Maritime strategy

An Iranian man rides his motorbike past a billboard on May 28, 2026.

Analysis

Why Iran's generals are intensifying anti-US rhetoric amid negotiations

Leading figures within Iran's military and security establishment have framed the memorandum with Washington not as an end point but as a conditional arrangement tied to battlefield realities.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Speaker of the parliament of Iran, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf (R), arrives at the Burgenstock resort in Obbuergen, near Lucerne, Switzerland, on June 21, 2026.

Iran's Ghalibaf holds talks in Oman on Strait of Hormuz: What to know

The US-Iran memorandum of understanding signed last week calls for Iran and Oman to hold talks on the future administration of the strait.

Handout Photo by the US Navy via Getty Images

Explainer

What’s the status of Strait of Hormuz after US-Iran talks?

Oil tankers continued to transit the strait in both directions, but many turned off their transponders over the weekend after Iran's military declared Hormuz closed once again.

Amirhossein KHORGOOEI / ISNA / AFP via Getty Images

3 Iranian tankers with 4.8M barrels of oil pass US blockade: What to know

At least three US-sanctioned Iranian-flagged tankers have exited the Gulf of Oman as the Trump administration eyes Tehran's moves ahead of sanctions waivers expected to begin Friday.

Jared Szuba

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

Latest News

Explainer

Turkey slams France-Cyprus military pact as East Med rivalries deepen

Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides (2nd L) and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron (C) review the honor guard at the Presidential Palace in Nicosia on April 23, 2026, ahead of a meeting on the sidelines of a European summit.

Explainer

Turkey-Israel tensions flare over Syria, Lebanon, East Med: What to know

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan buttons up his jacket during a press conference after the conclusion of the G20 Leaders' Summit at the Nasrec Expo Centre in Johannesburg on November 23, 2025.

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

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.

Explainer

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

ETIENNE TORBEY/AFP via Getty Images

JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images

Israel takes down Hezbollah drones headed for Mediterranean gas rig

By intercepting Iran-made UAVs sent by Hezbollah earlier this week, Israel has made it clear that it can protect its maritime assets.

Navy red sea

Iran navy expanding its presence in Red Sea, Israel says

Israel's defense chief said Iran's navy is "methodically basing itself in the Red Sea," posing risks to international shipping.

AL-MONITOR Staff

By AL-MONITOR Staff

Rosenblum

Culture

Israel's EcoOcean to tell UN meeting of its work to clean Mediterranean

Participating at the United Nations Ocean Conference in Portugal, head of the Israeli NGO EcoOcean Arik Rosenblum explains the actions that they are taking to clean the seas and to protect marine ecosystems.

In this photo made available by the US Navy, a boat of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy operates in close proximity to patrol coastal ship USS Sirocco.

Iran’s IRGC harasses US Navy in Persian Gulf as nuclear talks stall

The "unsafe and unprofessional" encounter was at least the second in just a few months, a Navy official confirmed.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi received at Ittihadia Palace the head of the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council, President Rashad Al-Alimi, on June 11, 2022.

Egypt fears for Red Sea security as Yemen cease-fire teeters

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi received Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council President Rashad al-Alimi as part of his first foreign tour since his inauguration, amid efforts to consolidate the cease-fire and reach a solution that ends the crisis in the war-torn country.

A military vessel of the United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is pictured off the coast of the southern Lebanese town of Naqura, on the border with Israel, where delegations from the two countries were meeting, Nov. 11, 2020.

Maritime dispute with Lebanon threatens Israeli natural gas drilling

Israel hopes that a solution can be found to the maritime border dispute with Lebanon so Energean can start drilling in the Karish field in the third quarter of 2022.

tanker

Iran seizes two Greek tankers after US, Greece seize Iranian fuel

The tanker wars between the US and Iran appear to be heating up once again as Vienna talks remain on the rocks.

Pro-Russian supporters wave flags as they welcome missile cruiser Moskva.

How Russia losing its Black Sea flagship Moskva could reverberate in Syria

Navy Persian Gulf

US Navy adds new task force to patrol Red Sea

Task Force 153 will patrol the Red Sea and waters around Yemen, as Iran shows no sign of relinquishing support for the Houthis.

Osama Rabie, chairman of Egypt's Suez Canal Authority.

Suez Canal Authority remains neutral in Russian-Ukrainian war

The Suez Canal Authority proclaimed neutrality in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and announced that it will not ban Russian and Ukrainian vessels from traversing the canal.

Cargo ships are moored along a dock at the port of Haifa, Israel, June 24, 2021.

Analysis

Turkish company disqualified from tender to operate Israel’s Haifa port

Israeli intelligence agencies fear that a French-Lebanese company, associated with Turkish company Yilport, which is interested in operating the Haifa port, could be affiliated with Hezbollah.

Danny Zaken

In Ma'ale HaHamisha, reporting on Israel

JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images

Bad news for Netanyahu as inquiry peers into submarine affair

Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tried hard to prevent a commission of inquiry into the submarine scandal that has plagued him, but its time has come.