Good morning, friends. While the rest of the world celebrated news of a two-week ceasefire between the US and Iran, it was another restless night for us with a fresh round of attacks targeting the Emirates in the early hours of the day.

Here’s what we know: Washington will “suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks” if Tehran reopens the Strait of Hormuz, US President Donald Trump said. Tehran responded by saying it would halt its attacks across the Gulf if the US and Israel stop their attacks. The Islamic Republic also said it would open the Strait of Hormuz, allowing vessels to transit the waterway in coordination with Iranian armed forces. This came hours before Trump’s deadline for Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or else a “whole civilization will die.”

What happens next? The two sides will meet on Friday to “further negotiate for a conclusive agreement to settle all disputes,” Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said. Trump said Iran presented a 10-point proposal, which he called a “workable basis on which to negotiate.”

The question is whether the ceasefire will hold: An hour after the ceasefire announcement, the Defense Ministry warned that sounds heard this morning are the result of interceptions of missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles. Qatar and Kuwait also reported a fresh round of missile attacks, while Saudi Arabia issued a security alert to residents.

Abu Dhabi authorities are fighting a fire at Habshan gas facility, the Abu Dhabi Media Office said without confirming the cause of the fire or if any injuries were reported. This came after a US official told the New York Times that the US halted strikes against Iran in accordance with the agreement.

What this means for us at home: The reopening of Hormuz means oil exports can once again start making their usual trips to their destinations, helping end one of the worst disruptions the global energy market has ever seen. We’ll also stop worrying about disruptions to our food supplies — a large chunk of which goes through the waterway.

The immediate impact: We expect the announcement to translate into a sharp rebound for the ADX and DFM, as the war-risk premiums drop.

Market reax: Oil dipped below USD 100 per barrel following the news, with Brent dropping as much as 16% to below USD 92 earlier today.

Asian markets cheered the ceasefire, with Japan’s Nikkei climbing over 5% and South Korea’s Kospi rising almost 6% in early trading. Western futures markets — in the US and Europe — also posted gains across the board.

BEFORE THE CEASEFIRE ANNOUNCEMENT — We heard murmurs of evacuations yesterday across DIFC and some panic among residents and expats we spoke to in response to US President Donald Trump’s threats over the past few days. People are concerned that the US’ potential escalation against Iran will result in even further escalation and retaliation from Iran against Gulf states.

And their fears are well placed: We dove into what escalation and attacks on the Gulf region’s power and desalination infrastructure could mean for the region in yesterday’s issue.

Yesterday also saw more attacks on state-owned telecom infrastructure, although this time, instead of Du, it was a strike on Thuraya Telecommunications Company’s administrative building in Sharjah’s central region, state news agency Wam reports. Two Pakistani nationals sustained moderate injuries as a result of the strike and were taken to the hospital for emergency care.

On a more positive note, Abu Dhabi’s property market seems to have weathered the storm thus far, just as Dubai did, with 1Q 2026 data showing solid FDI and a still-strong leasing market even in March.

WEATHER- More of the same: Look for highs of 28-29°C in Dubai and Abu Dhabi and a low of 21°C, according to our favorite weather app.

Watch this space

BUSINESS — More SME support, this time from Emirates NBD: Emirates NBD launched a new business support package, waiving fees and charges for deferred loans, check returns, international courier deliveries, ATM withdrawals, and debit card replacements, according to a press release.

Letters of credit and guarantees will also get a 30% reduction, while banknote management service fees will be slashed by 40%.

REMEMBER- Support for smaller businesses is stacking up: Earlier this week, Dubai South rolled out rent relief and flexible payment terms at its Business Park, including rentfree periods, deferred payments, and waived penalties. Last week, Qashio launched a AED 10 mn relief program in partnership with Dubai Chambers, while authorities moved in late March to introduce a AED 1 bn package to cushion private-sector strain linked to the regional conflict.

AVIATION — UAE airlines see slight dip in activity: Following a temporary hike in activity last week, flight numbers have since dropped slightly, with Emirates flights dropping for the second day to 351 from 366 the day before, according to recent figures published by Flightradar24. The volume of Flydubai and Air Arabia flights has also decreased slightly, with the former seeing flights fall from 150 earlier in the week to 140 on Monday, while the latter fell from 148 to 140.

Etihad, meanwhile, has reportedly slashed long-haul prices by 50% to stimulate demand, according to the New York Post, which reported that flights departing in May and returning in June from London to Sydney via Abu Dhabi round trips are around half the price of comparable flights on British Airways, Asharq Business reports. It also canceled change fees until March 2027, according to its website.

Data point

7.56 mn bbl / d — that’s how much Opec’s output fell by last month, amounting to a near 25% drop to 22 mn bbl / d, according to a Bloomberg survey. The plunge is the largest of its kind in almost four decades, surpassing the drop during the 1973 Arab oil embargo.

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