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September 16, 2026

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China presses Iran, US to reopen Hormuz as disruptions threaten oil supply

Conflicts in the region are disrupting two key routes for oil bound for China, with Iranian crude affected by the Strait of Hormuz and Saudi shipments facing growing risks in the Red Sea.

Fighters loyal to the Houthi authorities, brandish their weapons during a rally to recruit more fighters, in Sanaa on September 10, 2026. The country relapsed into war in July after years of calm, drawn into the regional conflict triggered by the US-Israeli offensive against Iran that began at the end of February. (Photo by Mohammed HUWAIS / AFP via Getty Images)

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Lacking deterrence, Israel’s security establishment opposes attacks on Houthis

Senior Israeli intelligence sources told Al-Monitor that Israel seeks to avoid involvement in the conflict between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia, despite concerns that Yemen could further unravel and that Iran is backing the group.

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

Houthi fighters marching

Analysis

How far will Iran push Houthis against Saudi Arabia amid raging conflict?

As Iran-backed Houthis broaden attacks on Saudi Arabia, Tehran's delicate calculation is exploiting the current conflict without being dragged into an escalation of its own making.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Latest News

Analysis

Why Saudi Arabia's balancing act with US, Iran, Houthis risks collapse

Fighters loyal to the Houthi authorities shout slogans during a rally to recruit more fighters, in Sanaa, Yemen, on Sept. 10, 2026.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Exclusive

Houthi top diplomat says no intention to shut down Red Sea shipping, group open to talks

Houthi

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

US hits major Russian bank VTB with Iran-linked sanctions

VTB Bank in Moscow

Elizabeth Hagedorn

Diplomatic Correspondent

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

Sabena Siddiqui

In Karachi, reporting on South Asia, Middle East, Iran

A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Benjamin Houghton

In Durham, reporting on China in the Middle East

Rahim Rahimov

In Baku, reporting on Middle East-Caucasus ties

Mehrnaz Samimi

In Washington, DC, reporting on Iranian culture

WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 14: (R-L) U.S. Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) speaks as Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL), committee ranking member Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID) and committee chairman Sen. Tim Johnson (D-SD) listen during a confirmation hearing for Nominee for the Federal Reserve Board Chairman Janet Yellen (3rd L) before Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee November 14, 2013 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Yellen will be the first woman to head the Federal Reserve if confirmed by the Senate and will

Congress takes first step on Iran sanctions

The Senate Banking Committee voted 18-4 in favor of repercussions if talks drag on.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani delivers a speech under portraits of Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (L) and Iran's founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (R), on the eve of the 25th anniversary of the Islamic revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's death, at his mausoleum in a suburb of Tehran on June 3, 2014. AFP PHOTO / ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)

Rouhani: Khomeini chose peace when necessary

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has said that late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini knew when it was time to make peace.

Smoke from Israeli shelling covers the Lebanese town of Al-Majidiyah (L) on the Lebanese border with Israel as the town of Al-Ghajar is seen on the right on January 28, 2015. Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah claimed responsibility on Wednesday for an attack against a military convoy in an Israeli-occupied border area. AFP PHOTO / ALI DIA (Photo credit should read ALI DIA/AFP/Getty Images)

Hezbollah's tactical shift against Israel

Hezbollah is opening another front against Israel in the Golan Heights, where it can blame other organizations for possible escalations.

Iranian worshippers demonstrate after the weekly Friday prayers on January 23, 2015 in Tehran to protest against a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed that was published by the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in an edition issued a week after 12 people were killed by Islamist gunmen at its Paris offices. Iran denounced the attack on the offices of Charlie Hebdo but has also condemned as "insulting" and "provocative" its publication last week of a new cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed. AFP PHOTO/BEHROUZ M

Iran responds to caricatures with 'I love Muhammad' campaign

Iranians have rallied around the hashtag campaign "I love Muhammad" on social media following Charlie Hebdo's printing of another caricature of the Prophet Muhammad.

Iran names new UN envoy

Iran's new choice for UN envoy, Gholamali Khoshroo, has a history of facilitating dialogue between faiths and cultures.

Sergei Kiriyenko (R), head of the Russian state nuclear monopoly Rosatom, and head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation Ali Akbar Salehi shake hands during a signing ceremony in Moscow, November 11, 2014. Russia will build two new nuclear power plant units in Iran under an agreement signed in Moscow on Tuesday. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov (RUSSIA - Tags: POLITICS ENERGY BUSINESS) - RTR4DP59

Russia's nuclear diplomacy

Russia's continuing negotiations and agreements with countries of the Middle East about nuclear power will continue to be a sore point with the West.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a cornerstone laying ceremony for a new neighbourhood in the southern town of Sderot January 28, 2015. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4NAB3

Netanyahu's Iranian boomerang

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's rejection of an agreement with Iran will result in Israel losing the support of its Western allies and in Iran being legitimized as a nuclear threshold state by its Arab neighbors.

U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) (C) and Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) (R) board an elevator as they take a break from a long series of votes, many on procedural matters or to confirm members of the Obama administration, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington December 13, 2014. The Senate passed a five-day extension of federal funding on Saturday, staving off a government shutdown and buying lawmakers more time to resolve a fight over a longer, $1.1 trillion spending bill led by Tea Party firebrand Ted Cruz.

Congress gives Obama two more months to strike Iran deal

Hawkish Democrats announce they won’t vote for sanctions before March 24 deal deadline.

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Iran's envoy to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), speaks during a news conference about the new political relations between Iran and Egypt after the newly elected Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi was sworn in, at the Iranian embassy in Cairo June 9, 2014. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3SWSY

Iran warned US of 'consequences' for killing general

Iran's deputy foreign minister has said that Iran told the United States that there will be "consequences" for Israel over the Jan. 18 killing of an Iranian general.

Khamenei’s message to the West

An open letter from Iran's supreme leader to Western youth is another sign of the changes afoot in Iran and a decision by the country's leadership to counter Islamophobia.

NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 25: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani addresses the 69th session of the United Nations General Assembly on September 25, 2014 in New York City. World leaders and their delagations gathered in New York City for the annual event. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

Criticism over Kerry-Zarif stroll did not disrupt Rouhani meeting

Officials in the Hassan Rouhani administration have denied that the president stormed out of a meeting in anger after being criticized for the Geneva walk shared by Iran's top nuclear negotiator and the US secretary of state.

A view of Djamaa Lafna square and its restaurants in Marrakesh's old city December 18, 2014. Picture taken December 18, 2014. REUTERS/Youssef Boudlal (MOROCCO - Tags: SOCIETY TRAVEL) - RTR4KAMQ

Why did Iran, Morocco resume relations?

Economics, Iran's desire for greater international standing, the Islamic State and Western Sahara may be factors in Iran naming an ambassador to Morocco after a nearly six-year break in ties.