Analysis How far will Iran push Houthis against Saudi Arabia amid raging conflict? As Iran-backed Houthis broaden attacks on Saudi Arabia, Tehran's delicate calculation is exploiting the current conflict without being dragged into an escalation of its own making. By A correspondent in Tehran In Tehran, reporting on politics
Newsletter: FutureVerse Middle East confronts AI risks In the Middle East, governments are pouring billions into AI ambitions as Anthropic’s own Claude chatbot comes under scrutiny for creating national security risks. By Samuel Wendel In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech
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. By Amberin Zaman Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture
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. By Adam Lucente In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change
Analysis Saudi pipeline shutdown exposes shrinking global oil-supply buffers By Jack Dutton In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech
India, Iran or Turkey: Iraqi students look abroad for post-grad studies Stiff competition for a very limited number of seats at public universities and high fees at private institutions are pushing Iraqi students to pursue post-graduate studies abroad. Iraq
Rouhani touts meeting with top economists on containing crisis Iran's president held a meeting with the country's top economists to discuss the ongoing crisis, but some hard-liners have lambasted the secrecy surrounding the talks. Iran
IRGC masses troops on Iraq border amid rising tensions with Kurdish groups The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is beefing up its control of Iran’s border with Iraqi Kurdistan a month after its missile strike on the headquarters of the main armed Iranian Kurdish opposition group. Iraqi-Kurdistan
Iranian papers ask US outlets to condemn sanctions Four of Iran's biggest newspapers ran a joint editorial asking their Western counterparts to speak up about the impact of US sanctions on Iran. Iran
Iran hedges bets on EU, China with focus on trade with neighbors Beyond engaging with Europe and major global trading partners such as China, Iran is looking to its neighbors to blunt the impact of US sanctions. Iran
Has Iran's influence increased in Palestinian arena? Shortly after the Palestinian Islamic Jihad named Ziyad al-Nakhalah to be its new secretary-general and elected member of the political bureau, Nakhalah threatened Israel and launched an intra-Palestinian initiative in his first political discourse. Palestine
Does Bibi use Iran as dodge for occupation policies? Akiva Eldar calls out Israeli prime minister for “Iran-phobia”; Netanyahu weighs elections; Gazans reject the PA; Israel, Qatar seek to prevent war in Gaza; Israeli barriers keep Palestinians from olive trees. Qatar
Analysis: How the Tehran Stock Exchange rally could benefit the Iranian economy The unprecedented bull run on the Tehran Stock Exchange has been a major boon to Iranian investors, but the upward trajectory is dependent on reforms to attract more liquidity. Iran
Commentary: Saudi First foreign policy comes back to bite Trump US alignment with Riyadh’s worldview is under scrutiny after the disappearance of journalist and regime critic Jamal Khashoggi. Saudi Arabia
Iran’s security forces face calls for accountability in wake of terrorist attack The Sept. 22 terrorist attack in the southwestern city of Ahvaz has raised an unprecedented call for Iran’s military and security forces to be held accountable. Iran
Iranian media see Saudi-Turkey rift in Khashoggi case While some Iranian media see the possibility of tension between Iran and Turkey over the case of Jamal Khashoggi, one analyst in particular warns that such an atmosphere is not conducive to resolving differences. Saudi Arabia
Netanyahu generates Iran-phobia, to continue occupation By focusing and promoting the Iran-phobia, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hopes to conceal from the world the status-quo policy he espouses against the Palestinians. Palestine