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Yemen

August 6, 2026

Sanaa 12:54 am

23°C

Khaled ZIAD / AFP via Getty Images

Explainer

Iran-Oman deal spurs Hormuz hopes as Red Sea threats evolve

Iran has signaled that an agreement was reached with Oman establishing a Hormuz shipping route even as Houthi attacks in the Red Sea expand.

An Egyptian man looks at the Qatari Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) carrier "Duhail" as its passes through the Suez Canal near the Egyptian port city of Ismailia on April 1, 2008. The vessel has a capacity of 210,100 cu.m making it one of the largest LNG carriers constructed to date. AFP PHOTO/STR (Photo credit should read -/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

How strike on Damietta port exposes Egypt's energy infrastructure risks

The unclaimed attack on the port of Damietta could draw Egypt further into the US-Iran conflict as experts point to growing threats to critical infrastructure in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

This aerial photo shows a tanker unloading imported crude oil at a terminal port in Qingdao, in China's eastern Shandong province on June 25, 2026. (Photo by CN-STR / AFP via Getty Images) / China OUT

China cuts deal with Houthis, adjusts for long US war with Iran

China is cutting its own deals and gaining wartime leverage as the Trump administration scrambles to contain the war and reopen Hormuz.

Latest News

Oil jumps 8% as US-Iran war pressures Saudi Arabia, explosions hit Egypt

A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on July 24, 2026, in New York.

Iranians gather while blocking a street during a protest in Tehran, Iran, on Jan. 9, 2026.

From Iraq to Yemen, how Iran proxies are responding to protests

Iraqi militias and the Houthis are growing more vocal in their defense of Iran amid the protests sweeping the country, while Hezbollah and Palestinian groups are remaining relatively quiet.

A convoy of armored vehicles makes its way along a street in the port city Mukalla, southern Yemen, on Jan. 1, 2026.

Analysis

US response muted as Gulf allies clash in Yemen

With Washington’s focus elsewhere, a Saudi-Emirati proxy fight is igniting a new phase in Yemen’s war.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

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

SALEH AL-OBEIDI/AFP via Getty Images

Meet Aidarus Zubaidi: Separatist leader at heart of Yemen’s power struggle

Zubaidi’s Southern Transitional Council has experienced massive losses at the hands of the Yemeni government as Saudi Arabia ups its military campaign against the UAE-backed group.

Fighters loyal to Yemen's Southern Transitional Council separatists stand in the back of a pickup struck, bearing the portrait of STC Chief Aidarus al-Zubaidi

Yemen separatists accuse Saudi Arabia of 'betrayal' as pro-Riyadh forces advance

Southern Transitional Council head Aidarus al-Zubaidi did not board a scheduled flight to Saudi Arabia for talks as Riyadh intensified its airstrikes against the group.

HRH Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman received HH Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, president of the United Arab Emirates, in Riyadh, on Sept. 3, 2025.

Analysis

From Red Sea to Horn of Africa: How Yemen exposed the Saudi-UAE divide

Saudi Arabia’s confrontation with the UAE in Yemen has laid bare a deeper struggle for influence over the Red Sea and surrounding regions.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Yemeni members of the Sabahiha tribes of Lahj, who live along the strip between the south and north of the country and who support the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC), hold an image of the STC leader Aidaros Alzubidi.

Yemen’s STC announces self-determination process for south: What to know

The announcement by the UAE-backed separatist group follows major escalations with Saudi Arabia and the internationally-recognized government.

A convoy of armoured vehicles makes its way along a street in southern Yemen on January 1

Saudi Arabia launches Hadramout offensive as Gulf rivalry haunts Yemen

The fighting in Hadramout between the Saudi-backed government and southern separatists backed by the United Arab Emirates is continuing, pointing to the growing rift between the two Gulf heavyweights.

A boy looks on as supporters of the Southern Transitional Council (STC), a coalition of separatist groups seeking to restore the state of South Yemen, hold South Yemen flags during a rally calling for the revival of the former independent state, in Aden on December 12, 2025. The UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council last week swept through swathes of Yemen in a near-bloodless takeover they say aimed to expel Islamists and halt smuggling for the benefit of the Iran-backed Houthis. (Photo by Saleh Al-OBEID

As UAE-Saudi rivalry heats up, Yemen’s STC accuses Riyadh of airstrikes

Saudi Arabia has criticized the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council’s military offensive, which has sent shockwaves through the country and the Gulf.