Newsletter: Daily Briefing Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan sign defense pact Houthi attacks kill 58 Yemeni government troops; Syria says bomb near Damascus wounds 14; and more. By Ezgi Akin In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO
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. Iran
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. By Samuel Wendel In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech
Newsletter: Daily Briefing Hamas says Israel must withdraw first after Trump announces Gaza deal EU races to contain crisis; Turkey, Pakistan, 12 others support Saudi Arabia's Red Sea alliance; and more. By Ezgi Akin In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO
Newsletter: Daily Briefing Iran kills one in Kuwait, targets Egypt for first time By Ezgi Akin In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO
Newsletter: China-Middle East China cuts deal with Houthis, adjusts for long US war with Iran By Joyce Karam
New Houthi bylaw sparks controversy over classism, familial 'supremacy' in Yemen Yemen’s Houthi movement introduced a bylaw stipulating that citizens pay an obligatory tax to the purported descendants of the Prophet Muhammad, raising the ire of opponents who argue that such a move promotes racism and classism in Yemeni society. Yemen
Intel: Missiles that struck Saudi Arabia last year 'of Iranian origin,' UN says UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the drones and cruise missiles that struck Saudi Arabia’s oil refineries and an international airport last year came from Iran. Saudi Arabia
Yemen’s health care system collapses as virus spreads Doctors Without Borders says it has witnessed the highest death rate yet from the virus in the Houthi-held city of Sanaa. Yemen
COVID-19 compounds economic crises in Yemen, Jordan, Palestine Recent reports signal conditions going from bad to worse. Yemen
Saudi aid to Yemen will continue despite reports of Houthi interference In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor after the Yemen Donor Conference, Abdullah Al Rabeeah, supervisor general of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center, said he expects pledges to continue. Saudi Arabia
Gunmen kill Yemeni journalist in Aden A Yemeni photographer has become the 16th journalist to be killed in Yemen since the start of the country’s civil war. Yemen
Intel: US offers no new funding at Yemen donor conference The emergency aid pledged for Yemen’s humanitarian response plan at a June 2 donor conference falls short of what is needed, with the United States not offering any new funding at this time. Yemen
Can Saudi Arabia fix Yemen’s anti-Houthi coalition? Following the breakdown of the Riyadh agreement, and renewed fighting in April, Saudi Arabia hosted the STC president to discuss the situation, but it remains doubtful the Gulf state can offer an easy solution if the war with the Houthis is not settled first. Saudi Arabia
Missile strike on Yemeni military base kills 7, including top general’s son The Saudi-backed Yemeni government blamed the attack, which killed the son and nephew of the military's chief of staff, on Houthi rebels. Saudi Arabia
Pandemic worsening existing food crises across the Middle East, UN agencies warn Even before the coronavirus outbreak, nearly 110 million people across the Middle East and North Africa were undernourished. Yemen
Health care system collapses as COVID-19 races across Yemen As the United Nations appeals for $2 billion in emergency funding for Yemen, aid organizations on the ground warn community transmission of the coronavirus is taking place throughout the war-torn country. Yemen
Intel: Houthis continue to detain Baha’i prisoners despite promise to release them The political head of Yemen’s Houthi rebels, Mehdi al-Mashat, vowed to release six Baha’i prisoners during a lengthy televised address in March. Two months later, multiple sources have confirmed to Al-Monitor that the Yemeni rebels have failed to follow through and that all six prisoners remain behind bars. Yemen