Maritime strategy

In this picture obtained from Iran's ISNA news agency, a katyusha rocket is fired from a speed boat during a military drill near the port of Bandar Jask in the Sear of Oman on May 10, 2010.

Iran unveils new missile-armed fast attack boat: What to know

The boats are the latest addition to Iran’s "mosquito fleet," a fleet of high-speed attack craft operated by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

ETIENNE TORBEY/AFP via Getty Images

Explainer

Turkey warns Greece, Cyprus not to engage in arms race: What to know

Ankara is alarmed by Greece's military modernization, Cyprus’ shift to Western arms and expanding Greece-Cyprus-Israel defense ties.

A photo of Karim Badawi, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, speaking at the high-level ministerial session of Baku Energy Week in the Azerbaijani capital.

Egypt, Turkey push energy ties in Azerbaijan talks amid Hormuz crisis

Egypt and Turkey are moving to deepen energy cooperation as Iran’s de facto blockade of the Strait of Hormuz disrupts Gulf energy flows, increasing the significance of Eastern Mediterranean energy infrastructure.

Tankers are seen at the Khor Fakkan Container Terminal, the only natural deep-sea port in the region and one of the major container ports in the Sharjah Emirate, along the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway through which one-fifth of global oil output passes on June 23, 2025.

UAE eyes first multifuel pipeline as Hormuz crisis drags on

State-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company is considering building a refined oil products pipeline that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz.

United Arab Emirates

Latest News

Turkey maritime law prompts Greek rethink on Aegean marine parks

This photograph shows Kimom, the first of four modern French Defense and Intervention Frigate, part of Greece's major military modernization program, sailing upon its arrival in the Saronic Gulf, near Athens on Jan. 15, 2026.

Iran suspends US talks over Israel’s Lebanon escalation, state media reports: What to know

In this picture obtained from Iran's ISNA news agency on June 1, 2026, vessels sail at Suru Beach in Bandar Abbas along the Strait of Hormuz.

Analysis

A draft maritime law and strategic rivalry: Why Greece is watching Turkey closely

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) addresses the media during a joint press conference with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (L) at the Presidential Complex, Ankara, Feb. 11, 2026.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

White House calls Iranian report on Hormuz, MOU 'complete fabrication'

Vessels are seen anchored in the Strait of Hormuz, off the port city of Khasab on Oman's northern Musandam Peninsula on May 17, 2026.

Jared Szuba

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

Yemeni coastguard members loyal to the internationally-recognised government ride in a patrol boat cruising in the Red Sea off of the government-held town of Mokha in the western Taiz province, close to the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait, on December 12, 2023. (Photo by Khaled Ziad / AFP) (Photo by KHALED ZIAD/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran launches new naval unit as Red Sea attacks intensify

Equipped with rocket-launching vessels, the additional force is introduced amid increasing encounters between Iranian and American vessels in the Persian Gulf.

KHALIL MAZRAAWI/AFP via Getty Images

Iran slams US' planned maritime force in Red Sea

The Iranian threats come amid repeated attacks against vessels in the area, mostly claimed by the Iran-backed Houthi group.

A picture obtained by AFP from Iranian News Agency ISNA on June 13, 2019, reportedly shows fire and smoke billowing from Norwegian-owned Front Altair tanker said to have been attacked in the waters of the Gulf of Oman

Houthi missile hits Norwegian-flagged tanker in latest Red Sea attack

Iran-backed rebels hit a Norwegian-owned chemical tanker with a cruise missile, but the ship had no clear connection to Israel, signaling the Houthis may be widening the aperture of their attacks.

A view of the sign that reads "Caution: mines" on the beach on April 25, 2022, in Odesa, Ukraine.

Turkey, Romania, Bulgaria announce mechanism to clear mines in Black Sea

The joint mechanism between Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania comes after the British government said Russia might use sea mines to deter Kyiv from exporting its grain.

US Army helicopter crew from the 101st Airborne Division prepares the Apache attack helicopter at the the Camp Udairi airfield in preparation for a mission to Iraq 20 March 2003.

US accuses Iran’s IRGC of harassing helicopter over the Gulf

The first reported tense interaction between the US Navy and Iran's naval forces comes just days after Bahraini soldiers were killed in a drone attack attributed to Yemen's Houthi rebels, who receive arms from Iran.

Egypt Bright Star

Pentagon expands role in Egypt war games as US weighs aid cuts

Some 1,500 US military personnel are taking part in this year’s Bright Star exercise in Egypt as the Biden administration faces renewed pressure from Congress to withhold a portion of Cairo’s military aid over rampant human rights abuses.

Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides (C) holds a trilateral summit with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (R) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the presidential palace in the Cypriot capital Nicosia, Sept. 4, 2023.

Israel, Cyprus, Greece leaders enhance cooperation on gas infrastructure

The leaders of Israel, Greece and Cyprus met in Nicosia to discuss strengthening the trilateral strategic alliance between the countries and exploring options for exporting Israeli natural gas via Cyprus to Europe.

MBZ

UAE president meets US national security adviser amid regional tensions

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan’s trip to Abu Dhabi comes amid US military maneuvers aimed at countering Iran in the Gulf.

United Arab Emirates

Members of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard show their skills in attacking a naval vessel.

Iran warns of more ship seizures in defiance of US Marines' Gulf deployment

Tehran ratcheted up its rhetoric against Washington in the wake of fresh American reinforcement in the Persian Gulf, prompted by the Iranian "harassment" of international commercial ships there.

Aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), left.

Why is US sending 3,000 Navy, Marines force to Persian Gulf?

The Pentagon has not yet specified the Marines' role in deterring Iran from interfering with commercial shipping and threatening neighboring Arab states.

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) leaders' summit in Samarkand on September 15, 2022. (Photo by Alexandr Demyanchuk / SPUTNIK / AFP) (Photo by ALEXANDR DEMYANCHUK/SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran summons Russia's ambassador over UAE islands dispute

On Monday, Russia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) issued a statement calling for a “a peaceful solution” to the dispute over the Abu Musa and Greater and Lesser Tunbs islands “in accordance with international law."

Iranian Revolutionary Guard speedboats cruise past an oil tanker off the port of Bandar Abbas, southern Iran, on July 2, 2012. Iran has come up with several methods to foil the European insurance embargo on ships loaded with its crude, a sanction which may harm its vital exports as much as the EU oil embargo itself. AFP PHOTO/ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/GettyImages)

US confirms Iran’s IRGC seized tanker smuggling fuel in Gulf

The seizure by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps came just a day the US Navy thwarted attempts by Iran's navy to seize two commercial tankers in the Gulf of Oman.