Yemen Houthi attack on a ship kills two, marking the rebels’ first fatal assault on shipping
The full extent of the damage to the Liberian-owned ship remained unclear, but the crew abandoned the ship and deployed lifeboats
Three Red Sea underwater data cables have been cut as Houthi attacks continue in the vital waterway
While global shipping has already been disrupted through the Red Sea, the sabotage of telecommunication lines could further escalate the monthslong crisis
Hard-liners dominate Iran parliamentary vote that saw a record-low turnout and boycott calls
It took days for Iran to announce the turnout statistics without explanation. The Interior Ministry run Iranian elections, which have no substantial international observation
Europe gets ready for war
The EU is going through a metamorphosis that seeks to dissuade Putin from undertaking new aggression and guarantee its autonomy in a turbulent world
Fatimah Hossaini, Afghan photographer: ‘I used to have problems with the fathers, brothers or husbands of the women I wanted to photograph’
The artist has focused her work on the beauty of the women of Afghanistan, working around wars and patriarchal restrictions. Since the Taliban returned to power, she has been living as a refugee in Paris. She tells EL PAÍS that the group has created a system of ‘gender apartheid that makes life impossible’
Hardliners are leading in Iran’s parliamentary election
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State-run IRNA news agency and state TV said Saturday that 1,960 from 5,000 ballots in Tehran have been counted so far, based on an interior ministry report which is updated hourly
Iran sentences author of anthem of Mahsa Amini protests to almost four years in prison
The sentence for musician Shervin Hajipour was announced on the same day the country held elections that served as a test of the regime’s legitimacy
Iran holds elections amid fears of record abstention reflecting public unrest
Polls predict low turnout in first election since the death of Mahsa Yina Amini in police custody
Why are elections being called in Iran?
The pre-selection of pro-regime candidates nullifies electoral competitiveness and discourages participation of an increasingly apathetic population
US sanctions Iranian deputy commander, Houthi member and ships that transport Iranian oil
The U.S. says the Hong Kong-registered Kohana Co. Ltd. has shipped over $100 million in Iranian commodities to businesses in China on behalf of Iran’s Ministry of Defense
Iran has further increased its total stockpile of uranium, UN nuclear watchdog report says
The International Atomic Energy Agency also said in a second confidential report that Tehran made no progress in explaining the presence of manmade uranium particles found at two locations
The Berlinale on the war front: How the Israel-Palestine conflict undermined the film festival
While the competition was accused of taking a lukewarm stance on the Middle East crisis, Berlin has refuted the criticism with several films and debates
Microsoft says US rivals are beginning to use generative AI in offensive cyber operations
The technology giant said it detected and disrupted, in collaboration with business partner OpenAI, threats that used or attempted to exploit AI technology they had developed
The head of UN’s nuclear watchdog warns Iran is ‘not entirely transparent’ on its atomic program
Rafael Mariano Grossi, the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, noted ‘an accumulation of complexities’ in the wider Middle East amid Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip
US says it’s taken possession of a Boeing 747 that Iran illegally sold to a Venezuelan firm
Officials said the sale, done without U.S. government authorization, violated export control laws and also improperly benefited Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard
Meta removes Instagram and Facebook accounts for Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
Khamenei and accounts associated with the supreme leader had been praising the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel
Blinken seeks Gaza truce deal at the most ‘dangerous’ moment in the Middle East crisis
The U.S. Secretary of State began his fifth tour of the region on Monday after Washington struck targets in Iraq and Syria, where six U.S.-allied fighters were killed by pro-Iranian militias
Fear of escalation moderates US retaliation against pro-Iran militias in Syria and Iraq
Russia’s deputy representative to the United Nations, Dmitry Polyansky, called for an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council following the attacks
India begins to flex its naval power as competition with China grows
Last year India sent three guided missile destroyers and reconnaissance aircraft to the Red Sea, positioning itself as a global player
US conducts retaliatory strikes against militias in Iraq and Syria
‘Our response began today. It will continue at times and places of our choosing,’ President Joe Biden warned
US bolsters defenses around Jordan base as it readies strikes in response to drone attack
One of Iraq’s strongest Iran-backed militias, Harakat al-Nujaba, announced its plans to continue military operations against U.S. troops, despite other allied factions having called off their attacks
US hints large response to Iran-backed militias is imminent as Houthi rebels target another ship
‘It’s time to take away even more capability than we’ve taken in the past,’ Austin said Thursday in his first press conference since he was hospitalized on Jan. 1
US military deployment becomes Joe Biden’s weak point in the Middle East crisis
The president, who is trying to avoid escalation in a region where 30,000 U.S. troops are stationed, says he has already decided how to respond to the attack on a base in Jordan
Biden: US will ‘hold all those responsible’ for military deaths in Jordan strike to account
The drone attack, which the Pentagon attributes to a militia financed by Iran, also wounded some 25 military personnel, the first casualties among U.S. forces since the beginning of Israel’s war in Gaza
Biden: Three Americans killed, ‘many’ wounded in drone attack by Iran-backed militia in Jordan
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The president said the United States ‘will hold all those responsible to account at a time and in a manner of our choosing’
Iran launches 3 satellites into space that are part of a Western-criticized program as tensions rise
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The launch comes as heightened tensions grip the wider Middle East over Israel’s continued war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip, sparking fears of a regional conflict
US national security adviser will meet Chinese foreign minister as the rivals seek better ties
That summit meeting was seen as an effort to patch up frayed relations due to quarrels over a range of economic and geopolitical issues