Beyond the Headlines

It took the Houthis at least a month to enter the Iran conflict in late March and early April and the Yemeni rebels have been largely restrained since a Pakistan-brokered truce began last month. But they haven’t exactly been idle either. A new report from Conflict Armament Research (CAR) found the Houthis have been expanding their arsenal, mainly through illicit shipments of what are thought to be...

Trade ties and tariff relief were supposed to be the key issues on the agenda during US President Donald Trump's visit to China this week. But with the Iran war unresolved and the Strait of Hormuz still blocked, the conflict is to take precedence. China is a major importer of Iranian oil and analysts say Mr Trump will try to push Beijing to decrease its purchases as a way of increasing pressure on...

US President Donald Trump has said a deal with Iran could be possible as negotiations to end the war gain momentum, again. Iran is reviewing a US proposal, which reportedly sets out limits for Tehran’s nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief. Crucially, it also addresses the possibility of reopening the Strait of Hormuz. The battle in – and for – the strait has become one of the most c...

Palestinians in Gaza have voted in an election for the first time in 20 years, some for the first time in their lives. Municipal elections took place last week across the West Bank but in only a single neighbourhood in the strip that had been less impacted by Israel’s two-year war. The inclusion of Gaza has been described as a mostly symbolic gesture by the Palestinian Authority to demonstrate the...

Iraq is in a race against time to choose a prime minister but, even after weeks of deadlock, the Co-ordination Framework – a coalition of major Iraqi Shiite parties – is still deliberating. The country is stuck in a tug-of-war of foreign influence between Washington and Tehran, as both seek to strengthen their hold over Iraqi politics and security. Now, Iraq's politicians are carefully trying to c...

Hussein Al Zweidi’s two-year detention in Israeli prisons were some of the hardest days of his life. He described a practice of physical and sexual abuse against prisoners, as well as poor conditions and ill-treatment. Even after his release, he suffers from deep emotional scars and severe fatigue, he said. Now, he fears that an Israeli law will deal a bigger blow to the detainees he left behind....

US-brokered negotiations between Lebanon and Israel began this week in Washington. This comes after at least 1,500 Lebanese have been killed in Israeli strikes since March and more than one million remain displaced. Meanwhile, Hezbollah has continued to launch attacks towards Israel since it entered the Iran war weeks ago. The meeting is the first time the two governments have engaged in high-leve...

US President Donald Trump went from warning about the demise of a “whole civilisation” to announcing a “big day for world peace” in a matter of hours. It was not the first time he has used his Truth Social platform to make alarming statements during the course of the Iran war. He has used expletives and threats, often through conflicting messages over whether the conflict is escalating or winding...

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas warned on Thursday that Iran's control of the Strait of Hormuz could lead down a “slippery slope” of imposing tolls and taxes over international waters, which she described as a “very dangerous development”. In an interview with The National, she pushed back against US President Donald Trump's suggestion of a “joint venture” with Iran to handle transit at the st...

In his address to the nation on Wednesday, President Donald Trump said the war with Iran was nearing its end and the US had decimated the country’s military capabilities. But parts of his speech contradicted some of his earlier statements regarding the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and America’s interest in seizing Iranian oil. His words also stood in contrast to recent reports suggesting that t...

It has been a month since Israel, along with the US, launched strikes on Iran, leading the Middle East into yet another conflict it tried to avoid. Iran has responded by firing waves of missiles and drones, mostly towards its Gulf neighbours but also at Israel, where attacks have become increasingly disruptive. While the American public are largely divided over the war, in Israel, surveys showed t...

About one million people have been forcibly displaced in Lebanon and almost a thousand killed in Israel’s renewed war with Hezbollah. The Iran-backed group fired missiles at Israel in early March, joining Tehran's retaliatory attacks in the war with the US and Israel that began on February 28. Israel’s response was immediate and aggressive, extending beyond Lebanon’s southern towns and striking ce...

US President Donald Trump said the American-Israeli war on Iran could end soon, without specifying an end date. But almost two weeks in, military operations only seem to be intensifying. The US claims to have struck 5,000 targets in Iran, hitting its navy and air force, and diminishing its missile and drone capabilities. Attacks on civilian areas and oil facilities have also been reported. Iran co...

Conflicting reports have circulated in recent days about Iranian Kurdish groups possibly being armed by the US to launch a ground offensive in Iran. Many of these factions have long been exiled to the Kurdistan region of Iraq near Iran's north-western border and have felt oppressed by the regime. The US-Israeli war has already killed many of Tehran’s top political and military leaders, presenting...

Israel has begun a wave of strikes on Lebanon after warning residents in the south of the country to flee north of the Litani River on Wednesday. The forced displacement order impacts about 250,000 people in 150 villages. That’s almost 5 per cent of the country’s population. It marks a dangerous escalation as the US-Israeli war on Iran opens new fronts in the region. It comes after Hezbollah fired...

Almost 2,000 targets in Iran have been hit by the US in the first four days of the war. US Central Command says it has severely degraded the country's air defences and destroyed hundreds of ballistic missiles, launchers and drones. People in Iran, where the death toll is nearing 800, and across the Middle East are anxiously waiting for a resolution to the conflict. But US President Donald Trump sa...

As the war on Iran enters its fourth day, Tehran’s retaliatory attacks on US assets in Arab countries ramp up, testing the limits of their patience. Recent remarks from US officials suggest a limited timeframe for the war that could last a few weeks. The question is how much appetite and military might do the warring parties have? At the same time, US President Donald Trump warned that people will...

It has been a matter of days since the US and Israel launched air strikes against Iran, and already the impact has rippled across the Middle East.  Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and dozens of top officials have been killed. So, too, have hundreds of Iranians. Tehran’s retaliation against Israel has caused casualties and serious damage to property. And missile and drone attacks on Ir...

The notorious Al Hol camp in north-east Syria finally closed its doors this week. Thousands of alleged ISIS members and their families had been held there for years in inhumane conditions and without charge or trial.  Human rights groups had long advocated for the camp to be closed but the events that unfolded before it was emptied were described as chaotic. The disorganised handover of the camp f...

The US and Iran are facing off in a battle for concessions once more, as they resume nuclear talks against the backdrop of military threats. Officials said good progress was made at the latest round of negotiations in Geneva on Tuesday but added that a lot of work lies ahead. Only a day later, the White House warned Tehran it would be “wise” to make a deal. The US has boosted its military deployme...

Israel’s recent change of land-buying policies in the occupied West Bank has been condemned by the international community and the UN. The measures have been designed to make it easier for settlers to acquire Palestinian land in areas that until now had been under the Palestinian Authority’s administration. Critics have described the move as de facto annexation of the territory that would crush an...

The rules-based international order is the system of principles, laws and institutions put in place since the end of the Second World War to protect human rights and prevent conflict. But this status quo has been challenged by the past two years of wars and serious breaches of international law. Bodies such as the UN are also facing an uphill battle. Secretary General Antonio Guterres has warned t...

Jared Kushner’s vision for Gaza may have been presented in a vibrant-coloured map and renderings of futuristic, high-rise towers, but Palestinians in the strip say they are sceptical. Residents likened it to a property advert rather than a plan to rehabilitate what they have lost in the war. They told The National they fear they could be pushed out of the enclave while construction takes place, an...

After days of fighting, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces and government troops under President Ahmad Al Shara agreed to a fragile ceasefire. But in that short time – and with each side still accusing the other of attacks – the landscape has already changed. Areas that were under SDF control, mostly in the north-east, are now in possession of the government. The Kurdish-led group was previo...

Two weeks of protests in Iran have been met with a regime crackdown that threatens to provoke foreign intervention. What started as demonstrations over worsening economic conditions has spiralled into an uprising across the country, putting the government under immense pressure. US President Donald Trump threatened to attack Iran if more protesters were killed, and reassured Iranians that help was...