Geopolitics
“Qatar rejects Iran’s justification for attacks, says civilian impact is ‘well-documented’.” Khaleej Times, September 5, 2025.
“Al Ansari said the document cited by Iran was a safety and security risk assessment prepared for the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference. He stressed that it was neither a comprehensive factual record nor a legal assessment of the events.”
“U.S. approves potential sale of Joint Direct Attack Munitions-Extend Range to Saudi Arabia for $5 billion.” Reuters, September 4, 2026.
“The State Department also said it had approved a possible sale of AGT-1500 engines to Saudi Arabia for an estimated $750 million. The principal contractor for sale of the engines is Honeywell, the department said.”
“Saudi Nuclear Agreement Could Open a Path to 20% Enrichment.” WSJ, September 2, 2026.
“The text of the accord was shared with lawmakers last week along with a raft of related documents. It outlines a road map for how uranium might be enriched in the kingdom’s territory after further consultations, including at a level of nearly 20%.”
“Saudi Grain Giant Shifts Away From Black Sea as War Roils Supply.” Bloomberg, September 4, 2026.
“The Russia-Ukraine conflict has intensified this summer, damaging grain terminals and sharply reducing exports from both countries. The disruption has pushed up a raft of commodity prices, with barley delivered to Saudi Arabia now as much as 25% more expensive than two months ago, according to Aldharrab.”
Market & Economy
“Saudis Explore About $8 Billion in Loans as War Strains Finances.” Bloomberg, August 31, 2026.
“Saudi Arabia has emerged as one of the most active emerging-market borrowers, raising about $6 billion in domestic and international bonds this year, while Aramco has raised another $4 billion. Its sovereign wealth fund raised $7 billion in May, one of the first public-market deals since the Iran war began.”
“Kuwait issues decree allowing government to borrow from wealth fund.” Zawya, September 3, 2026.
“Kuwait’s government issued a decree on Tuesday allowing it to borrow from its more than $1 trillion sovereign wealth fund, ending a decades-old ban and helping support the state treasury as lower oil revenues and disruptions to shipping on the Strait of Hormuz weigh on public finances.”
“Major UAE Oil Refinery Returns to Full Capacity After War Hit.” Bloomberg, August 31, 2026.
“Adnoc has been raising exports of oil products such as diesel and jet fuel from the Ruwais refinery, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. The company was able to run the facility, which has the capacity to process 922,000 barrels a day of crude, at its full potential about a month ago, one person said.”
“Chinese tech firms deepen ties in Saudi Arabia.” Semafor, Sep 4, 2026.
“AWS, for one, is building $5.3 billion worth of data centers in the kingdom. And as part of a deal to secure export licenses for advanced chips from the US government, HUMAIN will not allow Chinese frontier AI models to be trained on its compute capacity. Instead, its CEO said the firm will offer access to Chinese open-source models on its Saudi data centers.”
Go Deeper: “Saudi AI firm HUMAIN to launch giant global VC fund this year.” Semafor, September 3, 2026.
“UAE bank credit growth surges ahead of Gulf peers.” AGBI, September 4, 2026.
“Gross credit reached AED2.76 trillion ($752 billion) at the end of June, up 18 percent from a year earlier and 7 percent since December, the latest central bank data shows.”
“Dubai launches AI property platform, cuts registration time by up to 80%.” Zawya, September 3, 2026.
“Dubai Land Department (DLD) has launched the ‘Initial Registration’ platform to streamline the developer journey and integrate project registration, real estate transaction registration and escrow account management. By deploying artificial intelligence, automating processes and delivering more efficient and transparent digital services, the platform supports the sector’s readiness for growth and reinforces Dubai’s position as a global destination for real estate investment.”
“Kuwait boosts oil sector spending.” Zawya, September 1, 2026.
“KPC said in its annual report that capital spending swelled to nearly 2.3 billion Kuwaiti dinars ($7.5 billion) from around KWD 1.9 billion ($6.19 billion) in the 2024/2025 fiscal year, an increase of KWD 400 million year-on-year.”
“Oil windfall cuts Oman budget gap but subsidy worries remain.” AGBI, September 4, 2026.
“The sultanate recorded a fiscal deficit of just OMR17 million ($44 million) in the first half of 2026, down from OMR259 million in the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Finance.”
“Total public revenues rose 13 percent to OMR6.6 billion, as oil revenues rose 10 percent year on year and gas revenues increased 32 percent over the period.”
“OPEC+ Sticks With Plan to Keep Oil Output Quotas Unchanged.” Bloomberg, September 6, 2026.
“Despite the reduced flows, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies continued to raise quotas during the war to nominally complete the reversal of output curbs made in 2023, and potentially give some members extra leeway to bolster output once the fighting subsides.”
Local Updates
“Kuwait documents Iranian attacks in Grade 10 textbook, stresses national unity.” Khaleej Times, September 4, 2026.
“The textbook details attacks it attributes to Iran and Iranian-backed groups, carried out using missiles and drones against vital and government facilities as well as residential areas.”
“Qatar still planning to host MotoGP and F1 races despite regional conflict.” Khaleej Times, September 1, 2026.
“‘Qatar has been safe for months now. Our airport is 100 per cent operational, including transit flights between Asia and Europe. If you visit Qatar, you will see we are back to normal life, so we’re really looking forward to hosting races again soon,’ Al Mannai said in a QA issued by the QMMF.”