Middle Orient

Tehran has upended traditional maritime arrangements in the Strait of Hormuz and remains in the driver’s seat despite U.S. pressure, so authorities cannot expect to reverse this shift quickly even if the war ends soon. On April 28, a Japanese-owned, Panama-flagged crude oil tanker safely transited the Strait of Hormuz …

The first gathering in a decade by the Palestinian Authority’s dominant party will cast light on a post-Abbas future and governance in Gaza, among other issues. On May 14, Fatah launched its eighth General Conference, which will culminate in the election of officials to lead its various governing bodies. Because …

Trump Says Iran Response “Totally Unacceptable” President Trump has just issued a statement on his TruthSocial feed rejecting ‘unacceptable’ Iranian proposal for ending war. "I have just read the response from Iran’s so-called “Representatives.” I don’t like it — TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE! Thank you for your attention to this matter." Iran …

Syria’s Interior Ministry has announced a new string of foiled Hezbollah assassination plots against high-level figures, attacks on minority figures and civilian targets, and weapons transfers, alleging the group and Iran-backed actors are seeking to undermine local security across the country. The nature of alleged Hezbollah network raids and planned …

The Iran war has widened differences between Saudi Arabia, which favors accommodation with Iran and Iran-backed regional actors, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which believes military confrontation with Iran and its allies can produce transformative change. Most of the Arab Gulf states are following Saudi Arabia’s lead by advocating …

Both Tehran and Washington are conducting military operations and threatening escalation to enhance their strategic leverage in negotiations to end the conflict. The brinkmanship renders a restart of major conflict as likely as an agreement that would resolve the major outstanding issues, including a full reopening of the Strait of …

As Israel entrenches its occupation of south Lebanon behind a so-called ‘yellow line’, villages are being systematically erased, and residents displaced Qlayaa, Lebanon – The birds are still singing in south Lebanon, but they are faintly heard over a soundscape that – after two and a half years of war …

Despite Washington’s push to reach a broader peace arrangement between Beirut and Tel Aviv, it has apparently failed to restrain its ally, Israel. Hours after the US announced a 45-day extension to the Lebanon-Israel ceasefire, Israeli strikes once again pounded southern Lebanon. The US hosted two days of direct talks …

US prosecutors say Mohammad Al-Saadi, a Kataeb Hezbollah member and IRGC operative, coordinated close to 20 recent attacks in Western countries claimed by Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya The US Justice Department on Friday announced the arrest of a senior Iraqi militia commander for terrorism against Jewish targets on behalf of …

Security official indicates Gaza City airstrike eliminated terror group’s chief; former hostages hail reports of death of the man responsible for their abduction and captivity Israel said that it had targeted Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip and the head of the terror group’s military wing, …