Yemen
Tanker struck by projectile off Saudi Arabia's Yanbu, UK maritime authorities report
A tanker was struck by an unknown projectile and set alight off Saudi Arabia's Yanbu, UKMTO says, in the latest attack on Saudi-linked shipping in the Red Sea.
Yemen's Houthis claim strikes on Saudi navy vessels in Red Sea
Yemen's Houthi movement says it struck a Saudi military landing ship and four escort boats with ballistic missiles in the Red Sea off Mokha, claiming the ship was destroyed. The assertions could not be independently verified.
RAGOZIN: Ukraine’s “tide is turning” PR push has backfired
The PR surge which heralded that the “tide is turning” in the Ukrainian conflict is ending up in a debacle. Ukraine can inflict tangible damage on the Russian economy but Russia can take it and give it back in spades.
US munitions stockpiles run low as Iran war outpaces Ukraine as main drain
US military munitions stockpiles have shrunk sharply since the war with Iran began, with the five-month-old conflict now the main driver of depletion even for weapon systems the US had previously donated heavily to Ukraine.
Iran's war spills into Saudi Arabia and Libya even as Hormuz talks edge toward a deal
Three threads are currently running in parallel: a genuine, if heavily caveated, diplomatic opening over Hormuz; a US naval blockade that keeps tightening even as those talks proceed; and a regional military campaign against...
Saudi Arabia's new Nato-style pact with Turkey and Pakistan is tested within 48 hours
The “Mecca Joint Defence Agreement” treats an armed attack on any of the three Sunni-majority states as an attack on all three, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said, and is “technically the same” as Nato's...
Iranian official warns Saudis “paper pact” on defence with Turkey, Pakistan is a dud
Agreement based on Nato-style provision that an attack on one country will be seen as an attack on all three.
Iran holds the cards as a Hormuz deal takes shape on its own terms
Iran and Oman have reached an understanding on the geographic coordinates for a shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz, with a joint announcement being finalised, Iran's foreign ministry said on August 5. But the emerging deal would hand...
Iran issues Gulf-wide energy hit list if Trump carries through on threats to destroy Iran’s energy sector
US President Donald Trump threatened to destroy Iran’s energy sector in a joint operation with Israel, prompting Tehran to issue a hit list of some of the most valuable assets in the Gulf if he carried through with the threat.
Emerging-market ratings have absorbed the Iran war so far, but the buffers are thinning - Fitch
Emerging-market sovereign ratings have proved largely resilient to the US-Iran war in the first half of 2026, Fitch Ratings finds in its Global Emerging Markets Credit Brief for 3Q26 even though the outlook for a third is deteriorating.
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Hormuz squeeze on ammonia draws foreign bidders to Odesa Port Plant
Hormuz squeeze on ammonia draws foreign bidders to Odesa Port Plant Four companies from the US, Asia and the Middle East are studying data on Ukraine's war-damaged fertiliser plant as the Strait of Hormuz blockade tightens global ammonia supply.
Houthis say missile strike forced Saudi tanker to turn back in Red Sea
Houthi forces say they fired ballistic missiles at the Saudi tanker NCC Ghazal in the Red Sea, forcing it to turn back. It is the third reported attack on Saudi-linked shipping in a week. Traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb has fallen by about 60%.
Ukraine's scam call centres earn $1bn a month, study finds
Ukraine's scam call-centre industry generates as much as $1bn a month, according to a new report by the Geneva-based Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC), which estimates that around 60,000 Ukrainians work in the trade.
Ukraine's Caspian Sea strikes merge the Iran and Ukraine wars
“Zelensky bombed the Iranian vessel on the Caspian for the same reason his people paid Loomer to come to Kyiv and interview him: a PR campaign to try to win over Trump.”
Kuwait signs $16bn pipeline deal with Blackstone, Brookfield and KKR despite Iran attacks
Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) said on July 25 that its subsidiary Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) has signed a $16bn lease-and-leaseback agreement covering its entire crude oil pipeline network with a consortium of Blackstone, Brookfield and KKR, in wh
Brent tops $100/bbl as Middle East tensions build, ING says gold struggles for safe-haven bid
Oil prices surged this week, with ICE Brent breaking above $100/bbl for the first time since May, as escalation in the Persian Gulf and fears of a widening conflict put a significant amount of supply at risk, ING said
Vance, Caine warn Trump against Iran escalation as US pauses air strikes
The US military had not announced new air strikes on Iran as of July 26, the first pause since Washington's bombing campaign began nearly two weeks earlier, after Vice President JD Vance and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen.
Iran war closes Hormuz, Bab al-Mandeb simultaneously for first time ever
For the first time since records began, both of the Middle East's great oil chokepoints are shut at once for the first time ever. The Strait of Hormuz has been effectively closed since February 28, and now Bab al-Mandeb Strait is also shut.
Yemenis vow to extend Saudi blockade to Jeddah, Yanbu
A senior Houthi adviser said the movement's naval blockade of Saudi Arabia will expand from Jizan to Jeddah and Yanbu, the Red Sea terminal Riyadh has used to bypass the closed Strait of Hormuz, after Trump threatened military retaliation.
EU condemns Yemeni attack on Saudi tanker in Red Sea
A fire broke out aboard the Saudi tanker Encelia after it was struck by a projectile 70 nautical miles southwest of Al Shuqaiq. The Houthis claim attacks on two vessels for breaching their blockade. All crew are reported safe.