Author: Gulf News Week

It’s the first time that a Middle Eastern country has single-handedly checked the massive war-making capabilities of the US and Israel.Whatever the fate is of the putative two-week ceasefire agreement between the US and Iran, it remains historically significant due to novel dynamics that the war just revealed and that portend important new power relations regionally and globally.These include both positive and negative developments that are epic in their magnitude and historic in their implications for the future.Most analysis in the West has spoken of Trump searching for an “off ramp” to escape the danger he had painted himself into…

The US-Israeli campaign has failed to achieve its goals. Iran has been badly hit, and the Gulf is paying the bill too.On the 40th day of the war that Washington called “Epic Fury” and Tehran named “True Promise 4”, United States President Donald Trump and Iran’s Supreme National Security Council accepted a Pakistani-brokered ceasefire. Two weeks of ceasefire — no missiles, no air strikes — and a promise that negotiators would meet in Islamabad on Saturday, April 11, 2026.For the first time since late February, ships would be allowed to pass safely through the Strait of Hormuz. The ceasefire explicitly…

The US and Israel thought they could decimate Iran. But Iran’s survival — despite massive human costs — is a victory.Today, to borrow a phrase, we are all Iranians.We are Iranians, witnessing the failure of a thuggish logic practised by the United States and Israel, which operates on a single, crude premise: that enough pain can bend any nation to their imperial designs.The US-Israel axis has long believed that force and coercion would eventually compel Iranians to abandon their sovereignty and accept the leash. It has failed. By refusing to surrender, Iranians have turned a lonely struggle for survival into…

Desire Doue and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia strike as holders dominate from start to finish; Arne Slot’s tactical gamble fails and Mohamed Salah left on the bench. PARIS – Paris Saint-Germain delivered a masterclass at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday, beating Liverpool 2-0 in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final and leaving the reigning European champions with a daunting task at Anfield next week. Desire Doue opened the scoring in the 11th minute when his shot deflected off Ryan Gravenberch, looping over goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia doubled the lead 65 minutes in, rounding his compatriot Mamardashvili after a superb…

Revolutionary Guards issue new navigational instructions as two-week truce temporarily reopens strait that carries 20% of global oil. TEHRAN – Iran announced alternative shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, warning vessels to avoid the main channel due to the risk of sea mines, even as a fragile two-week ceasefire has temporarily reopened the world’s most critical oil chokepoint. The Strait, through which roughly one-fifth of global oil supplies normally pass, had been effectively blocked by Tehran since early March, sending energy prices spiraling. The United States and Iran agreed to a two-week truce overnight Tuesday to Wednesday, struck…

President claims ‘100 percent’ success as critics revive ‘Trump Always Chickens Out’ maxim; two-week truce leaves Strait of Hormuz and nuclear concerns unresolved. WASHINGTON / SHARJAH – In just 12 hours, President Donald Trump shifted from warning that a “whole civilisation will die” to hailing a ceasefire with Iran as a landmark moment for world peace. But on the ground, the two-week truce remains fragile, and critics are asking whether the president ever intended to follow through on his own apocalyptic threats. Trump has declared “total and complete victory” following the agreement that paused Operation Epic Fury, the US-Israeli military campaign.…

Wood Mackenzie warns that insurance, shipowner confidence, and inbound vessel risks—not just production capacity—will dictate recovery, with Iraq facing up to nine months to restore output. LONDON/SINGAPORE – Up to 11 million barrels per day of Middle Eastern oil production remains shut in, and a rapid restart is unlikely until shipping logistics through the Strait of Hormuz normalize, according to a stark new assessment from Wood Mackenzie. While a two-week ceasefire has eased immediate hostilities, the bottleneck has shifted from upstream capacity to maritime transit. The initial recovery phase depends almost entirely on restoring what analysts call a “workable system” of…

NewsFeed‘Israel must be restrained for US-Iran ceasefire to hold’Before Israel’s devastating attack on Beirut, former US counterterrorism chief Joe Kent had warned Israel could ‘sabotage’ the US-Iran ceasefire and spoil the chance of a lasting deal, urging Washington to ‘restrain’ Israeli actions. Hours after the ceasefire announcement, Israel launched one of its deadliest waves of airstrikes on Lebanon, killing at least 254 people.Published On 8 Apr 20268 Apr 2026SaveClick here to share on social mediashare-nodesSharefacebookxwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogleAdd media on Googleinfo

The war on Iran has repeated the failures of past US conflicts defined by hubris and ignorance.After threatening on Tuesday that a “whole civilisation will die tonight”, US President Donald Trump had to backtrack and announce a two-week delay in making good his threat. During this stand-down the US and Iran, along with Israel in the wings, will attempt to negotiate peace. Ironically, while the US maintains an overwhelming military advantage, Iran holds the strategic cards by controlling the Strait of Hormuz and hence retaining great influence on the price of gasoline and diesel fuel and the state of global stock markets.On the current trajectory, the…

There are two currents within the Houthis: one favouring caution, and another favouring commitments to allies.During the first month of the US-Israel war on Iran, the Houthis adopted a cautious approach, even though many expected them to move faster based on the nature of their close relationship with Tehran. This assessment is not wrong — the relationship is indeed strong — but what this view misses is that decision-making within the Yemeni group has increasingly become the product of an extended internal debate.This debate goes back to the Houthis’ decision to launch military action in support of Gaza after Operation…