trump and Iran: Both sides are running out of time

By Eva RoytburgApril 6, 2026

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon

Jamie Dimon says the U.S. was right to go to war with Iran: ‘Why the Western world put up with all these proxy wars for 45 years is kind of beyond me’

By Tristan BoveApril 3, 2026

Workers on the production line of solar panels in China

After renewable power’s record-smashing 2025, the Iran war could accelerate the shift as countries seek ‘structurally more resilient’ energy, UN says

By Tristan BoveApril 2, 2026

A woman looks concerned as she fills up at a gas station

The Iran war is effectively ‘a tax’ on U.S. households that could accelerate the economy’s widening K shape, Moody’s says

By Tristan BoveApril 2, 2026

Anil Agarwal, founder and chairman of Vedanta Group, at the CERAWeek by S&P Global conference in Houston, Texas, US, on Wednesday, March 25, 2026. The event convenes more than 10,000 participants from over 2,350 companies across 89 countries for dialogue on the agenda ahead as the world enters a new era of energy transition. Photographer: Aaron M. Sprecher/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Energy ‘vulnerable’ India seeks U.S. help to produce more oil and wean itself off Russia, Middle East reliance amid geopolitical turmoil

By Jordan BlumMarch 31, 2026

Bond yields are falling even as oil tops $102, showing that Wall Street fears recession more than inflation

Bond yields are falling even as oil tops $102, showing that Wall Street fears recession more than inflation

By Jason MaMarch 30, 2026

War against Iran to escalate as we approach six-week ‘TACO’ timetable, analysts say

War against Iran to escalate as we approach six-week ‘TACO’ timetable, analysts say

By Jim EdwardsMarch 30, 2026

hormuz

Iran’s Hormuz toll booth points toward an L-shaped price plateau, not the V-shaped recovery traders want

By Siddharth MisraMarch 28, 2026

Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Kash Patel delivers remarks as U.S. President Donald Trump makes an announcement on his Homeland Security Task Force in the State Dinning Room of the White House on October 23, 2025 in Washington, DC.

Pro-Iranian hackers claim they breached FBI Director Kash Patel’s personal email as Trump administration offers $10 million reward

By Eric Tucker and The Associated PressMarch 27, 2026

The Iran war could drag into 2027, analyst warns. The economic fallout is just getting started

The Iran war could drag into 2027, analyst warns. The economic fallout is just getting started

By Jason MaMarch 27, 2026

hormuz

Trump’s big accomplishment in Iran is ‘de facto ‘toll booth’ regime’ in the Strait of Hormuz, shipping analyst says

By David McHugh, Jon Gambrell and The Associated PressMarch 27, 2026

Anthropic accidentally leaked details of a new AI model that poses unprecedented cybersecurity risks

Anthropic accidentally leaked details of a new AI model that poses unprecedented cybersecurity risks

By Jim EdwardsMarch 27, 2026

gas

Trump’s war in Iran is costing the U.S. economy 10,000 jobs a month, Goldman Sachs says

By Nick LichtenbergMarch 26, 2026

iran war

How a war in the Middle East is hiking your mortgage rate in America

By Jake AngeloMarch 26, 2026

iran

Iran is already charging a toll, in Yuan, for oil sold through Strait of Hormuz as American ground troops prepare to enter

By Jon Gambrell, David Rising and The Associated PressMarch 26, 2026

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