Features

Features A banner with a picture of US President Donald Trump next to an Iranian missile system at Azadi Square in Tehran, Iran, July 30, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS

Iran's Leaders Think They Have Trump Cornered, But Their Strategy Carries Great Risks

The Strait of Hormuz is, by some accounts, named for a Zoroastrian deity destined to emerge victorious after a 9,000-year standoff with an adversary. Iran's…

Asharq Al Awsat
Features A drone view shows vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, June 15, 2026. (Reuters)

Will Trump Make Concessions over Hormuz?

To reach a deal with Iran that reopens the economically vital Strait of Hormuz, President Donald Trump may need to do something out of character — compromise,…

Features US-Israel attacks against Iran on Feb. 28 followed by Iran’s almost-immediate closure of the Strait of Hormuz, has stranded thousands of sailors. (Tomas Munita for The New York Times)

The Iran War’s Forgotten Captives: Sailors Trapped in the Arabian Gulf

Washington: Peter Eavis and Jenny Gross Trapped on a commercial ship anchored four miles off Iran’s coast, about two dozen merchant seamen are entering…

Features An Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) is displayed during the inauguration of a new artillery plant of ammunition maker Rheinmetall, in Unterluess, Germany August 27, 2025. (Reuters)

Report: US Has Used ‘Virtually All’ of Its Long-Range Precision Missiles During Iran War

The US Army has used up much of its stockpile of highly accurate long-range missiles during its five-month war with Iran, according to three people familiar…

Features A Palestinian woman stands on the roof of a house damaged during the war, surrounded by destroyed buildings, in Gaza City, August 1, 2026. (Reuters)

After Deadly Day, Gazans Say Trump’s Touting of Plan Jars with Grim Reality

Palestinians in Gaza said on Monday Donald Trump's touting of a deal aimed at disarming Hamas and ending the war was out of touch with their worsening reality,…

Features Spanish soldiers question a migrant, following mass crossings of migrants on foot and by sea from Morocco into Spanish territory, in Ceuta, Spain, August 1, 2026. (Reuters)

Burden of History and Current Challenges in the Migration Crisis Between Morocco and Spain

In July 2002, Morocco and Spain nearly went to war after a group of Moroccan gendarmes “seized” a small, uninhabited islet known in Spanish as Perejil Island…

Michel Abou Najm (Paris)
Features  A woman walks past a mural depicting a portrait of the late Iranian Supreme Leader tollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the US and Israel strike on Feb. 28, at Azadi (Freedom) street in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, July 29, 2026. (AP)

Iran’s Leaders Show a United Front Over the War but Are Divided Over What the Goal Is

With escalating attacks against US bases and regional countries over the past week, Iran's leaders are showing considerable unity over their war strategy:…

Features Cargo ship docked at Damietta Port (Damietta Port Authority on Facebook)

Mystery Over Who Targeted Egypt’s Damietta Port Raises Questions

Cairo is pressing ahead with an investigation into a drone attack on two vessels at Egypt’s northern port of Damietta, as Iran, Israel, and Yemen’s Houthis…

Asharq Al Awsat (Cairo)
Features A Palestinian man looks for his belongings amid the debris of a destroyed building following an Israeli strike at the Al-Jalaa street in Gaza City on July 24, 2026. (AFP)

Hamas Agrees to Deal with Israel: What We Know

Hamas said on Friday it agreed to a deal to end the war with Israel that included provisions addressing its weapons and the gradual withdrawal of Israeli…

Features Damietta seaport in northern Egypt (Port Authority)

Analysts: Egypt Drone Attack Message that US Interests 'Vulnerable' Anywhere

A drone strike on the Egyptian port of Damietta, the first attack on the country since the US-Iran war broke out, could be a high-risk message for American…

Asharq Al Awsat
Features A general view shows damage to part of the Aeon Mall Kumamoto in Kashima, Kumamoto Prefecture, on July 29, 2026, after an earthquake struck southwestern Japan the previous day. (AFP)

After the Quake Came the Blast: Inside Japan’s Shopping Mall Disaster

Workers in a mall in southern Japan described being thrown to the floor or enveloped in a cloud of dust by a massive 7.1-magnitude quake that rattled the…

Features Party members stand on stage during the HaDemokratim ("The Democrats") party's campaign launch rally following its primaries ahead of the country's general elections in Tel Aviv on July 20, 2026. (AFP)

The Key Issues That Will Shape Israel’s Elections

When Israel goes to the polls this year, voters will weigh in on conscription, the economy and how the state should investigate its inability to prevent Hamas…

Features A view shows the extent of damage at a school in Lebanon. (National Human Rights Commission)

Israel Destroys Schools in South Lebanon, Hindering Residents' Return

The war in southern Lebanon is confronting the education sector with a new test as the academic year approaches, with schools among the institutions hardest…

Soubhi Amhaz (Beirut)
Features A view of a small reactor of the former nuclear power plant of Latina, Italy, Thursday, June 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Four Decades after Chernobyl, a Generational Divide Reshapes Italy's Nuclear Debate

Four decades after the Chernobyl disaster spewed radiation across Europe and turned Italy off nuclear power, Premier Giorgia Meloni ’s government is laying the…

Asharq Al Awsat
Features President Donald Trump listens as Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago club, Dec. 29, 2025, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP)

Netanyahu’s First Meeting with Trump Since Iran War Began Is Chance to Mend Ties

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s meeting with President Donald Trump on Tuesday is the first since the two leaders launched a joint war against Iran…

Features Palestinian high school student Saba Rabah (C), the top-ranked student in the science stream of the Palestinian national high school exams, celebrates with family at the Al-Maghazi camp for Palestinian refugees in the central Gaza Strip on July 26, 2026. (AFP)

Gaza Teen Triumphs Despite War, Loss and Displacement

Just days before her final secondary school examinations, the house opposite the temporary home where 18-year-old Saba Rabah was living in central Gaza was…

Features Former Israeli army chief of staff Gadi Eizenkot speaks during the launch of the Yashar party's election campaign in Hod Aharon, in central Israel on June 30, 2026. (AFP)

In Israel Vote, Ex-Army Chief Emerges Main Rival to Netanyahu

As Israel heads into a fiercely contested general election on October 27, former military chief Gadi Eisenkot has emerged as the principal challenger to Prime…

Features A woman walks next to anti-US graffiti on a street in Tehran, Iran, 20 July 2026. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH

How a US Ground Operation in Iran Could Unfold

As the US-Iran war escalates, there are growing concerns that a ground operation could be on the horizon as relentless US airstrikes fail to break Tehran’s…

Asharq Al Awsat (Washington)
Features Cash seized from a home in connection with the case of detained official Adnan al-Jumaili (Judiciary Council)

Inside Iraq’s Shadow Economy of Parties, Militias and Oil

It was the summer of 2010. After hours of questioning, a suspect in an embezzlement case remained composed. He sat with one leg crossed over the other,…

Ali Saray (London)
Features A view of Lebanese Middle East Airlines airplanes on the tarmac at Beirut-Rafik Hariri International Airport, amid flight cancellations and escalating hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, as the US-Israeli conflict with Iran continues, in Beirut, Lebanon, March 31, 2026. (Reuters)

Political, Security Significance of Resumption of Direct Flights between Lebanon, US

Lebanon hailed US President Donald Trump’s announcement that he ordered all American airlines to resume direct flights to Lebanon. He made the announcement…

Paula Astih (Beirut)
Features This June 15, 2026, photo from Planet Labs PBC shows Iran's Natanz nuclear enrichment facility, upper right, and the under-construction at Pickaxe Mountain directly to the south of it. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)

What to Know About Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain, Home to Underground Nuclear Site Threatened by Trump

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly issued threats to bomb an under-construction Iranian nuclear site buried deep under a mountain as the two nations…

Features Widespread destruction in the Yarmouk Palestinian Camp in Damascus (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Rebuilding War-Torn Syria Through Opaque Real Estate Development

On the Southern Ring Road in the Syrian capital, Damascus, Najah Hassan waves at passing cars, hoping one will take her to the turnoff for her hometown of…

Muwafaq Mohammed (Damascus )
Features US President Donald Trump meets Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the NATO Leaders’ Summit at the Bestepe Presidential Complex in Ankara on July 8 (Reuters). 

What Could Syria Gain from Alternative Routes to the Strait of Hormuz?

Could the “alternative routes” initiative unveiled by US special envoy to Syria and Iraq Tom Barrack position Syria as a stable regional transit hub rather…

Souad Jarous
Features Khalil al-Hayya, senior leader and top Hamas legislative candidate, gestures during an interview with AFP at his office in Gaza City on April 21, 2021. (AFP)

Who Is Hamas’ New Leader Khalil Al-Hayya?

Khalil Al-Hayya, a senior Hamas official who survived an Israeli raid on Qatar in September last year and who is seen as having good ties with Iran, was named…