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Explainer

Iran-Oman deal spurs Hormuz hopes as Red Sea threats evolve

Iran has signaled that an agreement was reached with Oman establishing a Hormuz shipping route even as Houthi attacks in the Red Sea expand.

Iran

Turkish National Intelligence Organization chief Ibrahim Kalin

Turkey's intel chief hosts Libya delegation amid unification push: What to know

The visit by Libya’s high-level delegation came as US-led efforts gathered pace to broker a power-sharing arrangement between the country’s rival camps.

Turkey

A memorial depicting Qassem Soleimani, the slain commander of the "Quds Force" of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), who was killed by a US airstrike in Iraq in 2020, is pictured at Valiasr Square in Tehran on April 6, 2026. Israeli strikes killed the intelligence chief of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, as the Islamic republic on April 6 defied threats from the US President to devastate civilian infrastructure if it does not reopen the Strait of Hormuz. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP via Getty Ima

US lifts sanctions on Iraqi airline linked to Iran's IRGC: What to know

The airline was previously sanctioned for providing assistance for the IRGC and its proxy groups in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon.

Iran

Fighters with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) line up to put their weapons into a pit during a ceremony in Sulaimaniyah, in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, on July 11, 2025.

Analysis

How Turkey's PKK amnesty law entwines Kurds' hopes with Erdogan's ambitions

The first legislation to emerge from direct negotiations with Abdullah Ocalan offers a path to ending Turkey's war with the PKK while potentially giving President Recep Tayyip Erdogan the votes he needs to remain in power for a third term.

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Israeli battle tanks deploy in the village of Zawtar al-Sharqiyah (Eastern Zawtar) in southern Lebanon as pictured from the nearby village of Zawtar al-Gharbiyah (Western Zawtar) on August 2, 2026. Under a US-sponsored agreement signed in June, Lebanon's army is to disarm Hezbollah and the Israeli military is to withdraw from "pilot zones" where Lebanese forces will subsequently deploy. The deal came more than three months after Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the Middle East with rocket fire at Israel in suppo

Israel-Lebanon talks suspended amid escalation, set to resume Thursday

The Israeli delegation asked the American representatives to suspend the direct talks with Lebanon for a few hours over alleged leaks by Beirut.

Lebanon

Latest News

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Last Updated: August 5, 2026, 12:59 pm

Abdul el-Sayed becomes first Muslim-American to win Michigan Senate primary

DETROIT, MICHIGAN - AUGUST 01: Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed speaks after a radio appearance on Dr. Horace Sheffield's GOTV Community Rally on August 01, 2026 in Detroit, Michigan. El-Sayed currently holds a 15-point lead against Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) according to a recent poll. (Photo by Finn Gomez/Getty Images)

United States

US stock markets soar to new records amid Hormuz deal hopes

Iran

Proposed Hormuz deal would give Iran control of inbound traffic, sources say

Explainer

The emerging Iran-Oman Hormuz deal: What's at stake?

Iran

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Exclusive-Iran threatens to hit Gulf states if US launches new strikes

Reuters

Smoke rises from a hill following Israeli air strikes, after the Israeli military issued an evacuation warning to the village of Mansouri, Lebanon, August 5, 2026 in this screengrab obtained from social media. Social Media/via REUTERS

Israeli military strikes southern Lebanon after evacuation warning to village

Reuters

Soccer Football - Arab Cup - Group C - Saudi Arabia v Jordan - Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan, Qatar - December 1, 2021 Prince Ali bin Hussein the President of Jordan football association is seen with FIFA President Gianni Infantino in the stands REUTERS/Ibraheem Al Omari

Soccer-Infantino holds crisis meeting in Morocco as FIFA stake sale fallout continues

Reuters

AFP journalist Christina Assi had her right leg amputated after being hit by an Israeli tank shell while covering cross border clashes in southern Lebanon in October 2023

AFP journalist to be honored at International Press Freedom Awards

Agence France-Presse

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Middle East Minute

US-Iran deal over Hormuz may be imminent as Trump touts ‘very good’ talks

Adam Lucente

5 August, 9:01 AM ET

3:40

On the Middle East with Amberin Zaman

US troop withdrawal leaves Kurds at mercy of Iran & Baghdad, says former State Department official Victoria Taylor

Victoria Taylor joins Amberin Zaman

4 August, 2:40 PM ET

22:10

Middle East Minute

Israel and Lebanon hold 7th round of talks amid mounting hurdles

Adam Lucente

4 August, 8:31 AM ET

3:32

Interviews

Exclusive conversations with AL-MONITOR.

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Interview

PJAK leader mocks Iran’s claim Turkey spiked US Kurdish-backed regime-change plan

A Kurdish fighter from the Iranian Kurdish armed faction Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK) stands with his rifle at a site near the Iraqi border with Iran in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, on March 8, 2026.

Siamand Moeini

PJAK Executive Council Member

Interview

Why Strait of Hormuz no longer rattles oil markets as much: IMF

A ship sails off the coast of Ajman on July 10, 2026.

Jihad Azour

Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the International Monetary Fund

Interview

Ayman Odeh says Arab parties could back Bennett or Eisenkot to block Netanyahu

Ayman Odeh

Head of the Knesset's Hadash-Ta'al faction

Interview

Resumption in Yemen's oil exports 'possible' with security measures: VP

Deputy chairman of the Presidential Leadership Council Sultan Ali al-Aradah

Analysis

Stay a step ahead of your colleagues.

Analysis

Why Iran is fighting to keep Hormuz at center of US negotiations

Two brothers watch oil tankers, general cargo ships, bulk carriers, and fishing boats anchored in the waters off Muscat near the Strait of Hormuz on June 18, 2026 in Muscat, Oman.

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Analysis

Netanyahu’s Gaza double game: Back Trump, reassure Israel’s right

By Ben Caspit

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Analysis

Another US-Iran truce, same Hormuz standoff: What comes next

TOPSHOT - This aerial photograph shows boats anchored off Oman's northern Musandam Peninsula near the Strait of Hormuz on June 27, 2026. Iran launched attacks on US sites in the Gulf in response to American strikes on the country, state media said on June 27, after Washington accused Tehran of attacking one of its cargo ships in the Strait of Hormuz. The trading of fire raised questions about efforts to keep the crucial waterway open while Washington and Tehran negotiate a final settlement to a war that beg

By Rosaleen Carroll

In Washington, DC, US, reporting on the Middle East

Analysis

How Turkey's PKK amnesty law entwines Kurds' hopes with Erdogan's ambitions

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Inside US-Israel fault lines on Iran, Saudi Arabia and Turkey

July 29, 2026