Arab Desk

The Arab Desk leads The Eastern Herald's reporting on the Middle East and North Africa. The desk has covered the Gaza-Israel war since October 2023, the Iran-Israel war of 2025-2026, the fall of the Assad government in Syria, Hezbollah's political and military shifts in Lebanon, the war in Yemen, and the diplomatic realignment of the Gulf states under the Abraham Accords and the Saudi-Iranian rapprochement.

Oil tanker Marlin Luanda burning in the Gulf of Aden after Houthi missile attack

Houthis Declare Naval Blockade on Saudi Arabia, Threatening Red Sea Shipping

Yemen's Houthi movement declared an immediate naval blockade on Saudi Arabia on Monday, citing retaliation for a Saudi strike on Sanaa's international airport, in a move that threatens Red Sea shipping at

July 21, 2026

by Arab Desk

Lebanese army vehicles patrol Froun village in Bint Jbeil district, southern Lebanon

Lebanese Return to Villages Israel Never Occupied, Exposing Pilot Zone Limits

Lebanese civilians return to Bint Jbeil villages under the pilot zone framework, but residents say Israel never occupied them. The ceasefire's first phase reveals the gap between diplomatic symbolism and actual Israeli withdrawal.

July 21, 2026

by Arab Desk

Khalil al-Hayya, newly elected Hamas overall leader, during an interview in Istanbul, Turkey

Hamas Elects Khalil Al-Hayya as New Overall Leader, Ending Two-Year Vacancy Since Sinwar

Khalil al-Hayya won Hamas's leadership by a single vote on Sunday, claiming 35 of 69 politburo

IRGC Targets US HIMARS in Kuwait, Greek Tankers Burn in Hormuz as War Enters Night Ten

Two Greek-owned tankers burned in Hormuz on the tenth night of US strikes on Iran, while

Satellite image showing trucks at Iran's Isfahan underground nuclear complex south tunnel entrance on June 9 2025

Iran Moved Its Entire Nuclear Stockpile Three Days Before the Bombs Fell. The IAEA Still Doesn’t Know Where It Is.

Three days before Israeli strikes on Fordow and Natanz, satellite imagery shows Iran loading up to 540 kilograms of highly enriched uranium onto trucks at Isfahan's south tunnel entrance. The IAEA has

July 2, 2026

Conflicts, Military and War·News

US military AH-64 Apache helicopters patrol the Strait of Hormuz in April 2026

The Ceasefire Opened the Strait. The War Risk Insurance Market Has Not.

A crude carrier transiting Hormuz now pays up to $7.5 million per voyage in war risk insurance — ten times the pre-crisis rate. The Lloyd's Joint War Committee has not changed its

July 14, 2026

Business·Conflicts, Military and War·News

Ras Laffan Industrial City Qatar after Iranian missile strikes cut 17 percent of Qatar's LNG production capacity in March 2026

The Gulf States Lobbied Hardest for the Deal. The Deal Left the Strait Unresolved.

Qatar lost 17 percent of its LNG production capacity to Iranian missiles in March, then became the host of the negotiations meant to end the conflict. The Doha round left the Hormuz

July 2, 2026

Business·Conflicts, Military and War·News

USS Boxer Wasp-class amphibious assault ship transiting Singapore Strait May 2026 heading to Middle East

Washington Sent Negotiators to Doha and a Second Amphibious Fleet to the Gulf on the Same Day

USS Boxer arrived in the Middle East on June 30, the same day US envoys flew to Doha. Combined with USS Tripoli's Amphibious Ready Group, the US now has 24 warships and

July 2, 2026

Conflicts, Military and War·News

Iranian and Qatari officials meet in Doha to discuss frozen assets and Hormuz, July 2026

Iran Says Qatar Is Releasing $6 Billion. Vance Says the U.S. Controls the Spending. Qatar’s Foreign Ministry Says the Funds Haven’t Moved.

Three governments are describing the $6 billion frozen-assets mechanism agreed at Doha in completely incompatible terms. Iran's president called it a cash return. Iran's parliament speaker said $12 billion, any currency, Iran's

July 2, 2026

Conflicts, Military and War·Government and Politics·News

Satellite image of Iran Natanz nuclear facility after U.S. and Israeli strikes March 2026

Iran’s Most Hardened Nuclear Tunnel Was Not Bombed. Inspectors Have Never Entered It. The Deal Doesn’t Mention It.

Pickaxe Mountain, one mile from Natanz, was not struck in Operation Midnight Hammer and has never been visited by IAEA inspectors. Satellite imagery from February 2026 shows active construction continuing. The Doha

July 2, 2026

Conflicts, Military and War·News

Billboard in Tehran as Iran bars IAEA inspectors from bombed nuclear sites Fordow Natanz Isfahan

Trump Says Iran’s Denuclearization Is ‘Moving Along Well.’ Iran’s Law Says IAEA Cannot Enter the Three Sites That Matter.

Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf confirmed July 2 that IAEA inspectors are barred from Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan under any circumstances – backed by a parliamentary law and an SNSC decision. Current

July 2, 2026

Conflicts, Military and War·News

Oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz as Iran warns vessels to use designated routes or face forceful response

Iran Warned Every Tanker in Hormuz on the Day Doha Concluded. The IMO Corridor It Is Threatening Already Has One Attack on Its Record.

Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya joint military command warned every vessel in the Strait of Hormuz on July 2 that deviating from Tehran-designated routes would bring an 'immediate and forceful response.' The warning came

July 2, 2026

Conflicts, Military and War·News

Iran Atomic Energy Organization chief Mohammad Eslami with IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi, whose inspectors cannot verify the location of Iran's 440 kg uranium stockpile

Iran Has Nine Bombs’ Worth of 60% Uranium and Won’t Ship It Out. The Deal Has No Answer for This.

Iran holds 440 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 percent — enough for roughly nine nuclear devices — likely relocated to Isfahan before Israeli strikes hit Natanz and Fordow. The Doha round

July 2, 2026

Conflicts, Military and War·News

Exterior view of the Palace of Justice in Damascus near where a bomb killed six at a cafe

Bomb Kills Six at Damascus Café Steps from Courthouse Trying Assad Officials

A bomb killed at least six people and wounded 22 inside a crowded café on al-Nasser Street in central Damascus on July 2, approximately 40 meters from the Palace of Justice where

July 2, 2026

Conflicts, Military and War·News

Previous 1 … 14 15 16 17 18 … 732 Next

Arab Desk

Houthis Declare Naval Blockade on Saudi Arabia, Threatening Red Sea Shipping

Lebanese Return to Villages Israel Never Occupied, Exposing Pilot Zone Limits

Hamas Elects Khalil Al-Hayya as New Overall Leader, Ending Two-Year Vacancy Since Sinwar

IRGC Targets US HIMARS in Kuwait, Greek Tankers Burn in Hormuz as War Enters Night Ten

Iran Moved Its Entire Nuclear Stockpile Three Days Before the Bombs Fell. The IAEA Still Doesn’t Know Where It Is.

The Ceasefire Opened the Strait. The War Risk Insurance Market Has Not.

The Gulf States Lobbied Hardest for the Deal. The Deal Left the Strait Unresolved.

Washington Sent Negotiators to Doha and a Second Amphibious Fleet to the Gulf on the Same Day

Iran Says Qatar Is Releasing $6 Billion. Vance Says the U.S. Controls the Spending. Qatar’s Foreign Ministry Says the Funds Haven’t Moved.

Iran’s Most Hardened Nuclear Tunnel Was Not Bombed. Inspectors Have Never Entered It. The Deal Doesn’t Mention It.

Trump Says Iran’s Denuclearization Is ‘Moving Along Well.’ Iran’s Law Says IAEA Cannot Enter the Three Sites That Matter.

Iran Warned Every Tanker in Hormuz on the Day Doha Concluded. The IMO Corridor It Is Threatening Already Has One Attack on Its Record.

Iran Has Nine Bombs’ Worth of 60% Uranium and Won’t Ship It Out. The Deal Has No Answer for This.

Bomb Kills Six at Damascus Café Steps from Courthouse Trying Assad Officials

Radical Islam is being appreciated by Indian authorities too

Bangladesh; India’s Biggest Ally or China’s Dragon Nest?

Ahmadis in Bangladesh face fresh threat of persecution

Latest Posts

China and Russia Fire Inside Japan’s Economic Zone for First Time, Tokyo Protests

Houthis Declare Naval Blockade on Saudi Arabia, Threatening Red Sea Shipping

Russian Strike on Corn Ship Off Odesa Kills 10, Including Four Indian Sailors

Bangladesh Elevates Chinese to Third Language After Tarique Rahman’s Beijing Summit

Arab Desk

Follow

Latest Posts