Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement launched a new wave of missile and drone strikes against southern Saudi Arabia on September 15, according to Yemeni officials, while digging into military positions along the Red Sea coast as urgent diplomatic deliberations unfolded in Riyadh. The escalating conflict has heightened fears that regional hostilities could further threaten global oil … Read more
Geopolitical Leverage and the Bab el-Mandeb Chokepoint Middle East analyst Fawaz Gerges described the move to Reuters as a game changer, noting that it alters the balance of power and gives far greater geopolitical and geoeconomic leverage over Saudi Arabia, the Gulf, the United States, and global trade. Diplomatic Shifts and the Omani-Iranian Meetings Riyadh … Read more
According to U.S. Vice President JD Vance, the United States has ended major combat operations with Iran, though ongoing hostilities entering their seventh month continue to exert pressure on the Trump administration ahead of the November midterm elections. Speaking at a White House briefing on Sept. 3, 2026, Vance stated that the bilateral fighting does … Read more
The Trump administration is beginning to send diplomatic personnel back to U.S. missions across the Middle East that were evacuated or downsized during recent tensions with Iran, according to two people familiar with the matter. Posts in Lebanon, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Baghdad are among those slated for staff returns, with family members also permitted … Read more
Saudi crude exports from the Red Sea are increasingly vanishing from view as tankers switch off tracking signals to avoid attacks by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis, according to ship-tracking firms and industry analysts. The shift obscures visibility into global oil supply assessments and creates wide discrepancies in export estimates used by the International Energy Agency and … Read more