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Members of Houthi security forces stand guard while supporters of Yemen's Houthi movement attend an event commemorating the ninth anniversary of the Saudi-led intervention in their country, in the capital, Sanaa, on March 26, 2026.

Exclusive

Senior Houthi official says Bab el Mandab closure an option if any Gulf states join war

Houthi Deputy Information Minister Mohammed Mansour also said the strait could be closed “should the aggression against Iran and Lebanon escalate.”

Elizabeth Hagedorn

מאת Elizabeth Hagedorn

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

US journalist Shelly Kittleson poses for a picture in Baghdad on March 31, 2026.

Shelly Kittleson's kidnapping by suspected Iran-backed militia exposes Iraq government weakness

The abduction of US journalist Shelly Kittleson highlights the outsized influence of Iran-aligned armed groups operating beyond Baghdad’s control.

AFP via Getty Images

UAE accuses Iran of 'extortion' in Strait of Hormuz: What to know

The accusation comes as Iran continues to launch drone and missile attacks in the Gulf.

United Arab Emirates

Chris McGrath/Getty Images

Turkey in talks with Iran to clear 11 ships stuck in Hormuz: What to know

Turkey's transport minister says that 11 vessels await passage from Hormuz pending talks with Iran.

A member of the Popular Mobilization Forces patrols along a concrete wall at the Iraqi-Syrian border in Al-Qaim, west of Iraq, on Jan. 23, 2026.

Syria reopens key crossing after 11 years, aiding Iraq's oil exports amid war

Iraq and Syria have shown a desire to cooperate on oil exports, and the matter has become more urgent due to the disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.

Latest News

Israel energy minister says gas flowing to Egypt, Jordan despite shutdown reports

A view of the platform of the Leviathan natural gas field in the Mediterranean Sea is pictured from the Israeli northern coastal beach of Nasholim, on Aug. 29, 2022.

In UK visit, Syria’s Sharaa doubles down on Western ties amid Iran war, refugee pressures

Sharaa, King Charles

Analysis

Iran executes alleged MEK members in bid to signal wartime control

A member of the Iranian security forces stands guard next to a banner honoring Iran's slain supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in Tehran on March 31, 2026.

A correspondent in Tehran

מאת A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Airline Emirates says Iranian nationals barred from entering or transiting UAE

An Emirates airplane at Dubai International Airport, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, March 7, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer

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FILE PHOTO: Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, March 25, 2026. REUTERS/Patrick Doyle/File Photo

Canada's Carney says he spoke with Trump about Middle East conflict

Reuters

U.S. President Donald Trump attends to sign an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., March 31, 2026. REUTERS/Evan Vucci

Trump to tell wary public that Iran war goals have been accomplished in prime-time address

Reuters

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks during a visit to the shrine of the leader of Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, in southern Tehran, Iran, January 31, 2026. Iran's Presidential website/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS

Iranian president says in letter that Iran harbors no enmity towards ordinary Americans

Reuters

U.S. President Donald Trump leaves following a press conference at the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands June 25, 2025. REUTERS/Piroschka Van De Wouw

Explainer-Can Trump pull the US out of NATO?

Reuters

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ALM Interviews

Exclusive conversations with Al-Monitor.

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Interview

התחזית של אולמרט: ישראל תלך לבחירות שלישיות

Interview

איראן שלחה הודעות בערוץ האחורי של ארה"ב על סיכון למלחמה אזורית רחבה יותר, אומר שר החוץ

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian

Foreign Minister of Iran

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian listens to a question during a press conference with his Saudi counterpart (not pictured) in Tehran, on June 17, 2023.

Analysis

Stay a step ahead of your colleagues.

Analysis

השב"כ נדיר, מפגש פלסטיני כאשר החשש מפני מתיחות הרמדאן גובר

AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images

Rina Bassist

מאת Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Analysis

ראש ההגנה של צרפת דוחק ל-3 שערים בביקור ישראל

Shahar Yorman/Israeli Defense Ministry

Rina Bassist

מאת Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Analysis

האם ארה"ב יכולה ללחוץ על נתניהו לקבל את המדינה הפלסטינית לנורמליזציה ישראל-סעודית?

US President Joe Biden shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as they meet on the sidelines of the 78th United Nations General Assembly in New York City on Sept. 20, 2023.

מאת Ben Caspit

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Analysis

מה עומד מאחורי שלל התקפות דאעש באירופה?

Adam Lucente

מאת Adam Lucente , Rosaleen Carroll

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz addresses media after a visit at the site of a knife attack in Solingen, Western Germany, on August 26, 2024.

Joyce Karam, Randa Slim, Hamidreza Azizi, Hasan Alhasan

Iran War at One Month: Outlook and Implications

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sits across from Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Ukraine's Zelenskyy capitalizes on Iran war to ink security deal with Saudi Arabia

Joe Snell appears on a street wearing a black jacket; in the frame next to it, a woman with blonde hair, glasses, and a black blazer appears on a laptop screen from a Zoom meeting.

French ISIS Member Convicted of Genocide Against Yazidis

Ezgi Akin at Turkey's Kapikoy border crossing

AL-MONITOR's Ezgi Akin at Turkey-Iran Border Crossing

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בן כספית

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In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

דאוד כותאב

Palestine Columnist

In Amman, reporting on Palestinian politics

רשא אבו ג'לאל

In Gaza City, reporting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

כתב אל-מוניטור בטהראן

In Tehran, reporting on politics