


The EU’s foreign policy chief has said Operation ASPIDES could be extended towards the Strait of Hormuz through a change to its operational plan, as Europe assesses the risk to trade and energy routes in the Gulf. The European Union…

France and the United Kingdom are convening an international meeting in Paris on Friday aimed at preparing a future multinational effort to restore commercial navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, the maritime chokepoint through which about one fifth of global…

Britain and France say they will establish a strictly defensive multinational mission to protect merchant shipping and support mine-clearance operations in the Strait of Hormuz, signalling a European-led effort to restore confidence on one of the world’s most important trade…

At first glance, the latest joint statement on the Strait of Hormuz reads like a familiar diplomatic reflex: condemnation, concern, and calls for restraint. But look closer, and a far more bullish narrative emerges—one of coordination, capability, and quiet confidence…

Foreign ministers are discussing whether to reinforce the EU’s Aspides naval mission as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz exposes the limits of Europe’s ability to protect key shipping routes. The European Union is once again confronting the gap…

One of the more unusual weapons to re-emerge in discussion of the current Gulf crisis is the Soviet-designed VA-111 Shkval, a supercavitating torpedo whose speed once made it a subject of intense Western interest. Its Iranian counterpart, widely identified as…

When the government of France announced that it would dispatch a naval task force to safeguard shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, the move carried a familiar echo of Gaullist strategic instinct: protect trade routes, demonstrate resolve, and signal that…

For decades, the unspoken bargain in the Gulf was simple: Saudi Arabia bought security, and the United States supplied it. The kingdom funded vast arsenals, hosted Western forces and relied on Washington’s protective umbrella whenever tensions with Tehran threatened to…

Pakistan’s role as an intermediary between Tehran and Washington has come under scrutiny after US officials alleged that Islamabad allowed Iranian military aircraft to park on Pakistani airfields during the conflict between Iran and the United States. According to CBS…

Washington has targeted three Chinese commercial satellite companies and an Iranian defence export body, alleging that satellite imagery helped Tehran conduct strikes against US forces in the Middle East. The United States has imposed sanctions on three Chinese commercial satellite…