Trending Middle East

In today’s episode of Trending Middle East, fighting between Saudi Arabia and the Houthi rebels intensifies, with strikes reported in the kingdom and Yemen. Saudi authorities on Tuesday morning issued shelter warnings across several cities, a day after 13 people were injured in Houthi attacks on civilian areas. The Houthis said Saudi warplanes carried out 54 strikes across Yemen. US President Dona...

In today’s episode of Trending Middle East, a meeting between Iran and Gulf states in Oman is postponed, after the sultanate said the appropriate conditions were not in place. Tehran and Muscat jointly agreed to reschedule the talks, which had been set to take place in Salalah. Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels suffer heavy losses in clashes with government forces in Taiz, after making major gains...

In today’s episode of Trending Middle East, the UAE announces plans to invest 40 billion euros in Germany across sectors including industry, advanced technology, artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure and energy. The announcement comes as President Sheikh Mohamed meets German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Berlin. Israel says it has blown up Hezbollah tunnels under Ali Al Taher ridge, compl...

In today’s episode of Trending Middle East, President Sheikh Mohamed begins a state visit to Germany aimed at strengthening ties, with the two countries expected to sign agreements on artificial intelligence, energy and investment. Iran-backed Houthi militants seize the strategic Yemeni port city of Mocha after days of fighting with pro-government forces, as the group also escalates attacks on Sau...

In today’s episode of Trending Middle East, the tanker conflict around the Strait of Hormuz intensifies as the US and Iran trade attacks on oil vessels. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps says it struck two US vessels, eight oil tankers and 10 other ships, while also warning tanker crews in Bahrain and Kuwait to leave their vessels. US Central Command also said American forces destroyed five...

In today’s episode of Trending Middle East, attacks by Houthi rebels targeting Saudi Arabia have wounded 73 civilians, including women and children. The Saudi Energy Ministry said several energy sites in the south were struck, causing injuries and fires, and temporarily halting some operations. Qatar says the Strait of Hormuz will remain vital to international trade despite efforts to develop alte...

In today’s episode of Trending Middle East, Iran says it will establish a restricted zone around the Strait of Hormuz, as Tehran and Oman prepare to announce a new international shipping corridor. Commercial shipping through the waterway has fallen to its lowest level since May after the latest US and Iranian strikes on tankers. Recent evidence details an alleged secret chemical weapons programme...

In today's episode of Trending Middle East, Israel is to release five civilians detained in occupied areas of southern Lebanon, as part of a renewed diplomatic push between the two countries. But it comes as the Israeli military abducts three other Lebanese. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has welcomed a move by the EU to join Washington's campaign to increase economic pressure on Iran. He cal...

In today's episode of Trending Middle East, Kuwait says its air defences are repelling what its military called a “heinous Iranian aggression”, involving hostile missile and drone attacks. It comes as Tehran escalates its attacks on other countries across the region. An investigation by The National has found that Israel’s army is gradually expanding its self-established security zone in southern...

Today on Trending Middle East, the US and Iran have traded another round of strikes, raising fears that a weeks-long lull in the war has come to an end. Several people were killed in US strikes on southern areas in Iran, while Jordan and Kuwait intercepted Iranian attacks early on Wednesday. In the Idlib province of Syria, five people were killed after munitions exploded while being unloaded at a...

In today's episode of Trending Middle East, US President Donald Trump vows to retaliate after Iran launches missiles at American military bases in Jordan. Meanwhile, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urges G20 finance ministers to join Washington’s campaign to cut off Iran’s financial lifelines. The EU backs the move, while the UAE has already severed trade and financial ties with Iran. In Iraq,...

Today on Trending Middle East, Jordan has intercepted eight Iranian missiles following a US strike on Iranian forces near the Strait of Hormuz. The exchange marks the first direct fighting between the two countries in more than a month. In the occupied West Bank, residents told The National that a pattern of settler violence and land seizures point to a co-ordinated campaign. It comes as Israeli P...

In today’s episode of Trending Middle East, Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has been accused by a prominent ultraconservative figure of going soft over his support for negotiations with the US. The public rift highlights growing divisions in Iran over how to approach the next phase of the war. The US military says it has cleared sea mines laid by Tehran in the Strait of Hormuz a...

In today’s episode of Trending Middle East, Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman heads to Tehran to push for de-escalation between Iran and the US and renewed dialogue, with talks also focusing on restoring navigation through the Strait of Hormuz to the situation before February 28. We also examine comments from the US ambassador to Lebanon that negotiations with Hezbollah are po...

In today’s episode of Trending Middle East, Iran struggles with fuel shortages and long queues at petrol stations as motorists rush to fill their tanks following new US sanctions. We also look at the dissolution of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces as its fighters are integrated into Syria’s state institutions. Meanwhile, Omani Foreign Minister Badr Al Busaidi is hopeful arrangements to resto...

In today’s episode of Trending Middle East, the US has announced sweeping new sanctions against Iran, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he expects other countries to take similar action as Washington steps up its campaign to economically isolate Tehran. We also look at the US decision to remove Syria from its list of state sponsors of terrorism, clearing a major obstacle to Damascus's econ...

In today’s episode of Trending Middle East, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says Washington is preparing an “economic D-Day” against Iran, aiming at the country's oil exports, financial transactions, aviation, shipping and banking. In Iran, citizens fear further isolation and hardship as inflation exceeds 80 per cent and the rial continues to weaken. We also examine high-level talks between Sy...

In today’s episode of Trending Middle East, the US says economic pressure on Iran could prevent a return to large-scale fighting, with Vice President JD Vance describing the war as entering a “new phase” and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent promising further measures on Monday. We also examine escalating tensions between Israel and Turkey over their military presence in Syria, after Israel accuses...

In today’s episode of Trending Middle East, US President Donald Trump announces what he calls the “most crushing economic operation ever taken” against any country after Iran failed to reach a deal with Washington. He also threatens economic consequences for countries that support Tehran, while saying alternatives to the Strait of Hormuz could reduce the waterway’s importance. We also look at Isra...

In today’s episode of Trending Middle East, the UAE suspends all activities, trade exchanges and financial transactions with Iran, following the latest escalation in the conflict, marking a significant shift in their economic relationship. We also examine US President Donald Trump’s insistence that there are no talks with Iran as the dispute over the Strait of Hormuz continues, while Tehran mainta...

In today’s episode of Trending Middle East, US special envoy Jared Kushner says Iran is refusing to make the concessions needed for a longer-term agreement after the latest negotiation deadline expired, while Tehran says it has reached an understanding with Oman on a new shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz. We also look at US President Donald Trump's warning to Oman as diplomacy over the s...

In today’s episode of Trending Middle East, the UAE joins seven other Arab and Islamic nations in condemning Israel for rejecting renewed efforts to implement US President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan, as Jared Kushner holds talks with Hamas and regional mediators in Egypt. We also examine a sharp slowdown in shipping through the Strait of Hormuz as attacks on tankers and stalled US-Iran talks c...

The UAE has strongly condemned a hostile Iranian attack on two Adnoc-linked ships as they crossed the Strait of Hormuz. The Foreign Ministry called it a flagrant violation of a UN Security Council resolution protecting freedom of navigation. US Central Command has denied reports from mostly Iranian media outlets that seven Navy personnel died aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln. It com...

An oil slick off Oman has begun contaminating beaches as it edges closer to shore. It came from the Russia-linked tanker, Caroline Bezengi, which was under sanctions and disabled by an explosion in June. Environmentalists are also warning about the long-term impact of pollution to the region caused by the Iran war. Iraq and the US have reached a final agreement on the withdrawal of the internation...

Syrians in the city of Deraa, where the 2011 uprising began, celebrated after a court sentenced Bashar Al Assad to death in absentia. Damascus also sentences his brother Maher, security official Atif Najib and other officials on charges of murder and torture. The Yemeni government says that six people have been killed in a Houthi missile attack on a cargo ship in the Red Sea. The Iran-backed group...