Analysis MENA wheat importers face food security risks as Hormuz crisis festers Home to many of the world's largest wheat importers, the Middle East and North Africa face acute food security risks as the US-Israel-Iran war disrupts global fertilizer flows and pushes up prices. By Samuel Wendel In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech
Analysis How Iran is rebuilding its bruised military as ceasefire masks recalibration Iran is using the fragile truce to recover by blending redeployment and reverse engineering into broader preparedness for renewed conflict. By A correspondent in Tehran In Tehran, reporting on politics
US sanctions Iran’s shadow banking channels moving oil proceeds from China The latest sanctions come as the Trump administration weighs Iran's latest proposal to end the war. Iran
Analysis Without exit strategy, Israel faces emboldened Hezbollah, limited options on Iran While President Donald Trump remains undecided on striking Iran again, the Israeli military is sinking deeper into its Lebanon quagmire with a reinforced Hezbollah. By Ben Caspit In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense
Newsletter: Daily Briefing Iran defies Trump's blockade as oil prices soar By Beatrice Farhat In Beirut, reporting on regional news, culture, conflict
Can this veteran singer save Kurdish people's forgotten tunes? Kurdish singer Mazhar Khaliqi says the Kurds should use globalization and technology to carry their musical tradition beyond the borders of the Middle East. Iraq
Iran says Qom 'almost stable' after coronavirus outbreak Iran’s Health Ministry has assured the public it is addressing the corona outbreak that has killed at least 12 in the country. Iran
Iranians go to polls as hard-liners expect big win Iran's parliamentary elections are widely seen as a one-sided contest that favors hard-liners. Iran
Iran struggles to regain control of post-Soleimani PMU After the loss of Soleimani and Muhandis, Iran is struggling to reorganize and reunite different PMU factions that previously operated under the guidance of Soleimani on behalf of Iran’s interests in Iraq. Iraq
Coronavirus in Iran prompts fears of spread in Iraq The outbreak of coronavirus in Iran prompted a wave of anti-Iranian sentiment among Iraqi protesters, who called for the closure of the border. Iraq
Egypt may find Gaza more appealing without Haniyeh Although tensions between the Egyptian authorities and Hamas were expected to escalate amid reports that Egypt had banned Hamas head Ismail Haniyeh from returning to Egypt and subsequently to Gaza, Egyptian analysts expect relations to be more relaxed in Haniyeh's absence. Qatar
US sanctions Iranian Guardian Council members, holds off on UN snapback penalties The Trump administration is coming under pressure from anti-Iran deal advocates to find a way to trigger the "snapback" of UN sanctions this year. United States
Iran’s parliamentary elections a vote on Rouhani's economy Iranians head to the polls Feb. 21, with Reformists largely sidelined, to elect their 11th parliament since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Iran
Far-left current rises from among Iranian hardliners Iran’s ultraconservatives have given birth to their worst nightmare — a group so left-leaning that hardliners consider them would-be communists. Iran
Iran says Zarif met with US senator for ‘public diplomacy’ Iran’s foreign minister says his weekend meeting with a US senator in Germany was a diplomatic effort to get his nation’s voice heard by the American people. Congress
Intel: Why Trump is calling a Democrat’s Iran meeting illegal President Donald Trump doubled down on his accusation today that Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., violated the law by meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif at the annual Munich Security Conference over the weekend. United States
Report: Yemen’s Houthis now sporting deadlier drones Yemen's Houthis are using newer and deadlier drone models that discharge explosives and shrapnel, according to a report. Yemen