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September 15, 2026

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Fighters loyal to the Houthi authorities shout slogans during a rally to recruit more fighters, in Sanaa, Yemen, on Sept. 10, 2026.

Analysis

Why Saudi Arabia's balancing act with US, Iran, Houthis risks collapse

Houthi rebels escalated their attacks on Tuesday, triggering alerts around the holy city of Mecca, Taif and the Red Sea port city of Jeddah.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Houthi

Exclusive

Houthi top diplomat says no intention to shut down Red Sea shipping, group open to talks

In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, Acting Foreign Minister of the Houthi-led administration Abdulwahid Abu Ras said concerns over a potential closure of the Red Sea are being fueled by Saudi Arabia.

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

VTB Bank in Moscow

US hits major Russian bank VTB with Iran-linked sanctions

State-controlled VTB becomes one of the most prominent global names yet caught up in Washington’s ongoing effort to squeeze Iran's economy.

Milak border crossing near the town of Zabol, Iran

Third Sunni cleric killed in Iran’s Sistan and Baluchistan Province: What to know

Iran says it is stepping up its crackdown on armed groups in the impoverished province as Sunni clerics have been reported killed there and in the predominantly Kurdish northwest.

Latest News

Analysis

Saudi pipeline shutdown exposes shrinking global oil-supply buffers

AFP via Getty Images

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

Oil tops $109 after Houthi strikes, Saudi pipeline shutdown

A sailor from the navy of Yemen's Aden-based internationally recognized government stands at a machine-gun position aboard a vessel patrolling a shipping lane off Hanish Island in the Red Sea on July 27, 2026.

Analysis

As Houthis seize Bab el-Mandeb, Iran appraises value of new Red Sea card

Fighters loyal to the Houthi authorities gather in Sanaa on Sept. 10, 2026.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Claude AI used for missile, influence projects in UAE, Iran, Yemen: Anthropic

member of the Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces firing a heavy machine gun

Elizabeth Hagedorn

Diplomatic Correspondent

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

Sabena Siddiqui

In Karachi, reporting on South Asia, Middle East, Iran

A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Benjamin Houghton

In Durham, reporting on China in the Middle East

Rahim Rahimov

In Baku, reporting on Middle East-Caucasus ties

Mehrnaz Samimi

In Washington, DC, reporting on Iranian culture

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (C-R) submits documents outlining his budget for 2018-2019 to Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani (4th-L) in the capital Tehran on December 25, 2018. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)

Rouhani presents budget bill in raucous parliament session

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani presented his government's budget bill, which includes several belt-tightening measures in anticipation of US sanctions, to a chamber of furious lawmakers.

Iraqi border eyes Iran influence as US plans Syria pullout

After the retaking of IS-held territory across the border and the US announcement it would pull its troops out of Syria, Iraq’s western Anbar is grappling with the prospect of increased Iranian influence amid joblessness, a lack of electricity and reports of cross-border drug smuggling.

Iran's leading reformist politician Saeed Hajjarian smiles as he receives guests at home following his release from prison in Tehran on September 30, 2009. Iran granted bail to Hajjarian, who was arrested in the aftermath of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's hotly disputed June re-election. A key member of the reformist Islamic Iran Participation Front who survived a 2000 assassination attempt, Hajjarian was among scores of reformist activists and journalists detained when the regime cracked down on the prote

Soul-searching Reformists debate whether to run in Iran’s next polls

Wary of having lost their political capital amid deepening public disapproval of President Hassan Rouhani’s performance, Iranian Reformists are debating whether and how to participate in coming parliamentary and presidential elections.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks withh Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan ahead of the opening ceremony of the NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) summit, at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, July 11, 2018. Ludovic Marin/Pool via REUTERS - RC19136AAEC0

Trump buries the hatchet with Erdogan over Syria

The US troop withdrawal could also lead to a return of the 'art of the deal' with Putin.

Esteghlal and Persepolis fans sit separately during their Iran Serie A soccer match at the Azadi (freedom) stadium in Tehran October 14, 2007. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl (IRAN) - GM1DWJHVHFAA

Uncertainties abound as Iran moves to privatize its two biggest soccer clubs

Iran’s Cabinet has given the green light to the privatization of the popular Esteghlal and Persepolis soccer clubs, but from the debts to the losses, the process promises to be rocky at best.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu leave a commemoration ceremony for Armistice Day, 100 years after the end of the First World War, at the Arc de Triomphe, in Paris, France, November 11, 2018. Ludovic Marin/Pool via REUTERS - RC14BD6A5800

Erdogan gets his wish from Trump in Syria, but now what?

Ankara fears that US President Donald Trump’s sudden decision to exit Syria could become a pyrrhic victory, as four main concerns could widen security vulnerabilities and trouble Turkey's president domestically.

Israeli soldiers chat as they stand near the Quneitra crossing in the Golan Heights on the border line between Israel and Syria, October 15, 2018. REUTERS/Amir Cohen - RC1DE3AFB000

Israel concerned over American exit of Syria

US withdrawal from Syria leaves Israel alone in the campaign against Iranian entrenchment there.

A policeman inspects the wreckage of a car bomb which exploded in front of a police station in the city of Chabahar, on December 06, 2018 in southern Iran. - A suicide bomber killed at least two people outside the police headquarters in the port city of Chabahar in restive southeastern Iran, according to a revised official toll. (Photo by STR / TASNIM NEWS / AFP) (Photo credit should read STR/AFP/Getty Images)

How insecurity in Iran's southeast could benefit UAE, Pakistan

Regional rivalry over maritime trade has intensified speculations in Iran about possible Emirati-Pakistani involvement in the recent terror attack in the southeastern port of Chabahar.

Turkish observation posts are seen on the Turkish side as Kurdish protesters gather to protest near the border wall separating Turkey from Syria in the western Syrian countryside of Ras al-Ain on December 20, 2018. - Syrian Kurdish forces said they will keep fighting the Islamic State group in eastern Syria unless they come under Turkish attack, after their US allies announced their withdrawal. (Photo by Delil souleiman / AFP) (Photo credit should read DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Iranian analysts welcome US withdrawal from Syria

Iran's government has not officially reacted to Trump's announcement of a US withdrawal from Syria, but Iranian analysts have welcomed the news.

U.S. President Donald Trump visits Section 60 in Arlington Cemetery in Arlington, U.S., December 15, 2018. REUTERS/Mary F. Calvert TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RC1FCDFDEB70

House Democrats prepare to take on Trump over Iran sanctions

Democrats and advocacy groups are preparing to confront the Donald Trump administration about obstacles to humanitarian exemptions in the Iran sanctions regime.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif shake hands as they attend a news conference after talks on forming a constitutional committee in Syria, at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, December 18, 2018. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse - RC1C28C75F90

Despite difficulties, Russia optimistic about Syria's Constitutional Committee

Though the UN has yet to confirm who will serve on Syria's Constitutional Committee, the Astana trio is optimistic about the committee's overall prospects, especially after the United States announced it will withdraw its troops from Syria.

U.S. and Turkish soldiers conduct the first-ever combined joint patrol outside Manbij, Syria, November 1, 2018. Picture taken November 1, 2018. Courtesy Arnada Jones/U.S. Army/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC17C4EA11D0

US diplomats shaken by Trump decision to exit Syria

US President Donald Trump’s abrupt decision to withdraw from Syria humiliates US envoys who have said the United States would maintain a presence indefinitely to prevent the return of the Islamic State and to counter Iran’s influence.