Explainer

Explainer

A map showing the Strait of Hormuz is seen in this illustration taken 22 June, 2025. Photo: Reuters

Did Iran shoot down US Air Force E-3G plane near Strait of Hormuz?

Reports of a USAF E-3G AWACS disappearing over the Strait of Hormuz remain unverified as Trump says Iran is not ready for a peace deal

The South Korean and American flags fly next to each other at Yongin, South Korea, August 23, 2016. Photo: Courtesy Ken Scar/US Army/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo

How has the US-South Korea relationship evolved under Trump?

Donald Trump speaks to reporters at Los Angeles International Airport before leaving for Las Vegas. Photo: Reuters

What would a US claim over the Strait of Hormuz mean?

Two F/A-18 Super Hornets launch from the flight deck of the US Navy Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in support of the Operation Epic Fury attack on Iran from an undisclosed location March 3, 2026. Photo: US Navy/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo

How long can the US keep its blockade of Iran in place?

The diamond ring effect is seen during the total solar eclipse from Villa Chocon, Neuquen province, Argentina on 14 December, 2020/ AFP

Why Bangladesh will miss the 12 August solar eclipse

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, accompanied by their ministers of foreign affairs and defence, pose after signing a joint defence agreement in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Photo: Murat Cetinmuhurdar/Turkish Presidential Press Office/Handout via Reuters

Iran sees Saudi-Pakistan-Turkiye defence pact as sign of shifting regional order

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, accompanied by their ministers of foreign affairs and defence, pose after signing a joint defence agreement in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Photo: Murat Cetinmuhurdar/Turkish Presidential Press Office/Handout via Reuters

What is the Mecca Joint Deterrence Agreement between Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan?

A launcher of a Patriot air defence system of the Ukrainian Air Forces is seen on the ground, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in an undisclosed location, Ukraine August 4, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko/File Photo

What is the Patriot missile system and why are supplies depleted worldwide?

Oil tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz in 2018. Photo: Reuters

Why the US, Iran and Oman are discussing a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz

A banner with a picture of U.S. President Donald Trump next to an Iranian missile system at Azadi Square in Tehran, Iran, July 30, 2026. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS

How Iran is widening its pressure campaign to force US concessions

Thousands of migrants gather in Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta after crossing from Morocco, triggering a political and border security crisis across Europe. Photo: BSS

How Spain's migrant crisis became a political storm, fuelled by social media

An Israeli navy missile boat patrols in the Red Sea off the coast of Israel's southern port city of Eliat on December 26, 2023. (Photo by Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP)

Why Saudi Arabia is leading a new Red Sea naval coalition?

Migrants return back to Morocco, as seen from Ceuta, Spain, after tens of thousands of migrants surged into the Spanish enclave by land and sea, July 31. Photo: REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer

EU faces pressure after mass migrant crossing into Spain's Ceuta enclave