Maritime strategy

GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images

Iran accused of seizing vessel in Strait of Hormuz diverted from UAE

An oil tanker sailing under the flag of the Marshall Islands through the Strait of Hormuz was diverted into Iranian territorial waters on Friday, amid suspicions that it was intercepted by Iran.

An employee wearing a face mask against the coronavirus, is pictured at the port of Jebel Ali, operated by the Dubai-based giant ports operator DP World, in the southern outskirts of the Gulf emirate of Dubai, on June 18, 2020.

UAE’s DP World to invest $5B in India's infrastructure: What to know

The Dubai-headquartered logistics firm has already invested $3 billion into the South Asian nation over three decades.

United Arab Emirates

A picture taken on Sept. 24, 2020, shows a partial view of the Brega oil port some 270 kilometers west of Libya's eastern city of Benghazi.

Turkey seeks to bolster Eastern Med foothold in new Libya energy talks

The talks between the Turkish ambassador in Libya and the Tripoli government’s energy minister come as Turkey seeks to reduce dependence on energy imports and bolster its energy security.

A Saudi navy ship is pictured docked at King Faisal navy base in Jeddah before the departure of a team to Port Sudan to help with the evacuation efforts of people fleeing Sudan, on April 29, 2023. - Warplanes on bombing raids drew heavy anti-aircraft fire over Khartoum as fierce fighting between Sudan's army and paramilitaries entered a third week, despite a renewed truce. (Photo by Fayez NURELDINE / AFP) (Photo by FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Saudi Arabia diversifies with new China naval drills, but military remains Western-centric

Expanding Saudi-Chinese defense cooperation mirrors the broader deepening of Saudi-Chinese diplomatic and economic relations.

Francesco Schiavi

By Francesco Schiavi

In Bologna, reporting on security, defense, economy, governance

Latest News

Somaliland leader courts Ethiopia in recognition push: What to know

Wadani party presidential candidate Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, also known as Irro, speaks during a press conference on November 10, 2024, ahead of the 2024 Somaliland presidential election.

Iran, Russia, Central Asia states ink Caspian Sea pact, plan naval drills

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov chairs the annual meeting of the Caspian Sea littoral states foreign ministers, known as the Caspian Five, in Moscow, on Dec. 5, 2023.

Dutch-flagged cargo ship struck off Yemen in latest attack

Images of a fireball exploding on a cargo ship are shown on a giant screen during a protest called for by Yemen's rebel Houthi movement in Sanaa on March 17, 2025.

Sudan, Russia sign trade deals as Khartoum seeks funds, Moscow eyes Red Sea port

MAXIM SHEMETOV/AFP via Getty Images

Lebanese protesters sail in boats with slogans affirming Lebanon's right to its offshore gas wealth, near a border-marking buoy between Israel and Lebanon in the Mediterranean waters off the southern town of Naqoura, Sept. 4, 2022.

Why Hezbollah won't torpedo Lebanon's maritime border talks with Israel

Israeli sources believe that Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah realizes how important it is for economically failing Lebanon to reach an agreement with Jerusalem on its maritime border and the extraction of natural gas.

A handout picture provided by the Iranian Army official website on September 11, 2020, shows an Iranian navy warship during the second day of a military exercise in the Gulf, near the strategic strait of Hormuz in southern Iran.

Cameras missing from US Navy drones briefly seized by Iran, Pentagon says

It remains unclear whether Iran's navy took the cameras or whether they became dislodged when hauled onto the deck of the frigate IRIN Jamaran in the Red Sea last week.

drone

Iran navy attempts to capture US drones in Red Sea

A US military official rejected Iran's claims that the unmanned sea drones pose a hazard to commercial shipping in the region.

Navy drone

US Navy thwarts Iran's attempt to capture sea drone in Gulf

The seizure comes as the US Navy has increasingly deployed unmanned technology to help monitor weapons smuggling and other maritime activity in Middle Eastern waters.

The Alfred Merlin undersea archaeologist team during the sail toward Trapani in Italy, August 2022.

Culture

Mediterranean countries take on archaeology project off Tunisian coast

Algeria, Croatia, Egypt, France, Italy, Morocco, Spain and Tunisia are working together on an underwater archaeological expedition, researching the Skerki Bank region off the Sicily and Tunisian coasts.

This picture taken on Nov. 17, 2019, shows the Hong Kong-flagged container ship CSCL STAR sailing through Egypt's Suez Canal.

Egypt-Chinese consortium to run terminals in Red Sea, Mediterranean ports

The Egyptian government signed new concessions with a Chinese alliance to build and operate two world-class container terminals in the ports of Sokhna and Dekhila, as part of a container logistics project to link the Red and Mediterranean seas.

The Turkey-flagged Abdulhamid Han.

Fourth Turkish drilling ship begins energy exploration in Mediterranean

Past Turkish energy exploration activities took place in waters claimed by Greece and Cyprus, leading to significant tensions.

Israeli Prime Minister and Yesh Atid party leader Yair Lapid speaks during the party's opening election campaign rally ahead Israel's general elections, Tel Aviv, Israel, Aug. 3, 2022.

Israel launches airstrikes against Islamic Jihad in Gaza

Three months before the Nov. 1 elections, and following growing tensions on Gaza border, Prime Minister Yair Lapid decided to respond forcefully to Islamic Jihad threats.

The sign at the entrance to the Russian branch of the Jewish Agency for Israel office is seen in this photo, Moscow, Russia, July 28, 2022.

Is Russia escalating Jewish Agency crisis because of Israel's stance on Ukraine?

Some Israeli security and diplomatic experts believe that Russian President Vladimir Putin instigated the Jewish Agency crisis to pressure Israel against selling natural gas to Europe.

Israeli soldiers close a gate near the Kibbutz of Shtula, near the border with Lebanon, July 3, 2022.

Israel assesses Nasrallah's next move amid escalation on northern border

Jerusalem is concerned that internal pressures in Lebanon on Hezbollah’s Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah could be translated into more violence against Israel.

JALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images

Hezbollah, Israel tensions heat up over border

US-led mediation over Israel's maritime borders with Lebanon complicated by border tensions with Israel.

Iranian Army office/AFP via Getty Images

British navy reveals Iranian missiles seized in Gulf of Oman

The United States and United Kingdom touted a small win for regional security cooperation ahead of President Joe Biden's trip to Saudi Arabia next week.