Iran-Israel conflict

Visitors crowd the Amazon Web Services exhibition stand at the 2026 Hannover Messe industrial trade fair on April 20, 2026, in Hanover, Germany.

What does Amazon war damage mean for Gulf cloud expansion?

Amazon’s cloud computing unit said the damage was sustained to its facilities in Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, casting doubt over multibillion-dollar investments in the region.

member of the Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces firing a heavy machine gun

Claude AI used for missile, influence projects in UAE, Iran, Yemen: Anthropic

Military and government actors across the Middle East — from Iran to Yemen to the United Arab Emirates — have used Anthropic's Claude AI model for war planning and influence campaigns.

Strait

Explainer

How Houthi gains near Bab al-Mandeb raise threat to Saudi oil flows

The Iran-linked militants are advancing on the Red Sea coast following the capture of the strategic port of Mokha, bringing the group closer to full control of the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks during a meeting with Australia's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Richard Marles at the Pentagon in Washington, DC, on September 2, 2026. (Photo by Kent NISHIMURA / AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Iran’s Pickaxe mountain tests limits of Trump’s military options

A secretive Pentagon innovation agency has hastened to test munitions that may penetrate deeper than the GBU-57 bombs dropped on Iran’s two main enrichment facilities.

Jared Szuba

In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military

Latest News

Israel says it destroyed Hezbollah tunnels in Ali al-Taher ridge: What to know

A photograph taken from the southern Lebanese area of Nabatieh shows smoke as it rises from the site of Israeli strikes that targeted the hilltops of the mountainous area of the strategic Ali al-Taher Ridge on Aug. 14, 2026.

Saudi Arabia’s oil production slumps to lowest in 36 years as war bites

FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

How Saudi Arabia seeks to contain Yemen's Houthis without provoking Iran

Fighters supporting the Aden-based, internationally recognized Yemeni government gather during a vigil along the Red Sea shore in Khokha, in Yemen's western Hodeidah province, on July 20, 2026.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Brent crude sails past $100 as Middle East war intensifies

AFPTV / AFP via Getty Images

Iranian ambassador Mohammad Reza Sheibani

In shift, Lebanon grants Iranian ambassador residency extension

Mohammad Reza Sheibani’s visa was set to expire early Tuesday morning and he was first ordered to leave in March.

Chengdu J-10 Vigorous Dragon fighter aircraft

China holds second air drill with Egypt: What to know

China is seeking to strengthen ties with Egypt and Gulf states, including via joint air drills.

Leon Neal/Getty Images

Oil falls 1.8% as traders await 'toughest' sanctions on Iran

Traders are awaiting details about new US measures sure to further disrupt Iranian oil flows.

Iranians drive past an anti-US billboard at Enghelab Square in central Tehran, Aug. 3, 2026.

Trump’s Iran ‘economic D-Day’ threat sends oil prices above $94

In a Truth Social post, the president threatened that any country that provides a financial lifeline to Iran will face "tremendous economic consequences."

Ships are docked along a pier at the Khor Fakkan Container Terminal, the only natural deep-sea port in the region and one of the major container ports in Sharjah Emirate, along the Gulf of Oman on July 14, 2026.

UAE halts all trade ties with Iran after missile attack

The incident follows the UAE blaming Iran for strikes on ADNOC vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.

United Arab Emirates

People attend the international esports gamers Next World Forum in Riyadh, Sept. 7, 2022.

Culture

Iran war hits Saudi gaming drive as Esports Nations Cup pushed to 2027

The postponement is a blow for the kingdom, which has made growing its esports sector one of the main priorities under its Vision 2030.

Ships are anchored in the Strait of Hormuz on Aug. 10, 2026, off the coast of Bandar Abbas, Iran.

Iran says understanding reached with Oman over new Hormuz route map

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told reporters in Tehran on Monday that “an understanding has been reached regarding the map of the transit route.”

A photograph obtained from the Iranian Students’ News Agency shows an oil slick along the southern coast of Qeshm Island, Iran, August 13, 2026.

Oil spills off Oman, Iran's Qeshm Island reap environmental havoc amid war

One oil leak off the coast of Oman is estimated to cover more than 772 square miles, devastating local habitats.

Libyan firefighting teams attempt to extinguish a fire at the Zawiya refinery, the second-largest oil refinery in Libya, with a refining capacity of 120,000 barrels per day, after a tank belonging to the state-owned Libyan Brega Oil Company was attacked by unknown perpetrators, in Zawiya, Libya, on Aug. 11, 2026.

Analysis

Libya’s oil revival faces new test as violence returns amid US peace push

A drone strike destroyed a power substation in Zawiya as a US-backed peace push appears to be roiling domestic tensions.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

port attack

Hormuz traffic sinks to one-week low as ships attacked, talks stagnate

The United States and Yemen's Houthi rebels carried out separate attacks on commercial ships on Tuesday in the Gulf of Oman and the Red Sea.

The Al-Riqqa oil tanker (L) and Al-Yarmouk oil tankers sail in the Arabian Gulf waters, off the coast of Kuwait City on June 27, 2026.

Kuwait's LNG imports climb to highest level since start of Iran war

The country's domestic gas production has fallen drastically since the beginning of the US-Israel-Iran war in February.

image of Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei

Iran’s Khamenei appoints six military commanders: What to know

The appointments, which replace figures killed in the war, follow Khamenei naming a new leader of the Islamic Republic’s top security body.