It has been around a year since Syrian government forces and allied tribal militiamen entered the primarily Druze province of al-Suwayda’ in southern Syria, ostensibly serving as a ‘mediation’ force but in fact seeking to impose government security control and dismantle the Druze armed groups in the province that were …

How the U.S.-Iran showdown has shattered the myth of an “unsinkable” defense umbrella—and why the Gulf monarchies are quietly shopping for a new guarantor. The “Oil-for-Protection” Deal That BackfiredFor generations, the strategic bargain between Washington and the Persian Gulf monarchies was strikingly straightforward: The United States guarantees the territorial integrity …

The Red Sea is becoming the “lesser evil” for shipowners, analysts said, as uncertainty in the Strait of Hormuz outweighs the threat posed by Yemen’s Houthi militants. The Iranian-backed rebels began attacking commercial vessels in the Red Sea and its southern gateway at Bab el-Mandeb in late 2023, prompting most …