Bab al-Mandab Strait

July 27, 2026 | Bridget Toomey, Behnam Ben Taleblu

The Middle East Moves Toward a Multifront Maritime War

Yemen’s Houthis have brought the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait into the conflict between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran — blocking millions more barrels of oil from easily...

July 24, 2026 | Clifford D. May, Edmund Fitton-Brown

Britain’s New PM and Yemen’s Old Houthis

July 22, 2026 | Bridget Toomey |

Houthis announce blockade of Saudi Arabia, ships reroute to avoid Bab al Mandeb Strait

The Houthis announced a complete maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia on July 20. In response, a growing number of vessels are rerouting to avoid the Bab al Mandeb Strait, the southern...

July 22, 2026 | Bridget Toomey |

Why the Houthis Declared a Blockade on Saudi Arabia

The Yemeni militant group is poised to disrupt another key chokepoint in the global energy supply.

July 17, 2026 | Bridget Toomey |

Iran reportedly tells Houthis to close Bab al Mandeb Strait if US strikes power grid

Three sources told Reuters on July 16 that Iran has instructed Yemen’s Houthis to close the Red Sea to shipping if the US attacks Iran’s power network, which President Donald Trump threatened to...

July 9, 2026 | Bridget Toomey |

How the Houthis Could Put the World in Double Dire Straits

The terror group could use the lessons it learned from the Iran war to endanger the global community.

June 22, 2026 | Mariam Wahba |

Sudan Turns Away From Iranian Weapons in Hopes of Courting Washington

Sudan’s civil war, now in its fourth year, has become one of Africa’s first drone wars. Yet the drones dominating this battlefield are overwhelmingly foreign. From approximately 3,000 miles away,...

June 19, 2026 | Janatan Sayeh |

Khamenei warily accepts US deal as Tehran eyes rebuilding Hezbollah

On June 18, the Islamic Republic’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, who succeeded his father, issued a statement on the recent memorandum of understanding between Washington...

June 17, 2026 | Janatan Sayeh |

Gifting Iran Early Concessions Surrenders Washington’s Upper Hand

The U.S. has reportedly granted Iran sanction waivers for selling oil, with one Iranian supertanker transporting crude oil having already crossed the U.S. naval blockade. This development came one day...

June 17, 2026 | Mark Dubowitz |

Why Squander The Greatest Leverage Ever Built Against Iran?

Is the Trump administration about to surrender a significant portion of its leverage before the hardest phase of negotiations begin?

June 11, 2026 | Mark Dubowitz, Miad Maleki

Don’t buy Iran’s charade — this regime can’t afford peace at ANY price

For the last two months, President Donald Trump’s rhetoric on Iran has seesawed between expressing optimism on negotiations and making explicit threats to remove the mullahs from power. This week,...

June 9, 2026 | Bridget Toomey |

Houthis attack Israel and announce ban on Israeli vessels in the Red Sea

On June 8, Yemen’s Houthis fired missiles at central Israel as the Jewish state and Iran exchanged fire for the first time since the April 7 ceasefire between the US, Israel, and...

June 5, 2026 | Bridget Toomey |

Houthis emphasize solidarity and coordination with Iran-led Axis of Resistance

In recent speeches, Abdulmalik al Houthi, the leader of the eponymous Yemeni terror group, reiterated his group’s support for its regional partners in the Iran-led “Axis of Resistance” and held out...

June 5, 2026 | Seth J. Frantzman |

Understanding Iran’s 3,000-Mile Battlefront

Iran is fighting a regional war, while the United States can focus only on one front at a time.

June 3, 2026 | Clifford D. May |

Letter to the POTUS

A few hopefully helpful notes on Iran’s “Islamic Revolutionaries”

May 14, 2026 | Edmund Fitton-Brown, Bridget Toomey

Iran-Backed Houthis Assist Resurgent Somali Pirates

The western section of the Indian Ocean, with its key trade routes and its maritime chokepoints, has faced no shortage of crises between disruptions caused by the Houthis in Yemen and their backers in...

May 6, 2026 | Clifford D. May |

Iran’s rulers are true believers  

That’s why they’re so difficult to deter or constrain

April 22, 2026 | Janatan Sayeh |

Iran attacks vessels in Hormuz, avoids concrete stance on ceasefire extension

After Donald Trump announced an extension of the US ceasefire with Iran on April 21, Tehran refused to take an official position on the state of the ceasefire, denied it had agreed to any extension, and...

March 28, 2026 | Bridget Toomey |

Yemen’s Houthis enter Iran war with drone and missile attacks on Israel

The Houthis in Yemen launched several attacks against Israel today, a month into the joint US-Israeli operation against Iran. Israel announced that it intercepted the first...

March 28, 2026 | |

Iran-Backed Houthis Launch Missile at Southern Israel

Latest Developments Houthis Join War: The Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen launched a ballistic missile targeting the southern Israeli city of Beersheva on March 28, its first entry into the current conflict....