Economic blockades have long served as instruments of coercion, deliberately positioned in the grey zone between diplomacy and war. They have been used throughout history as a pressure tactic to force the enemy to make concessions at the negotiating table. This could be what Trump hopes to achieve by imposing a naval blockade on Iran, which continues to exercise control over what ships can enter and exit the Strait of Hormuz.

Blockading the blockade: Trump tightens his chokehold on Iran is this week’s cover story. In it, we examine the political and economic repercussions of the US naval blockade on Iran and whether such a strategy is sustainable amid Iran’s proven ability to withstand US pressure tactics.

Was Jeffrey Epstein a spy?

Some point to his possible links to Mossad through his associate Ghislaine Maxwell, whose father was a known Israeli spy, and assert that he blackmailed powerful figures to exert influence

Al Majalla - London

Rivalry in the Horn of Africa

Is the Red Sea moving toward an ordered space governed by capable states or toward a grey zone edging toward disorder? Read our February cover story to find out.

Al Majalla - London