Isabel Debre

A fireball is seen after an explosion at the Jebel Ali port in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, July 7, 2021. (Screen capture/Twitter)

July 7, 2021, 11:50 pm

Fire erupts on ship at Dubai port, causing large explosion

Tremors felt across UAE commercial hub from blast, which sends fireball into the sky; no immediate reports of casualties or extent of damage

By Isabel Debre and Aya Batrawy

In this August 21, 2005 file photo, former Iranian Intelligence Minister Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejehi listens to a speech during a session of parliament in Tehran, Iran. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File)

July 1, 2021, 3:39 pm

Iran’s supreme leader appoints new hardline judiciary chief

Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejehi to take the reins from Ebrahim Raisi, Iran’s new president-elect

By Isabel Debre

Iranian warships are seen in the Atlantic Ocean, in a photo released on June 10, 2021. (Iranian Army via AP)

June 10, 2021, 8:20 pm

Iran warships sail through Atlantic, said heading for US-sanctioned Venezuela

Vessels departed in May from Iran’s southern port, says deputy army chief, describing their mission as navy’s longest, most challenging voyage yet

By Isabel Debre and Jon Gambrell

Senator Chris Coons of Delaware talks to the journalists during a press briefing in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on May 3, 2021. (AP/Kamran Jebreili)

May 3, 2021, 7:33 pm

US officials in Gulf to reassure jittery allies over effort to rejoin Iran deal

Biden administration envoys and US senators say they plan to consult, engage with Mideast allies, as indirect talks in Vienna over nuclear program progress

By Isabel Debre

File: Seagulls fly over the Red Sea port city of Jiddah, Saudi Arabia, Oct. 11, 2019 (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

April 27, 2021, 3:22 pm

Saudi Arabia says it destroyed explosives-laden attack boat targeting port

Private security firms suggest commercial maritime traffic may have been hit in assault on remote-controlled, ‘booby-trapped’ vessel

By Jon Gambrell and Isabel Debre

A member of the Muslim Brotherhood waves his hand from a defendants cage in a courtroom in Torah prison, southern Cairo, Egypt, August 22, 2015. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil, File)

April 21, 2021, 8:20 am

Iran, Egypt, Iraq and Saudi Arabia top 2020 global executioners list

Amnesty says while numbers dropped due to pandemic, Middle East figures show region is ‘truly out of sync with the rest of the world’; China executes thousands, but classifies info

By Isabel Debre

An undated promotional handout still from the Iranian state TV series, 'Gando,' shows actor Payam Dehkordi, center, who plays a character apparently based on Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian, among other actors. (Mohammad Bagheri/TV series, 'Gando,' via AP)

April 4, 2021, 5:06 pm

Iranians say TV spy thriller partially censored by regime

Hardliners and other fans of ‘Gando,’ which valorizes Revolutionary Guards and criticizes diplomats, accuse the government of pulling the 2nd season off the air prematurely

By Isabel Debre and Amir Vahdat

The Ever Given, a Panama-flagged cargo ship, is pulled by one of the Suez Canal tugboats, in the Suez Canal, Egypt, March 29, 2021. (Suez Canal Authority via AP)

March 29, 2021, 4:57 pm

Ever Given finally set free in Suez, with tugboats helped by high tide

Giant cargo ship that has been blocking traffic in vital waterway wrenched clear after nearly a week, canal service provider says

By Isabel Debre and Samy Magdy

This picture taken on March 29, 2021 from a nearby tugboat in the Suez Canal shows a view of the Panama-flagged MV 'Ever Given' (operated by Taiwan-based Evergreen Marine) container ship as it begins to move. (AFP)

March 29, 2021, 7:44 am

Massive container ship blocking Suez Canal freed, partially afloat

Maritime traffic tracking sites say stern of the boat has moved away from the canal’s western bank; unclear when channel will reopen

By Isabel Debre and Samy Magdy

Fuel installations on the Suez Canal burn after an attack by aircraft of the Sea Venom Squadron from HMS Eagle as Britain, France and Israel intervened militarily and occupied the canal zone following Egypt nationalizing the canal, November 11, 1956. (AP Photo, File)

March 28, 2021, 6:54 pm

Not only grounded ships: A look at past crises that closed Suez

Key waterway has previously been shuttered by military conflicts involving Egypt and Israel, including for years after 1967 Six Day War

By Isabel Debre

Smoke rises after Saudi-led airstrikes on an army base in Sanaa, Yemen, March 7, 2021. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed, File)

March 22, 2021, 5:39 pm

Saudi Arabia offers ceasefire plan to Yemen rebels

Announcing proposal, Saudi FM says the Houthis ‘must decide whether to put their interests first or Iran’s interests first’

By Jon Gambrell and Isabel Debre

Performers play folklore music welcoming Persian New Year, or Nowruz, meaning 'New Day,' in northern Tajrish Square, Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, March 17, 2021. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

March 20, 2021, 10:24 am

A New Year in Iran, but country’s viral, economic crises remain the same

Citizens have been hit hard by the pandemic, coupled with economic hardship exacerbated by US sanctions

By Amir Vahdat and Isabel Debre

Illustrative: A damaged silo at the Saudi Aramco oil facility in Saudi Arabia's Red Sea city of Jeddah, November 24, 2020. (Fayez Nureldine/AFP)

March 19, 2021, 7:00 pm

Saudi Arabian oil facility struck in drone attack

State media says no injuries or damage in assault, which sparked blaze; Iran-backed Houthi rebels say they fired 6 drones at Riyadh

By Isabel Debre

An undated file photo provided by the family of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian dual national detained in Iran. (Family of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe via AP, File)

March 14, 2021, 1:21 pm

British-Iranian woman back in Tehran court for fresh trial after 5 years in jail

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe faces new charges of spreading ‘propaganda against Iran’ following completion of prison sentence on widely refuted spying indictment

By Isabel Debre

Sasy and Alexis Texas in the clip for "Tehran Tokyo." (Screen capture: YouTube)

March 11, 2021, 11:11 pm

Iran carries out arrests over racy pop music video

US-based Sasy’s producer defends video that included porn star, as authorities in the Islamic Republic crack down on those linked to clip

By Isabel Debre