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June 23, 2026

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People ride motorcycles past a large billboard showing portraits of Iran's late supreme leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (L), and slain supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (R) in central Tehran on June 8, 2026.

Analysis

From Beirut to Bab el Mandeb, Iran tests new deterrence strategy

Tehran views its latest clash with Israel as a watershed moment and proof that any attack on its regional allies can trigger direct and immediate retaliation.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

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

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

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

Saudis shop for fresh products at a market in Riyadh on Feb. 18, 2026, on the first day of the holy fasting month of Ramadan in Saudi Arabia.

Analysis

Alternative supply routes emerge as Iran war tests Gulf food security

Roughly 61 million people in the Gulf rely on established food supply chains, many of which have been upended since the United States and Israel launched their attack against Iran on Feb. 28.

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

Latest News

Analysis

In Saudi Arabia, Erdogan fosters security alignment, $30B trade push

Riyadh

Ezgi Akin

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

Yemen’s Houthis hint at Red Sea attacks as US-Iran tensions rise: What to know

Galaxy Leader

Thousands rally for South Yemen independence amid Saudi diplomatic push

AFP via Getty Images

Egypt's economy can weather more Red Sea attacks, says finance minister

Ships sail along Egypt's Suez Canal near Ismailia on April 16, 2025.

Yemeni government, southern separatists agree to government formation

The Southern Transitional Council rescinded its declaration of autonomy in July, which paved the way for reconciliation with the government.

Iran sanctions US envoy to Yemen in retaliation for US blacklisting

The Iranian Foreign Ministry announced sanctions on Christopher Henzel, the US ambassador to Yemen.

A fighter sits in a "technical" (pickup truck mounted with turret) as forces loyal to Yemen's Saudi-backed government clash with Huthi rebel fighters around the strategic government-held "Mas Camp" military base, in al-Jadaan area about 50 kilometres northwest of Marib in central Yemen, on November 22, 2020. - Marib has been the scene of intense fighting in recent months as the Huthis try to seize control of the oil-rich province -- the government's last northern stronghold. (Photo by - / AFP) (Photo by -/A

Houthi missiles latest threat to fragile Yemeni government

Any incoming government in Yemen will need to stop the infighting in the south and address issues related to essential services, as well as be prepared to face a likely torrent of Houthi missiles.

Hashem Mahmoud Atin, a ten-month-old displaced Yemeni child suffering from acute malnutrition and who is unable to reach a hospital for treatment, is held by his mother at a camp in Abs in northern Yemen's Hajjah province on September 3, 2020. - Hundreds of children and pregnant women have been negatively affected by the closure of medical clinics funded by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Yemen's displaced camps. (Photo by ESSA AHMED / AFP) (Photo by ESSA AHMED/AFP via Getty Images)

Intel: Congress warned of fallout if Yemen's Houthis labeled terrorists

A group of 29 aid agencies operating in Yemen warned congressional leaders that the Donald Trump administration's planned terror designation could hinder their live-saving work.

Hunger crisis in Yemen should be a ‘wake up call,’ UN warns

The number of Yemenis experiencing “catastrophic food insecurity” could triple by the end of June 2021.

TOPSHOT - A picture taken on May 14, 2019, shows a general view of the Hodeida port in the Yemeni port city, around 230 kilometres west of the capital Sanaa. - Yemen's Huthi rebels have handed over security of key Red Sea ports to the "coastguard" but much work remains to remove military equipment, the UN said. (Photo by - / AFP) (Photo credit should read -/AFP via Getty Images)

Yemen’s Houthis grant UN inspectors access to aging oil tanker

Experts say the FSO Safer, a dilapidated vessel that contains more than a million barrels of light crude oil, is at risk of rupturing and spilling more oil than the Exxon Valdez.

WILMINGTON, DE - NOVEMBER 24: President-elect Joe Biden (C) introduces key foreign policy and national security nominees and appointments at the Queen Theatre on November 24, 2020 in Wilmington, Delaware. As President-elect Biden waits to be approved for official national security briefings, the names of top members of his national security team are being announced to the public. Calls continue for President Trump to concede the election and let the transition proceed without further delay. (Photo by Mark

Progressives divided over Biden’s expected pick for Pentagon chief

Michele Flournoy's stated openness to curtailing offensive weapons sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates may have reduced opposition from progressive Democrats

Demonstrators chant slogans with signs depicting Jerusalem's Dome of the Rock and flags of Palestine during a protest in Yemen's third city of Taez on August 21, 2020, against the US-brokered deal between the United Arab Emirates and Israel to normalise relations. (Photo by AHMAD AL-BASHA / AFP) (Photo by AHMAD AL-BASHA/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel, Gulf rapprochement could worry Yemen, Iran

Israel is concerned over growing Iranian entrenchment in Yemen, not unlike the way Iran operates in Syria.

A jeep drives in a street flooded with open sewers and covered with scattered rubbish in Yemen's third city of Taez, on September 19, 2020. - Human Rights Watch warned of "deadly consequences" as a result of the obstruction of aid in war-torn Yemen, where the humanitarian effort has already been badly hit by the coronavirus crisis. Interviews with 35 humanitarian workers, 10 donor officials and 10 Yemeni health workers revealed a complex web of restrictions that hinder the flow of aid. (Photo by AHMAD AL-BA

Aid groups in Yemen say Houthi terror designation would deepen crisis

The Trump administration is weighing whether to designate the Iran-aligned rebel group as a foreign terrorist organization.

A Yemeni child suffering from malnutrition receives at a treatment centre in the country's third-city of Taez, on October 28, 2020. (Photo by AHMAD AL-BASHA / AFP) (Photo by AHMAD AL-BASHA/AFP via Getty Images)

UN warns Yemen at risk of 'devastating famine' within months

The looming famine comes as Yemen records its highest-yet rates of child malnutrition.

Intel: CENTCOM disputes watchdog report on Yemen civilian casualties

The US military denied involvement in dozens of incidents in which civilians were reportedly killed.

Intel: Pentagon undercounting civilian casualties in Yemen, watchdog says

At least 86 civilians have been killed in US operations in Yemen since 2017, according to a new report by Airwars, a UK-based nongovernmental organization.