Maritime strategy

GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images

Iran accused of seizing vessel in Strait of Hormuz diverted from UAE

An oil tanker sailing under the flag of the Marshall Islands through the Strait of Hormuz was diverted into Iranian territorial waters on Friday, amid suspicions that it was intercepted by Iran.

An employee wearing a face mask against the coronavirus, is pictured at the port of Jebel Ali, operated by the Dubai-based giant ports operator DP World, in the southern outskirts of the Gulf emirate of Dubai, on June 18, 2020.

UAE’s DP World to invest $5B in India's infrastructure: What to know

The Dubai-headquartered logistics firm has already invested $3 billion into the South Asian nation over three decades.

United Arab Emirates

A picture taken on Sept. 24, 2020, shows a partial view of the Brega oil port some 270 kilometers west of Libya's eastern city of Benghazi.

Turkey seeks to bolster Eastern Med foothold in new Libya energy talks

The talks between the Turkish ambassador in Libya and the Tripoli government’s energy minister come as Turkey seeks to reduce dependence on energy imports and bolster its energy security.

A Saudi navy ship is pictured docked at King Faisal navy base in Jeddah before the departure of a team to Port Sudan to help with the evacuation efforts of people fleeing Sudan, on April 29, 2023. - Warplanes on bombing raids drew heavy anti-aircraft fire over Khartoum as fierce fighting between Sudan's army and paramilitaries entered a third week, despite a renewed truce. (Photo by Fayez NURELDINE / AFP) (Photo by FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Saudi Arabia diversifies with new China naval drills, but military remains Western-centric

Expanding Saudi-Chinese defense cooperation mirrors the broader deepening of Saudi-Chinese diplomatic and economic relations.

Francesco Schiavi

By Francesco Schiavi

In Bologna, reporting on security, defense, economy, governance

Latest News

Somaliland leader courts Ethiopia in recognition push: What to know

Wadani party presidential candidate Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, also known as Irro, speaks during a press conference on November 10, 2024, ahead of the 2024 Somaliland presidential election.

Iran, Russia, Central Asia states ink Caspian Sea pact, plan naval drills

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov chairs the annual meeting of the Caspian Sea littoral states foreign ministers, known as the Caspian Five, in Moscow, on Dec. 5, 2023.

Dutch-flagged cargo ship struck off Yemen in latest attack

Images of a fireball exploding on a cargo ship are shown on a giant screen during a protest called for by Yemen's rebel Houthi movement in Sanaa on March 17, 2025.

Sudan, Russia sign trade deals as Khartoum seeks funds, Moscow eyes Red Sea port

MAXIM SHEMETOV/AFP via Getty Images

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Israel takes down Hezbollah drones headed for Mediterranean gas rig

By intercepting Iran-made UAVs sent by Hezbollah earlier this week, Israel has made it clear that it can protect its maritime assets.

Navy red sea

Iran navy expanding its presence in Red Sea, Israel says

Israel's defense chief said Iran's navy is "methodically basing itself in the Red Sea," posing risks to international shipping.

Al-Monitor Staff

By Al-Monitor Staff

Rosenblum

Culture

Israel's EcoOcean to tell UN meeting of its work to clean Mediterranean

Participating at the United Nations Ocean Conference in Portugal, head of the Israeli NGO EcoOcean Arik Rosenblum explains the actions that they are taking to clean the seas and to protect marine ecosystems.

In this photo made available by the US Navy, a boat of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy operates in close proximity to patrol coastal ship USS Sirocco.

Iran’s IRGC harasses US Navy in Persian Gulf as nuclear talks stall

The "unsafe and unprofessional" encounter was at least the second in just a few months, a Navy official confirmed.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi received at Ittihadia Palace the head of the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council, President Rashad Al-Alimi, on June 11, 2022.

Egypt fears for Red Sea security as Yemen cease-fire teeters

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi received Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council President Rashad al-Alimi as part of his first foreign tour since his inauguration, amid efforts to consolidate the cease-fire and reach a solution that ends the crisis in the war-torn country.

A military vessel of the United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is pictured off the coast of the southern Lebanese town of Naqura, on the border with Israel, where delegations from the two countries were meeting, Nov. 11, 2020.

Maritime dispute with Lebanon threatens Israeli natural gas drilling

Israel hopes that a solution can be found to the maritime border dispute with Lebanon so Energean can start drilling in the Karish field in the third quarter of 2022.

tanker

Iran seizes two Greek tankers after US, Greece seize Iranian fuel

The tanker wars between the US and Iran appear to be heating up once again as Vienna talks remain on the rocks.

Pro-Russian supporters wave flags as they welcome missile cruiser Moskva.

How Russia losing its Black Sea flagship Moskva could reverberate in Syria

Navy Persian Gulf

US Navy adds new task force to patrol Red Sea

Task Force 153 will patrol the Red Sea and waters around Yemen, as Iran shows no sign of relinquishing support for the Houthis.

Osama Rabie, chairman of Egypt's Suez Canal Authority.

Suez Canal Authority remains neutral in Russian-Ukrainian war

The Suez Canal Authority proclaimed neutrality in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and announced that it will not ban Russian and Ukrainian vessels from traversing the canal.

Cargo ships are moored along a dock at the port of Haifa, Israel, June 24, 2021.

Analysis

Turkish company disqualified from tender to operate Israel’s Haifa port

Israeli intelligence agencies fear that a French-Lebanese company, associated with Turkish company Yilport, which is interested in operating the Haifa port, could be affiliated with Hezbollah.

Danny Zaken

In Ma'ale HaHamisha, reporting on Israel

JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images

Bad news for Netanyahu as inquiry peers into submarine affair

Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tried hard to prevent a commission of inquiry into the submarine scandal that has plagued him, but its time has come.