Chatham House Middle East and North Africa Programme

12/10/2026

'Right now, the Houthis are one of the most powerful and dangerous non-state actors in the world.'

Farea Al-Muslimi فارع المسلمي speaks to CNN about the recent Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia ⤵️

12/10/2026

'For the US to return to this war is dangerous... the Houthis have not been dislodged in the last war, so to reengage with them in order to achieve unknown objectives is a challenging one.'

Sanam Vakil speaks to CNBC ⤵️

Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East & North Africa program at Chatham House joins Squawk Box Europe, discussing the deadly weekend attacks on Riyadh airport, and whether the U.S. could now become involved.

12/10/2026

'Fairford may ultimately prove to have had no connection to Iran. That possibility should not prevent policymakers from examining what makes Iranian state-linked, hostile activity possible,' writes Aniseh Bassiri Tabrizi via Prospect.

https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/politics/policy/security/75307/irans-evolving-shadow-war

12/10/2026

'Everyone continues to underestimate the Houthis’ military power,' says Farea Al-Muslimi via the Financial Times, adding that the Houthis were routinely dismissed as little more than 'guys in flip-flops.'

https://www.ft.com/content/bd2c7385-184e-425e-997f-0f5a8c54184e?accessToken=zwAAAaEvhb9LkdO9LHOFGE5CXtOZfw9ajFQYTg.MEYCIQDdWn6z2Ut15V7W8cRS28P89F9WkZmYEQ6T4-VWPlbQRQIhAIIvcIR5SNvCZf-2cONiaVWPQ6-lf1Go63kb37h1uREU&sharetype=gift&token=dc21ec34-ed2d-40a7-a7d0-6ec31c0c4808&syn-25a6b1a6=1

Yemen’s Iran-backed militants demonstrate that they are not just ‘guys in flip-flops’

11/10/2026

"وإلى أن يحدث ما يكسر هذا الجمود، سيظل سكان غزة عالقين بين حماس والحكومة الإسرائيلية، فيما ينتظر كل طرف أن يبادر الآخر إلى اتخاذ الخطوة الأولى." تكتب كسنيا سفطلوفا.

لقراءة المقال على منصتنا "كلام" ⬇️

.This article is available in English here

10/10/2026

📹 Event recording: Israel’s election: What will it mean for neighbours and allies?

Zizette Darkazally, Ksenia Svetlova, Dennis Ross, Dr H. A. Hellyer & Afif Safieh discuss the upcoming Israeli elections, and what they could mean for regional security and Israel's international relations.

Watch in full ⤵️

Israel’s upcoming election follows three years of war and a marked ...

09/10/2026

📢 Upcoming webinar | Trump, midterms and the Middle East: What comes next?

Michael Doran, Ambassador Barbara Leaf, Laurel Rapp and Sanam Vakil discuss how domestic politics are shaping US policy in the Middle East.

📅 13 October
🕐 16.00 BST
📍 Zoom

Register now ⤵️
https://www.chathamhouse.org/events/all/standard-event/trump-midterms-and-middle-east-what-comes-next?utm_medium=organic-social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=menap

09/10/2026

'The latest attack just gives [the Saudi government] more international support for any military operation they would do against the Houthis,' says Farea Al-Muslimi فارع المسلمي via The New York Times.

The Saudi authorities said they intercepted two missiles targeting Riyadh, a day after they said Houthi strikes on airports in the kingdom killed three people.

08/10/2026

'Iran’s comparative advantage lies in controlling the tap, not turning it off. If oil keeps flowing, Tehran can extract economic and political value from uncertainty. If the tap is turned off completely, Iran loses both the income and much of its leverage.'

Neil Quilliam speaks to AGBI ⤵️
https://www.agbi.com/analysis/oil-and-gas/2026/10/why-iran-gains-more-from-an-open-dangerous-hormuz/

06/10/2026

'Yemen's neighbours, specifically the GCC, did not have a coherent policy to start with. And that's something really extremely difficult to go through. In my opinion, it's worse than having a bad policy.'

Farea Al-Muslimi فارع المسلمي speaks to CNN about the offensive by Yemeni government forces against the Houthis ⤵️