What will UK sanctions against Israeli settlements change?
The UK’s decision to ban imports from illegal Israeli settlements, and impose sanctions on entities that are used to build them, has put new...
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Beyond the Headlines
Dive deeper into the week's biggest stories from the Middle East and around the world with The National's foreign desk. Nuances are often missed in day-to-day headlines. We go Beyond the Hea...
Episodes
20 of 514 episodesCan Hezbollah survive without money?
When the US announced it was imposing new sanctions on Iran late last month, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the aim was to sever ever...
What’s behind the Israel-Turkey power struggle in Syria?
Israel has been attacking parts of Syria since the fall of the Assad regime and carrying out incursions into the country’s south under the p...
The compounded burdens weighing down humanitarian work
In this episode of Beyond the Headlines, Mercy Corps CEO Tjada McKenna joins host Nada AlTaher in conversation about the challenges facing h...
How cheap weapons are changing the balance of military power
The US-Iran war has highlighted how rapidly modern warfare is changing, with drones and other relatively inexpensive technology playing an i...
What do the Houthis stand to gain by escalating now?
The Houthis had mostly stayed out of the Iran war. But in recent weeks they have started attacking ships in the Red Sea, as well as Saudi-li...
The cost of occupation: How Palestine's economy has been pushed to the brink
Since October 2023, entire industries in Gaza have been wiped out and poverty has increased. In the occupied West Bank, businesses are strug...
What the US-Saudi strikes on Iran-affiliated militias in Iraq reveal about the wider war
It has been five months since the US and Israel launched their war with Iran, and the conflict has never really been contained. Bahrain, Kuw...
Can Lebanon find a winning formula in peace talks with Israel?
US President Donald Trump pledged his support for Lebanon this week during a visit to the White House by Lebanese President Joseph Aoun. A f...
Why has the US-Iran agreement not been enough to end the war?
The interim agreement aimed at ending the war between the US and Iran has fallen apart barely three weeks after it was signed. Iran has resu...
What’s at stake for foreign powers battling for influence in Syria?
On the sidelines of an eventful Nato summit in Ankara, US President Donald Trump was sitting next to his Syrian counterpart Ahmad Al Shara w...
Why are ceasefires not ceasing the fire?
The Middle East has been grappling with one conflict after another, leading to countless rounds of negotiations to end fighting. But even wh...
What's driving Iraq’s anti-corruption crackdown?
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al Zaidi has conducted a bold anti-corruption campaign since taking office in May. One of his first moves was to ar...
The wins and losses of the Iran war
The US and Iran have signed their framework agreement to end the war. It comes after more than 100 days of fighting, economic and political...
Are the US and Israel still fighting the same war?
More than 100 days since the US and Israel launched co-ordinated strikes on Iran on February 28, the war that was supposed to eliminate its...
The limits of soft power: America’s war and its World Cup
When the US, Canada and Mexico were selected as joint hosts of the 2026 World Cup, they were supposed to be the “safe choice” for Fifa. Foot...
Replay: Who will fill the security vacuum in Gaza?
In its first report to the UN Security Council, the Board of Peace this month said Hamas’s refusal to disarm was the main obstacle to the re...
More weapons, less action: What are the Houthis up to?
It took the Houthis at least a month to enter the Iran conflict in late March and early April and the Yemeni rebels have been largely restra...
Where does China stand in US-Iran conflict?
Trade ties and tariff relief were supposed to be the key issues on the agenda during US President Donald Trump's visit to China this week. B...
Your move: What next in battle for Strait of Hormuz?
US President Donald Trump has said a deal with Iran could be possible as negotiations to end the war gain momentum, again. Iran is reviewing...