Middle East
Markets Are Mispricing Iran War Risk, Brooks Warns
The Brookings economist argues that financial markets significantly underestimate the potential for economic disruption from the Iran conflict, as Brent crude surges 14% and strategic chokepoints close.
HMS Dragon Delay Exposes UK Naval Capacity at Breaking Point
With only 6 destroyers and 7 frigates operational, Britain's threadbare fleet struggles to respond to Middle East crisis as ship won't reach Cyprus until next week.
Israel Orders Mass Evacuation of Dahieh as Lebanon Front Intensifies
Unprecedented warning for Beirut's southern suburbs affects over 300,000 residents as Israeli ground forces expand operations, heightening regional energy market volatility.
Israel Orders Mass Beirut Evacuation as Lebanon Conflict Reaches Critical Threshold
Evacuation orders for 400,000 residents in Dahiyeh suburbs mark unprecedented escalation following Hezbollah's re-entry into widening regional war.
EU and Gulf States Declare Iran Attacks ‘Unjustifiable’ in Historic Security Pivot
Emergency ministerial meeting marks deepest Western-Gulf alignment in decades as Tehran's strikes on civilian infrastructure force strategic recalculation across Middle East.
Dubai Airport Closure Disrupts Global Commerce as Middle East Conflict Escalates
More than 21,000 flight cancellations across seven major Gulf hubs strand hundreds of thousands, threatening supply chains and airline profits as oil prices surge 30%.
Beijing’s Cold Calculus: Why China Won’t Save Iran
As US-Israeli strikes reshape the Middle East, China's measured response reveals an economic strategy that prizes Gulf stability over ideological solidarity.
Iran’s Hormuz Strikes Paralyze 20% of Global Oil Transit, Test Gulf Investment Thesis
Retaliatory attacks on U.S. bases following assassination of Ayatollah Khamenei have effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, triggering insurance withdrawals and leaving 150 ships stranded—the first complete halt in the chokepoint's history.
Baghdad Airport Under Fire as Iraq Oil Exports Face Disruption Amid US-Iran War
Attacks on US military installations at Baghdad International Airport threaten crude flows from OPEC's second-largest producer as Middle East conflict pushes oil past $81 per barrel.
Korea’s KOSPI Plunges 7.2% as Iranian Strikes on Saudi Oil Facilities Trigger Energy Crisis Fears
South Korea's benchmark index posts worst session in 19 months as drone attack on Aramco's Ras Tanura refinery sends oil toward $80 and exposes Seoul's energy vulnerability.
CIA Arms Kurdish Forces in Iran as Nuclear Diplomacy Collapses
Washington's covert plan to weaponize Kurdish insurgents marks a strategic pivot from airstrikes to protracted proxy warfare—with Turkey, Iraq, and regional stability as collateral.
The Real Estate Envoys: How Witkoff and Kushner Earned an F in Diplomacy
Two veteran diplomats grade Trump's unconventional negotiators on three simultaneous crises—and find catastrophic failure beneath the dealmaking veneer.