This Month
Pentagon says operation targeting Yemen’s Houthis is open-ended
The Pentagon said US forces had struck more than 30 Houthi targets since Saturday, including command-and-control and training sites and drone infrastructure.
‘Hell will rain down’: Trump orders strikes on Iran-backed Houthis
US president warned Tehran against supporting the militant group which has disrupted global shipping in the Red Sea.
The astonishing stories of Israelis spying for Iran
In the past year, 39 Israelis have been arrested on suspicion of spying for Iran, prompting speculation about why they were open to overtures from their country’s bitterest foe.
Trump may sanction Russia, seeks nuclear deal with Iran
President Donald Trump’s latest pronouncements come as his shifting tariff policy moves heighten uncertainty across global financial markets.
February
Fatima Payman’s backflip on Iranian women’s rights is a betrayal
I spent 804 days imprisoned in Iran. The senator’s surname means “alliance”, but to those of us who care about human rights in the Islamic Republic, an ally she is not.
Is Trump’s Gaza gamble ‘morally bankrupt’ or bold?
Donald Trump’s breathtaking plan for the US to takeover Gaza stunned the world and ripped up the foreign policy status quo in the Middle East.
Trump says he wants new nuclear deal letting Iran ‘prosper’
The latest comments contrast with Mr Trump’s attitude in his first term, when he ordered a fatal strike on Iran’s most senior military general.
January
Google Maps to rename Gulf of Mexico to ‘Gulf of America’
The Trump administration declares that the Gulf of Mexico has been renamed, making good on a campaign promise.
Gaza hostage deal brings joy – but four painful months lie ahead
While for some families the peace deal will bring immediate joy, for others the process will dash the last embers of hope as loved ones are returned broken or in body bags.
Biden plans $13b arms sale to Israel
The new weapons are a last-minute show of support for the US president’s close ally after more than a year of war in Gaza.
Rich democracies need an acute crisis to trigger real change
It is almost impossible to sell voters on drastic reforms until their nation is in acute trouble. The chronic kind isn’t enough.
US steps up strikes on Houthis as tensions with Israel flare
The strikes mark the latest salvo in a year-long US-led campaign aimed at halting attacks by the militant group.
December 2024
Bassel was right about the Assads. It couldn’t save him
The 27-year-old had a Fulbright Scholarship and the future was bright. This is the story of one man’s pursuit of freedom for Syria.
How Assad secretly sent 21 planeloads of Syria’s cash to Moscow
The near-broke central bank sent almost $400 million in bulk shipments between 2018 and 2019 to Russia when the dictator was indebted to the Kremlin.
Netanyahu set to take the stand in long-running corruption trial
The Israeli prime minister is accused of accepting tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of cigars and champagne from a billionaire Hollywood producer.
Iran must wish it never heard of Yahya Sinwar
Iran’s “axis of resistance” is destroyed, and its horizons have narrowed to a choice between pragmatism and, quite literally, going nuclear.
Stubborn Assad’s fall was unexpected. But the signs were always there
Bashar al-Assad missed numerous opportunities to recast himself both at home and abroad.
With Assad challenged, cutting Syria’s ties to Iran gets harder
Efforts by the Gulf nations, particularly the United Arab Emirates, to lure the Syrian president away from his regional allies have been under way for a while.
What led to Syria’s 13-year civil war, and why has fighting surged again?
The sudden assault by Syrian rebels has redrawn the front lines of a war many thought was over. Here’s what to know.
Iran pledges support for Syria to halt rebel advance
Damascus launched airstrikes to push back the insurgents who have taken the northern city of Aleppo in a surprise attack.