The United States aims to build a military coalition to “ensure freedom of navigation both in the Straits of Hormuz and the Bab al-Mandab” a US military official said on Tuesday. The Strait of Hormuz, located between the south of Iran and the Arabian peninsula, connects the Persian Gulf and

The fragile cease-fire in Yemen seems to have come to an end on Wednesday, as pro-government forces and Houthi fighters engaged in renewed clashes in the port city of Hodeidah. A day earlier, the Houthi claimed responsibility for a drone attack targeting two oil pumping stations in Saudi Arabia. The

As expected, US President Donald Trump has blocked legislation by Congress that aimed to end the country’s military involvement in the Yemeni civil war, which is a proxy war fought between forces supported by Saudi Arabia on one side and troops supported by Iran on the other side. The US

In what is seen as a firm rebuke to US President Donald Trump, the US Senate has voted to end the country’s involvement in Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen. The bill, which was supported by 54 Senators including seven Republicans, is expected to pass through the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives

In an attempt to thwart the advance of Saudi-led forces in the civil war in Yemen, Houthi fighters have laid over one million land mines. Since the Yemeni population does not exceed 30 million citizens, this represents the highest concentration of landmines in a single country since World War II. For

“Yemen’s Shiite rebels on Saturday handed over control of the main port in the Red Sea city of Hodeida to the country’s navy and coast guard under U.N. supervision, security officials said, in a significant step in the implementation of a deal reached during peace talks in Sweden earlier this

The United Arab Emirates hired U.S. mercenary firm Spear Operations Group, comprised mostly of ex-U.S. special forces, in 2015 to carry out an assassination. This kind of contracting appears to be on the rise, highlighting the privatization of many kinds of conflict, the importance of special forces, and the change

“Across the Middle East, countries locked out of purchasing U.S.-made drones due to rules over excessive civilian casualties are being wooed by Chinese arms dealers, who are world’s main distributor of armed drones. ‘The Chinese product now doesn’t lack technology, it only lacks market share,’ said Song Zhongping, a Chinese

The Trump administration has issued a memo certifying that the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen’s civil war is “undertaking demonstrable actions to reduce the risk of harm to civilians and civilian infrastructure,” although also affirming that current civilian casualty numbers are “far too high.” The memo will permit continued U.S. military

Ongoing talks between the UN and other actors are discussing the possibility of a UN-takover of Hodeidah, where it would administer the movement of humanitarian and commercial goods in and out of the port that supplies over 70% of Yemen’s essential goods. The deal would prevent the Iranian-backed Houthis from