‘Pressure cooker of despair’: Rafah refugee camp on the Gaza Strip’s border with Egypt.
Ismael Mohamad/UPI/Alamy Live News
A selection of analysis from our coverage of the war in Gaza over the past fortnight.
Armed and dangerous: fighters from Iran’s Quds Force at a funeral for comrades killed in the February 2 US airstrikes in Iraq.
EPA-EFE/Ahmed Jalil
Iran funds a large network of armed groups across the Middle East as part of its ambition to replace the US as regional power.
EPA-EFE/Michael Reynolds
The Biden administration has calibrated its strikes so as not to provoke a wider armed conflict in the region.
The headquarters of an Iranian-linked group in Anbar, Iraq was among the sites targeted by U.S. bombers.
Hashd al-Shaabi Media Office/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images
More than 85 locations linked to militias were hit in a robust response by Washington to an earlier deadly drone attack on a US base in Jordan.
President Joe Biden attends the arrival of the remains of three U.S. service members killed in a drone attack in Jordan.
Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images
The US attacks on military sites in Iraq and Syria are unlikely to further escalate conflict in the Middle East, he writes.
Hadi Mizban/AP
The Shia militant groups operating in Iraq, Lebanon and other parts of the Middle East share political and ideological connections, yet they also have their own nationalist goals.
Members of Saraya al-Quds, the military wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, on a parade and declare that they are ready for an on January 5, 2021.
Anas-Mohammed/Shutterstock
PIJ is perceived as a terrorist group operating in the shadow of Hamas, aiming to dismantle Israel with the backing of Iran – but that’s not true.
Weighing up options: the US president, Joe Biden, is considering how to retaliate to the drone attack which killed three US servicemen in Jordan on January 28.
Adam Schultz/White House Photo/Alamy Live News
History tells us that US presidents tend to be cautious about foreign policy in an election year – especially in the Middle East.
Under pressure: Iranian supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, delivers an economic briefing, January 30 2024.
ZUMA Press, Inc./Alamy Stock Photo
Facing a parliamentary election in March, the Islamic Republic is trying to distract attention away from its economic woes with a show of strength.
In this photo released by the Iranian Presidency Office, President Ebrahim Raisi, right, greets the leader of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, at the start of their meeting at his office in Tehran in June 2023.
(Iranian Presidency Office, via AP)
Iran prefers to engage Israel through its proxies, but the risk of escalation makes this a dangerous strategy.
Jordanian and U.S. tanks take part in joint maneuvers in September 2022.
Khalil Mazraawi/AFP
Three American troops were killed and dozens more injured in an attack on a base in Jordan. How the Biden administration responds could determine if conflict in the Middle East widens.
Tragedy: a protester against the Netanyahu government at a vigil in Tel Aviv for the Israeli hostages, January 20.
EPA-EFE/Abir Sultan
A selection of analysis from our coverage of the war in Gaza over the past fortnight.
Houthi fighters demonstrate in support of Palestinians, January 2024.
Associated Press/Alamy Stock Photo
The Middle East crisis has many moving parts and could easily descend into chaos.
A billboard depicts the leaders of the Houthis, Hezbollah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Mohammed Hamoud/Getty Images
Iran has expanded its network of partners across the Middle East. But it isn’t a simple case of Tehran dictating the terms of the alliance.
Getty Images
With geopolitical tension and uncertainty rising, New Zealand’s ruling coalition faces urgent questions about defence spending, alliances and its independent foreign policy.
This image provided by the U.S. Navy shows an aircraft launching from the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in the Red Sea on Jan. 22, 2024. American and British forces bombed targets in eight locations used by the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen, the second time the two allies have done so.
(Kaitlin Watt/U.S. Navy via AP)
Since the outset of Israel’s invasion of Gaza, the West has aimed to prevent the conflict from escalating regionally. But strikes on the Houthis in Yemen by the U.S. and the U.K. may ensure it will.
Christopher Furlong/Getty
New statistics show a spike in the amount of journalists jailed in the country. To protect its democracy, Israel needs to be transparent about why members of the media are arrested.
EPA-EFE/Abedin Taherkenareh
Iran’s role in the recent conflict between Israel, Hamas and Hezbollah shows how badly western containment policy has failed.
EPA-EFE/Kobi Gideon/Government Press Office
A selection of analysis from our coverage of the war in Gaza over the past fortnight.
More than 100 people were killed in the blast in Kerman, Iran, on Jan. 3, 2024.
Mahdi/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images
The terrorist attack in Iran follows a concerted effort by the Islamic State affiliate to ‘internationalize’ its strategy.