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June 21, 2026

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People ride motorcycles past a large billboard showing portraits of Iran's late supreme leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (L), and slain supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (R) in central Tehran on June 8, 2026.

Analysis

From Beirut to Bab el Mandeb, Iran tests new deterrence strategy

Tehran views its latest clash with Israel as a watershed moment and proof that any attack on its regional allies can trigger direct and immediate retaliation.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Members of Houthi security forces stand guard while supporters of Yemen's Houthi movement attend an event commemorating the ninth anniversary of the Saudi-led intervention in their country, in the capital, Sanaa, on March 26, 2026.

Exclusive

Senior Houthi official says Bab el Mandab closure an option if any Gulf states join war

Houthi Deputy Information Minister Mohammed Mansour also said the strait could be closed “should the aggression against Iran and Lebanon escalate.”

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

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

Saudis shop for fresh products at a market in Riyadh on Feb. 18, 2026, on the first day of the holy fasting month of Ramadan in Saudi Arabia.

Analysis

Alternative supply routes emerge as Iran war tests Gulf food security

Roughly 61 million people in the Gulf rely on established food supply chains, many of which have been upended since the United States and Israel launched their attack against Iran on Feb. 28.

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

Latest News

Analysis

In Saudi Arabia, Erdogan fosters security alignment, $30B trade push

Riyadh

Ezgi Akin

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

Yemen’s Houthis hint at Red Sea attacks as US-Iran tensions rise: What to know

Galaxy Leader

Thousands rally for South Yemen independence amid Saudi diplomatic push

AFP via Getty Images

Egypt's economy can weather more Red Sea attacks, says finance minister

Ships sail along Egypt's Suez Canal near Ismailia on April 16, 2025.

The United States aircraft carrier, USS Carl Vinson, anchored off the coast at Tien Sa Port on March 5, 2018 in Danang, Vietnam.

Pentagon sends second aircraft carrier to Middle East as Trump warns Iran

The USS Carl Vinson is expected to vastly increase Washington's strike capabilities in the Gulf region as Trump gives Tehran a two-month deadline to reach a new nuclear agreement.

US President Donald Trump speaks to the media during a guided tour of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts before leading a board meeting, on March 17, 2025, in Washington.

Trump's Middle East strategy faces scrutiny as Gaza reignites

As the civilian death toll climbs in Gaza, can the self-proclaimed peacemaker president get both sides back to the negotiating table?

An F18 Hornet fighter jet lands on the 330 meters navy aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman in the eastern Mediterranean Sea on May 8, 2018.

US looks to bolster Middle East defenses as strikes against Houthis ramp up

The Trump administration green-lit a $100 million sale of air-to-air missiles for Saudi Arabia as the Pentagon weighs deployments of additional air defense assets to the region.

Men check the damages in an area struck by a US airstrike in Huthi-controlled Sanaa on March 20, 2025. Israel said it intercepted a missile launched from Yemen on March 20, as the Iran-backed Huthi rebels claimed to have targeted Ben Gurion international airport. The United States, Israel's main backer, has pledged to hit Yemen with lethal and overwhelming force until the Huthis stop their harassment campaign. (Photo by MOHAMMED HUWAIS / AFP) (Photo by MOHAMMED HUWAIS/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Can US halt Houthi attacks without getting embroiled in Gaza, Yemen wars?

The White House greenlit renewed air offensives in Yemen and in Gaza this week as the Pentagon insists it's not getting dragged into Middle East wars. What is President Donald Trump’s endgame?

Jared Szuba

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

A man pays using Iranian rials at a shop, in Tehran on July 31, 2019. - The government in sanctions-hit Iran on Wednesday approved a plan to remove zeros from the rial and rename the currency -- something its people have long been doing to simplify transactions. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

With rial in free fall, Trump’s warning to Iran over Houthis poses strategic dilemma

Iran is once again facing the difficult prospect of distancing itself from another regional proxy ally after the US president's warning suggested possible direct US attacks on the Islamic Republic.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Yemenis in Sanaa watch a televised statement by the Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree announcing the rebel group launched an attack on a US aircraft carrier in the Red Sea on March 16, 2025.

Pentagon lays out goals for Yemen strikes after Trump warns Iran not to intervene

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell stressed that the US has a "moral obligation to have a clear-cut end-state" for combat operations abroad, as well as "a clear exit strategy," but also said the US strikes would not stop until the Houthis halt their own attacks.

In this handout image provided by the UK Ministry of Defence, a Royal Air Force Typhoon FRG4s is being prepared to conduct further strikes against Houthi military targets in Yemen at RAF Akrotiri on Feb. 3, 2024 in Akrotiri, Cyprus.

US strikes on Yemen's Houthis, China stimulus drive surge in oil prices

Brent crude was up 1.3% to $71.53 a barrel on Monday morning compared to close on Sunday.

Yemenis brandish rifles and chant during a demonstration called for by the rebel Huthi movement in Sanaa on March 17, 2025. Huge crowds joined protests in rebel-controlled Yemen on March 17 after deadly US strikes killed dozens and sparked fears of a new cycle of violence in the conflict-torn country. (Photo by Mohammed HUWAIS / AFP) (Photo by MOHAMMED HUWAIS/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

US airstrikes against Yemen's Houthis: Game-changer or more of the same?

Experts warn an expanded US strike campaign in Yemen is unlikely to deter the Houthis.

Jared Szuba

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

A picture shows a military drone on display at an exhibition held by Yemen's Huthi group in the capital Sanaa on Nov. 19, 2024.

Houthis using Chinese-made hydrogen fuel cells to build stealthier drones: Report

A new report reveals that the Houthis are incorporating Chinese-made hydrogen fuel cells into their drones, potentially improving their range and reducing detection by air defenses.

US President Donald Trump shows an executive order withdrawing his country from a number of United Nations bodies in the Oval Office of the White House on February 4, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump on Tuesday signed an executive order withdrawing his country from a number of United Nations bodies, including its Human Rights Council (UNHRC), and setting up a broader review of US funding for the multilateral organization. The executive order said it withdrew Washington from UNHRC and the main UN relief agency

US formally rebrands Yemen's Houthis as foreign terrorist organization

Critics say the Houthis' blacklisting will hamper aid delivery in the war-torn country.

INTERNATIONAL WATERS RED SEA, YEMEN - NOVEMBER 20: This handout screen grab captured from a video shows Yemen's Houthi fighters' takeover of the Galaxy Leader Cargo in the Red Sea coast off Hudaydah, on November 20, 2023 in the Red Sea, Yemen. On Monday, the Houthi movement in Yemen released footage and photos of the Houthi-run coastguard taking over the Israeli-linked Galaxy Leader Vessel in the Red Sea, which had 52 people onboard. Galaxy Leader is owned by Galaxy Maritime Ltd in the Isle of Man and is li

Analysis

How will Trump's terrorist designation of Houthis impact Red Sea attacks?

Oil trade via the Houthi-controlled Bab el-Mandeb strait decreased by 50% after the Yemeni rebels launched maritime attacks, according to the US Energy Information Administration.

Jennifer Gnana

By Jennifer Gnana

In Dubai, reporting on Gulf energy policy and politics

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 20: President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump takes office for his second term as the 47th president of the United States. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Trump moves to list Yemen's Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization