The reported Houthi ground offensive around Mokha and north towards Al-Khawkhah is significant for a reason that goes beyond Yemen’s civil war: control of this coastline could give the Houthis greater leverage over one of the world’s most important maritime corridors. Recent reporting confirms that Houthi attacks on Mokha have intensified, including repeated missile and…
The latest US-Iran confrontation over the Strait of Hormuz is becoming a battle not only over a strategic waterway, but over who gets to define what “control” actually means. President Donald Trump says the United States has “total control” of the Strait, declaring that the American naval presence is a “wall of steel” and suggesting…
Syria has sentenced former President Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia, alongside his brother Maher, while his cousin and former Daraa security chief Atef Najib also received a death sentence. The ruling is a landmark moment for a country still dealing with the consequences of the 2011 uprising and the war that followed. But the…
Reports of a missile attack on a Saudi-linked commercial vessel in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, reportedly killing three crew members, two Pakistanis and one Indonesian, are the latest warning that the Red Sea shipping crisis is becoming harder for commercial operators to ignore. The details of the reported incident are still developing, and there has…
The latest tensions in the Middle East are revealing a problem that could become more important than the fighting itself: the countries involved increasingly disagree on what an acceptable end to the conflict actually looks like. US President Donald Trump has backed a 15-point framework for Gaza that would involve Hamas disarming, followed by a…
The latest developments around the Strait of Hormuz are exposing a bigger problem than whether commercial ships can return to the waterway: international rules are struggling to keep pace with a geopolitical crisis. Iran and Oman are reportedly close to an arrangement that would create separate routes for ships travelling through the strait, with discussions…
The continuing conflict involving Iran is creating a strange situation in the global energy market: oil companies are making much more money at the same time that higher energy prices are putting pressure on consumers and businesses. Saudi Aramco, ExxonMobil and Chevron are among the major energy companies benefiting from the sharp changes in oil…
Just days after the United States appeared to be on the brink of another military confrontation with Iran, President Donald Trump has announced that direct negotiations between Washington and Tehran will begin, following his decision to shelve planned military strikes. Trump said the talks are expected to start Monday and expressed optimism that diplomacy could…
U.S. President Donald Trump has confirmed that American military strikes inside Iran will continue, a declaration that suggests the conflict is entering a new phase with no immediate end in sight. While the latest announcement focuses on military action, its biggest implications may be economic and geopolitical rather than tactical. Speaking after the latest escalation,…
International mediators have unveiled a tentative roadmap aimed at ending the war in Gaza, with the proposed framework calling for Hamas to disarm in phases while Israeli forces gradually withdraw from the territory. The proposal, announced following intensive negotiations involving the United States, Egypt, Qatar and other regional partners, outlines a multi-stage process designed to…
