A big oil price slide will hurt Iran's attempts to rescue battered living standards, but economic pain is unlikely to soften its stance in nuclear talks or end aid to allies such as Syria, matters seen by its ruling clerics as strategic priorities.
Middle East
Venezuela, Iran plea for oil cut hits Gulf OPEC brick wall
A diplomatic push by Venezuela and Iran for an OPEC oil output cut has failed to soften the refusal of the group's Gulf members to do so for now, delegates said on Monday.
Iran vows to help Venezuela to stem oil price fall
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told Venezuela's president on Saturday he backed coordinated action between Tehran and Caracas to reverse a rapid fall in global oil prices which he described as a "political ploy hatched by common enemies".
Bureaucracy delaying Qatar Airways launch in Saudi: CEO quoted
Complicated bureaucracy is delaying the launch of Qatar Airways' domestic operations in Saudi Arabia, and they are now expected to start in six to 18 months, the airline's chief executive was quoted as saying.
Libya pays heavy economic price as fighting takes toll
The central bank is burning through its foreign reserves and many government services are being cut as Libya reels under the effects of a collapse in oil revenues caused by factional fighting that threatens to tear the country apart.
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Saudi Arabia's finance minister said there was no need for the kingdom to create a sovereign wealth fund to manage its oil wealth, rebuffing suggestions by prominent officials and businessmen.
Arab OPEC producers expect global oil prices to rebound to between $70 and $80 a barrel by the end of next year as a global economic recovery revives demand, OPEC delegates said this week in the first indication of where the group expects oil markets to stabilize in the medium term.
Saudi Arabia said on Sunday it would not cut output to prop up oil markets even if non-OPEC nations did so, in one of the toughest signals yet that the world's top petroleum exporter plans to ride out the market's biggest slump in years.
Saudi Arabia's oil minister said on Sunday non-cooperation by producers outside of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and the actions of speculators had led to the oil price fall, but he was confident the market would improve.
Israel is proud to call itself a "Start-up Nation", with more tech firms listed on Nasdaq than any other country outside the United States and China. But two elements are often missing from that success story: women and Arabs.
Oil producers group OPEC can ride out a slump in oil prices and keep output unchanged, its head said on Sunday, arguing market weakness did not reflect supply and demand fundamentals and could have been driven by speculators.
Afghanistan does not have enough money to pay salaries this month and has asked aid donors for a bailout before the end of the year, the treasury chief told Reuters on Thursday.
Dubai-based Souq.com, one of the Middle East's largest e-commerce businesses, aims for high double-digit revenue growth as it introduces "Black Friday"-type discount events to help lure shoppers from the city's retail malls.
Behzad Omrani grew up in Tehran, in a house ringing to the sounds of his father's record collection - mostly the twangs and twirls of American Country & Western.
