Features

• March 21, 2026

  Iran's Chokehold On Hormuz And The Limits Of Military Force

  The Strait of Hormuz is effectively closed, not by a physical blockade, but through a chokehold of missile strikes, mine-laying, massive GPS spoofing, and soaring insurance costs. Military options face high risks and low yields, leaving a political solution as the only clear path.

• March 21, 2026

  The Aging Convicts And Female Prisoners Bolstering Ukraine's War Effort

  Prisoners nearing retirement age and female convicts are being sent to some of the most dangerous assignments on the battlefields of Ukraine.

• March 21, 2026

  Iran's Missile Cap Died With Khamenei, Putting Europe Within Reach

  Iran fired two ballistic missiles at Diego Garcia -- 4,000 km away -- days after Ali Khamenei's death, blowing past the range cap he personally imposed for years. The constraint is gone, and Europe is now within reach of a country that can also shut down the Strait of Hormuz.

• March 20, 2026

  Belarus Could Boost Potash Exports After US Move, But EU Barriers, Logistical Hurdles Remain

  RFE/RL takes a closer look at what effects easing US sanctions can have on both Minsk and globally, as the world faces ever-growing price hikes due to the war in Iran.

• March 20, 2026

  Iraq Pulled Into Iran War As Tehran Expands The Battlefield

  The US-Israeli war with Iran has dragged in neighboring Iraq, where pro-Iranian militias have launched almost daily attacks on US targets in the country, triggering retaliatory American strikes.

• March 20, 2026

  US Lawmakers Back Funds To Track Abducted Ukrainian Children

  US lawmakers are in favor of allocating $15 million to track Ukrainian children abducted by Russia, but the key research center leading the effort faces imminent shutdown, raising concerns critical war crimes evidence could be lost.

• March 19, 2026

  Zineb Riboua: What The War With Iran Means For China And Russia

  Zineb Riboua, research fellow with Hudson Institute’s Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East and expert on Chinese and Russian involvement in the region, discusses how China and Russia are responding to the US-Israeli war with Iran and what they stand to gain or lose from the conflict.

• March 19, 2026

  A Kremlin Cheerleader Rips Into Putin. A Day Later, He's In A Psychiatric Hospital.

  His legal broadsides against anti-corruption crusader Aleksei Navalny brought Ilya Remeslo's wide notoriety. This week, Remeslo's broadside against Putin brought wide disbelief. A day later, he ended up in a psychiatric hospital.

• March 19, 2026

  He Is (Nearly) Risen: 'World's Largest' Jesus Statue Takes Shape In Armenia

  Despite powerful resistance and lengthy delays, a monument projected to become the “world’s largest” Jesus statue is taking shape near Yerevan with a newly scheduled completion date.

• March 19, 2026

  Out Of Office: A New Twist In Kremlin Efforts To Conceal Putin's Location

  In November, Systema revealed that the Kremlin was obscuring Putin's location by using three nearly identical offices in different parts of Russia. Until March 18, however, the Kremlin had posted no footage from any of the three offices for more than five months, stretching back to early October.

• March 19, 2026

  Israel's Strike On South Pars Hits Iran, And Iranians, Where It Hurts Most

  Israel's strike on South Pars, the world's largest gas field, has hit Iran where it hurts most -- the infrastructure keeping its military and 90 million people supplied with power and heat. The fallout could outlast the conflict itself.

• March 18, 2026

  In The US War With Iran, Russia Is A Winner (Mostly)

  The US-Israeli war on Iran has yielded some clear benefits for Russia: more oil revenues; fewer US weapons for Kyiv; a distraction from the Ukraine peace talks. But it isn’t all good for Moscow.

Load more