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

Brett McGurk, US National Security Council coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa, listens to Amos Hochstein, the US Senior Advisor for Energy Security, as Princess Reema bint Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, Saudi ambassador to the US, looks on during an investment agreement signing ceremony between the US and Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea coastal city of Jeddah on July 16, 2022. (Photo by Amer HILABI / AFP) (Photo by AMER HILABI/AFP via Getty Images)

US delegation in Israel after Saudi visit, discussing regional projects with Netanyahu

Advancing the I2U2 initiative, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was set to meet in Jerusalem with envoys of the Biden administration, following their trip to Saudi Arabia where they held extensive talks on infrastructure projects that involve India, Gulf countries and Israel.

This US Navy handout screenshot of a video shows fast-attack craft from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy swarming Greek-owned oil tanker Niovi as it transits the Strait of Hormuz

Iran's IRGC seizes second oil tanker in Gulf waters in six days, says US Navy

The incident happened off UAE coast of Fujairah and involved a Panama-flagged Niovi vessel.

This picture taken on June 15, 2019, shows tanker ships in the waters of the Gulf of Oman

Iran's IRGC seizes oil tanker in Gulf of Oman

Open-source reports indicated the Advantage Sweet was bound for Houston, Texas, when the United States said it was seized by Iran's IRGC navy on Thursday afternoon.

A picture taken on February 21, 2022 shows fishing boats off a beach on Yemen's Red Sea coast in the Khokha district of the war-ravaged country's western province of Hodeida. (Photo by Khaled Ziad / AFP) (Photo by KHALED ZIAD/AFP via Getty Images)

Yacht carrying Russians, Egyptians goes missing off Yemen coast

The yacht’s owner says the crew sent a distress call about a pirate attack.

DONT USE - Gulf Pulse

A woman enjoys the sea as a Greek army rib returns from patrol on the tiny Greek island of Kastellorizo.

Turkey, Greece row reignited over 'Turkaegean' trademark dispute

Turkey’s tourism campaign with the slogan “Turkaegean” reignites tensions in Athens, which considers it both cultural usurpation and a threat to Greek sovereignty in the Aegean.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) and his wife Emine Erdogan (L) sit in their Togg T10X, Turkey's first domestically-produced electric car, after receiving it from the company at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, on April 3, 2023. (Photo by Adem ALTAN / AFP) (Photo by ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Egypt’s FM to visit Turkey ahead of restoration of ties: Cavusoglu

The Turkish government unleashed a fresh regional charm offensive ahead of the critical May 14 vote, as the top Turkish diplomat announced planned and potential meetings with his Egyptian and Syrian counterparts.

The USS Florida sails during "Giant Shadow," a Naval Sea Systems Command/Naval Submarine Forces exercise to test the capabilities of the Navy's future guided missile submarines January 22, 2003 off the coast of the Bahamas.

US Navy sends guided-missile submarine to Middle East amid Iran tensions

US show of force comes as Pentagon extends aircraft carrier deployment following last month's lethal attack by Iran-backed militias on US personnel in Syria.

A supporter of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi stands in the back of a pickup truck bearing his portrait and loudspeakers, in the capital Cairo's Tahrir square on January 25, 2018, as the country marks the seventh anniversary of the 2011 uprising that ended the 30-year reign of former President Hosni Mubarak. / AFP PHOTO / MOHAMED EL-SHAHED (Photo credit should read MOHAMED EL-SHAHED/AFP via Getty Images)

Egypt's Sisi unlikely to reconcile with Erdogan before Turkey's election

The Turkish military presence in Libya remains the key snag in Ankara’s efforts to mend fences with Egypt.

MICHAEL VARAKLAS/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey, Greece take strides in Ankara meeting as aid diplomacy continues

A meeting of senior Turkish and Greek diplomats in Ankara is the latest diplomatic contact spurred by post-disaster diplomacy, and the fourth meeting of the “Positive Agenda” initiative.

Egypt port

Egypt signs $1.6 billion deals with China, EU companies to develop sea ports

The Egyptian government wants its Red Sea and Mediterranean ports to help boost the economy amid rising inflation and declining foreign currency reserves.

An F-16 pilot from an airbase in Saudi Arabia gets ready to disembark from his aircraft after he was diverted to Kuwait because of bad weather after his mission into Iraq March 26, 2003 as Operation Iraqi Freedom continues after a pause in the air campaign due to bad weather. (Photo by Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)

Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt rank among world’s top 10 arms importers: SIPRI

Middle East countries made up more than a fourth of the top 40 global arms importers from 2018 to 2022, according to a new report.

MAZEN MAHDI/AFP via Getty Images

Western allies join US' experimental drone task force in Middle East

Task Force 59 is now fully operationally capable, Fifth Fleet commander Vice Adm. Brad Cooper told an audience of Navy personnel in Washington on Tuesday.