Yemen’s Houthi movement has secured control of the 12-mile-wide Bab el-Mandeb Strait following a rapid territorial advance, transforming a local highland militia into a regional force capable of disrupting international maritime trade, according to reports from Reuters. This strategic escalation follows a series of territorial gains across Yemen’s Red Sea coastline and establishes new pressure … Read more
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged Iran and the United States to exercise restraint, return to an interim peace deal signed in June, and engage in substantive consultations during a meeting in Beijing, according to China’s foreign ministry. Strait of Hormuz Shipping Security and Regional Stability Beijing called for effective measures to reopen the Strait … Read more
Representatives of Yemen’s Houthi movement met with U.S. officials at the American Embassy in Muscat over the weekend, according to five sources familiar with the matter, assuring Washington they have no intention of attacking American vessels. The undisclosed diplomatic engagement followed a sweeping Houthi offensive that seized control of Yemen’s entire Red Sea coastline, routing … Read more
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 White House reporter Bo Erickson, writing alongside Padraic Halpin and Conor Humphries for Reuters, President Donald Trump suggested on Sept. 13, that the United States could stay in Iran and “keep the oil”, drawing a parallel to a U.S. push to take control of a fifth of Venezuela’s vast oil reserves. Geopolitical Leverage … Read more
Chinese President Xi Jinping unveiled a slate of new initiatives spanning artificial intelligence, trade, and economic cooperation at the annual BRICS leaders’ summit in New Delhi, according to official reports from Xinhua cited by Reuters. The push aims to weld the expanded emerging economies bloc into a practical platform for Global South development. Xi Jinping … Read more
Finance ministers and central bank governors of BRICS nations called for a sweeping reform of global developmental financial institutions, including the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, during meetings held ahead of the upcoming BRICS Leaders’ Summit in New Delhi, according to a joint statement reported by Reuters. The finance chiefs cited the growing … Read more
Pakistan has delivered a Saudi warning to Iran urging leaders in Tehran to rein in Yemen’s Houthi movement as escalating cross-border fighting tests Islamabad’s delicate diplomatic balancing act, according to Saudi, Pakistani, and Iranian sources. High Stakes in Regional Diplomacy Meanwhile, Pakistani foreign ministry spokesman Sajjad Haider Khan said in a briefing on Thursday that … Read more
The Israeli military destroyed an underground Hezbollah infrastructure network at the Ali al-Taher ridge in southern Lebanon, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz announced on Thursday. According to a joint statement from the two officials, the operation completed the consolidation of a security zone in the area. Israeli forces intend to remain … Read more