Aramco evacuates staff as Saudi Arabia braces for potential Houthi escalation: What to know The repeated and escalating Houthi attacks against Saudi Arabia’s energy facilities and airports United States ordered the departure of non-essential government employees and their families from the kingdom, with oil giant Aramco reportedly evacuating its headquarters. Saudi Arabia
US moving away from Middle East security guarantor role, Barrack says The US envoy said that direct US military intervention on the ground against the Houthis would be "fruitless." By Rosaleen Carroll In Washington, DC, US, reporting on the Middle East
Yemen displacement tops 250K as Houthis tighten siege on Taiz: What to know The Houthis are looking to completely seize Taiz city, with clashes escalating in other parts of the south as well. Yemen
Feature US aid runs dry as new fighting razes Yemen Sweeping funding cuts and the Houthis' targeting of aid workers have hobbled relief efforts in war-torn Yemen. By Elizabeth Hagedorn In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights
Analysis 'The problem and the solution': Netanyahu-Sharaa call exposes Israel's Syria dilemma By Ben Caspit In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense
Israel, Iran duel on Syrian soil The growing presence of Iran in Syria, combined with attacks against a missile plant and a base for Iranian forces, indicate that Israel and Iran are practically already at war. Israel
Israel 'will not blink' on Iranian missiles The Israel Defense Forces set new red lines for Iran; Erdogan still waiting for Russian dividend on Kurds; Russia expands use of private military companies in Syria; the Islamic State and al-Qaeda at war in the Sinai Peninsula. Egypt
The uncertain future of Palestinian security forces Egypt stands ready to unify Palestinian security forces through an organizational overhaul and training, but Hamas may not be accepting of the offer. Palestine
What next for PMU in Iraq's Anbar province? The flags of a powerful Shiite fighting force still fly from the main bridge into the Iraqi border town of Qaim weeks after it was retaken from the Islamic State. Iraq
Battle may be brewing in Sinai between al-Qaeda, IS groups As Egypt continues efforts to suppress violence in the Sinai Peninsula, a small band of al-Qaeda followers is looking to grow and challenge both Egypt's army and Islamic State loyalists. Egypt
Proposed US sanctions on PMU put Iraq in tough spot Proposed sanctions against factions of the Shiite-dominated Popular Mobilization Units would place the Iraqi government squarely in the middle of a tug of war between Iran and the United States. Iraq
Militias crack down on social, cultural life in Libya A crack down on comic books and video games has pushed militias and civil society farther away from each other, prompting the youth to think about fleeing the country. Libya
The other Iranians fighting in Iraq While much focus was on Iranian fighters among the Iraqi forces that retook disputed areas in October, other Iranian fighters played a key role in the other side of the fight. Iraq
The road to rebuilding Raqqa The city of Raqqa, newly liberated from the Islamic State by the Kurdish-led and US-supported Syrian Democratic Forces, will now face the challenges of reconstruction and uprooting the jihadi threat once and for all. Iraq
Libya's rogue militias cut capital’s water supply A group of armed men cut off water supplies to the Libyan capital Tripoli, which indicates the fragility of resources in a country plagued by chaos. Libya
Iran unlikely to sit idle as US targets Hezbollah, PMU Tehran views US actions against Iran's friends in the region as nothing short of a plot to sabotage the republic's strength and restrict its area of influence. Iraq
Will Iraqi-Saudi rapprochement undermine Iran’s role in Iraq? With US support, Saudi Arabia and Iraq are getting close to each other to minimize Iran's influence in Iraq. Saudi Arabia
