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Yemen

August 9, 2026

Sanaa 8:55 pm

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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

Latest News

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

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

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.

Anti-Houthi protesters demonstrate in Yemen's central city of Ibb March 14, 2015. The rise to power of the Iran-backed Houthis since September has deepened divisions in Yemen's already complex web of political and religious allegiances, and left it increasingly cut off from the world. REUTERS/Mohammed al-Moailme (YEMEN - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) - RTR4TBWW

Russia keeps close watch on Yemen

Russia is not likely to get too involved in the Yemen crisis, preferring instead to monitor developments from afar and choose its allies carefully.

Southern Movement militants man a weapon in the Jabal al-Ierr area of Yemen's southern Lahej province, as they prepare to secure the area against Shi'ite Houthi fighters, March 7, 2015. Most of Yemen has been left without state services or authority, and deadly violence is a daily occurrence as Houthis, state security forces, tribesmen, southern separatists and al Qaeda militants clash with each other. REUTERS/Stringer (YEMEN - Tags: CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTR4SG0C

Saudi anguish over Iranian gains

The withdrawal of the remaining US military personnel from Yemen only adds to Riyadh's desperation, with Riyadh worried that Washington's priority is a nuclear deal with Tehran, not stopping Iranian subversion in the Arab world.

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif attends the closing session of 18th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit in Kathmandu November 27, 2014. A brief meeting between India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart appears to have salvaged a summit of South Asian leaders, with all eight countries clinching a last-minute deal to create a regional electricity grid.
REUTERS/Niranjan Shrestha/Pool (NEPAL - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4FUCN

Pakistan declines to join Saudi Arabia's anti-Iran alliance

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has rejected, at least for now, Saudi Arabia's entreaties for Pakistani troops to help guard the Saudi border with northern Yemen, controlled by Iranian-backed Houthi Shiite forces.

A female journalist stands among her male counterparts during the fourth congress of the Yemeni Journalists Syndicate in Sanaa March 14, 2009. Around 1,200 journalists from across Yemen attended the meeting to elect a new chairman for their syndicate and 12 members for its executive council. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah (YEMEN MEDIA POLITICS) - RTXCRLM

Maysaa Shuja al-Deen on why she writes

Al-Monitor contributor Maysaa Shuja al-Deen shares her thoughts on journalism.

Secretary of State John Kerry (L) meets Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud at Diriyah Farm in Diriyah March 5, 2015. Kerry met Gulf Arab foreign ministers in Riyadh on Thursday to brief them on progress in the nuclear talks with Iran and offer reassurance that any deal would not damage their interests. Kerry arrived in Riyadh late on Wednesday from Montreux, Switzerland, where he said he had made progress in talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif that aim to conclude an atomic deal b

Saudi Arabia prepares for Iran nuclear deal

Saudi Arabia has been pulling out the diplomatic stops in an effort to contain Iran in anticipation of what it sees as an unfavorable nuclear deal between the West and the Islamic republic.

Women take part in an anti-Houthi demonstration in Sanaa February 21, 2015. Yemen's former president Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi left his official residence after weeks of house arrest by the Houthi militia on Saturday and flew to his home town of Aden, witnesses and a political source said. The posters read: "Release the legitimate president!" (L) and "Release the president and ministers!" REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah (YEMEN - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST MILITARY) - RTR4QI2I

What a Houthi-controlled Yemen means for women

Female activists in Yemen say that their situation under the Houthis’ control of the country is much worse than before the 2011 protest, when women were able to achieve significant gains.

Houthi fighters stand on a truck as they secure a street where pro-Houthi protesters demonstrated to commemorate the fourth anniversary of the uprising that toppled former President Ali Abdullah Saleh in Sanaa February 11, 2015. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah (YEMEN - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST MILITARY) - RTR4P71Q

Does Iran really control Yemen?

Statements by Iranian officials about the importance of the rise of Houthis in Yemen demonstrates that Iran would like to give the perception that there is a new member of the axis of resistance.

Could Israel’s strike on Hezbollah in Syria spark Iran nuclear talks?

The latest Israel-Hezbollah confrontation might be a catalyst for a nuclear deal between the P5+1 and Iran; Iran can ease Saudi Arabia’s security predicament; Netanyahu sees electoral gain in snubbing Obama.

A Houthi fighter mans a checkpoint on a road leading to the U.S embassy in Sanaa January 21, 2015. Yemen's minority Shi'ite Houthi fighters took up guard at President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi's home on Wednesday but said they had not toppled him, after two days of fighting which left little doubt that the enfeebled leader was now at their mercy. REUTERS/Mohamed al-Sayaghi (YEMEN - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) - RTR4MBMY

Yemen falls apart

The death of Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah and the resignation of Yemen's President makes Yemen the first priority for Saudi's new King Salman.

Houthi fighters secure an entrance to the presidential palace in Sanaa January 22, 2015. A senior official of Yemen's Houthi movement said on Thursday that a statement by President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi aimed at defusing a political crisis was acceptable because it confirmed the terms of a power-sharing agreement signed in September. Witnesses said Houthi fighters remained in position outside the presidential palace and Hadi's private residence, where the head of state actually lives. Hadi in his statement

US maintains intelligence relationship with Houthis

Despite alarmist news reports, the Barack Obama administration appears to have adjusted to the rise of the Houthis in Yemen and is continuing attacks on al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

Yemeni society changes before photographer's lens

Yemeni photographer Abdul Rahman Al Ghabri speaks to Al-Monitor about his work and how it reflects the changes in Yemeni society.

Did Nasrallah blur red line on Assad?

Hezbollah’s leader says a political solution could include Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s departure “after the end of his term”; Kerry supports Russia, UN diplomacy on Syria; Who does Israel back in Syria?; Did Turkey arm Jabhat al-Nusra?; Iran’s shallow influence in Yemen.