The value of Qatar’s imports rebounded sharply in August from July, government data showed on Wednesday, suggesting the economic impact of sanctions imposed by other Arab states is fading.

Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the United States, speaking to reporters on Tuesday after the kingdom announced it would permit women to drive, said the decision was not just a major social change but part of the country’s economic reforms.

The top U.S. military officer said on Tuesday Iran was complying with the pact curbing its nuclear program and warned that any American decision to walk away from it would make other nations less likely to enter into agreements with the United States.

Saudi King Salman on Tuesday ordered that women be allowed to drive cars, ending a conservative tradition seen by rights activists as an emblem of the Islamic kingdom’s repression of women.

Saudi Arabia is condoning hate speech against its Shiite minority from the upper echelons of its religious establishment, schoolbooks and social media, Human Rights Watch said on Tuesday.

Iraq on Sunday executed 42 Sunni Muslim militants convicted on terrorism charges ranging from killing members of security forces to detonating car bombs.

The ambassadors to Washington from Britain, France, Germany and the European Union all strongly backed the international nuclear agreement with Iran on Monday, as long as Tehran continues to comply with the pact.

The Iraqi government will not hold talks with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) about the results of the "unconstitutional" referendum on independence held on Monday in northern Iraq, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said.

Authorities in Kirkuk declared a curfew an hour and a half before polls closed in a Kurdish independence referendum on Monday as jubilant Kurds celebrated a vote that has raised fears of a new outburst of ethnic conflict.

UAE Minister of Infrastructure Development Abdullah Al-Nuaimi announced that it was decided to postpone the work of the "Gulf train" railway project to 2020-2021 instead of next year 2018, reported Saudi Al-Hayat newspaper.

Bpifrance, the country's state investment bank, will finance investment projects of French companies in Iran from 2018, granting up to 500 million euros ($598 million) in annual credits, its CEO said in a newspaper interview on Sunday.

The Iraqi government asked the autonomous Kurdish region on Sunday to hand over international border posts and its international airports, retaliating to a Kurdish independence referendum to be held on Monday in northern Iraq.

Iraq on Sunday urged foreign countries to stop importing crude directly from its autonomous Kurdistan region and to restrict oil trading to the central government.

Iraqi Kurds are expected to vote for independence in a referendum on Monday that neighboring countries and Western powers fear could break up the country and stir broader regional ethnic and sectarian conflict.

Iran halted flights to and from Kurdish regions in northern Iraq on Sunday in retaliation to a plan by the autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to hold a referendum on independence. It also started wargames at the Kurdish border.

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz is expected to visit Russia, the RIA news agency cited Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying on Thursday.

Turkey, Iran and Iraq have agreed to consider counter-measures against Kurdish northern Iraq over a planned independence referendum, Turkey’s foreign ministry said on Thursday.

Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) President Massoud Barzani said on Friday that Iraq’s Kurds were ready “to pay any price for freedom”, rejecting international pressure to call off the referendum on independence planned for Monday in northern Iraq.

Iran will strengthen its missile capabilities and not seek any country’s permission, President Hassan Rouhani said on Friday rejecting demands from U.S. President Donald Trump.

Saudi Arabia will begin implementing a new bankruptcy law early next year as part of efforts to attract foreign investment and encourage private sector activity.