Chief Business Correspondent at @almonitor.
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Ex-@newsweek, @thenationalnews and @airfinancenews.
@jackvdutton.bsky.soc
The two men had been due to address the SXSW London festival on June 4, with Piker scheduled to meet left-wing UK lawmakers and Uygur slated to address Oxford University students. https://t.co/YY1yaXEdZP via @AlMonitor
Is the #UAE moving closer to the @IEA — potentially even toward membership — following its departure from #OPEC?
An interesting strategic evolution to watch.
@OPECSecretariat
Touching down with the president in Beijing:
Eric Trump
Lara Trump
Secretary Marco Rubio
Secretary Pete Hegseth
Ambassador Jamieson Greer
James Blair
Beau Harrison
Stephen Miller
Steven Cheung
Robert Gabriel
Michael Kratsios
Ross Worthington
Walt Nauta
Ambassador Monica Crowley
Elon Musk
Jensen Huang
BREAKING: EU lifts economic pact to pledge fuller trade ties with Syria. The move marks a major economic step as Syria seeks economic recovery after its 13-year civil war and the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime. https://t.co/fGsA6qwIAq via @AlMonitor
Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said Egypt has secured commitments exceeding $19 billion from international oil companies over the next three years. https://t.co/Yt1fqTMNz4 via @AlMonitor
Prime Minister @netanyahu held a call today with the President of the United Arab Emirates, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
During the call, Prime Minister Netanyahu expressed Israel's firm condemnation of the Iranian terrorist attacks targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure in the UAE, describing them as a grave violation of sovereignty and a threat to regional stability. Prime Minister Netanyahu reaffirmed Israel’s unwavering solidarity with the UAE and its full support for all measures taken to safeguard the nation’s security and the safety of its citizens.
As always, Israel stands in steadfast solidarity with its closest allies and remains committed to our shared pursuit of peace and security.
🇮🇱🤝🇦🇪
May 5 (Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates restricted flights to a handful of approved routes until at least May 11 and activated emergency security protocols, according to Notices to Air Men (NOTAMs) published by its General Civil Aviation Authority.
Airlines have never before planned around fuel availability - only price.
That changed this week.
Global airlines cut 2 million seats from May schedules in the past two weeks alone.
Lufthansa cancelled 20,000 flights through October. Singapore and Tokyo asked carriers not to add extra services to limit jet fuel use. Vietnam has introduced rationing.
The summer travel season starts in weeks.
Our latest podcast on the UAE’s decision to leave #OPEC, including what it means for the country’s national strategy and the wider cartel. With @Adam_Lucente and @sam_wendel . https://t.co/NWPxnv4dQA
🚨🚨 🧵 The UAE has announced it will leave OPEC May 1st. My initial impression is this isn’t just about energy and market share. It’s about geopolitical realignment. A thread on what might have actually drove this decision, and why it matters.
1. The UAE’s exit has three distinct drivers: military, strategic realignment toward the US, and economic ambition. They reinforce each other.
2. The Iran war saw the UAE absorb more punishment from Iran than even Israel. Most of Iran’s missiles and drones were directed toward the GCC.
3. The countries that aided the UAE during the conflict were Israel, the US, the UK, Italy and South Korea (mostly Western countries)
4. The fact that the Gulf countries were somewhat divided on how to respond to the conflict both diplomatically and militarily is important in the overall context of this decision.
5. Oman, Qatar and KSA were quietly looking for diplomatic off ramps. The UAE, being the primary target of Iranian drones and missiles wanted a much more forceful response from its neighbors.
6. This is where OPEC gets in the crosshairs. The organisation was built on shared Arab producer interests. It seems the UAE has now concluded its interests diverge sharply from Saudi Arabia’s on security, on Iran, and on production strategy.
7. The UAE-Saudi relationship is too frayed, with ongoing disagreements over Yemen, Sudan, and now divergent approaches to the Iranian threat.
8. The US dimension could explain the timing. President Trump has explicitly linked American military protection of Gulf states to oil prices, accusing OPEC of exploiting US defence commitments.
9. In this environment Abu Dhabi appears to have made the calculation that staying in OPEC while depending on Washington is an increasingly untenable position. Leaving is as much a political signal as an economic one.
10. The UAE wants to scale output from 3.4 million to 5 million barrels per day by 2027, a target incompatible with OPEC quotas. They have the resources and the reserves to do this.
11. The UAE said the exit gives it more flexibility to respond to market dynamics. In a world of historically low spare capacity, that flexibility has enormous monetary value and it makes sense for the UAE to capitalize on it.
12. For OPEC this is a huge blow. When your third-largest producer calculates that national interest, security alliances, and production ambitions are all better served outside the organisation, the bloc’s cohesion is now a reality.
Still too early to write off #OPEC but this could lead to other countries deciding to do the same. #IranWar #OPEC #UAE