Politics & Security - Al-Monitor: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

politics and security cover image

Politics & Security

US President Joe Biden speaks at the Economic Club of Washington, DC, on Sept. 19, 2024.

Analysis

Is there anything Biden can do in the Middle East?

Israel had to "use or lose" Hezbollah beeper bombs; UAE emphasizes ‘realignment’ ahead of Washington visit.

Andrew Parasiliti

By Andrew Parasiliti

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, national security

TOPSHOT - People gather in front of a building targeted by an Israeli strike in Beirut's southern suburbs on September 20, 2024. The strike on Hezbollah's stronghold in Lebanon's capital Beirut reportedly killed at least eight people and wounded dozens of others, with a source close to the movement saying a top military leader was dead. (Photo by AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

Who was Ibrahim Akil, top Hezbollah member killed in Israeli strike?

Washington accused Ibrahim Akil of involvement in the bombing of US marines and kidnapping of American citizens in Lebanon in the 1980s.

Fighters lift flags of Iraq and paramilitary groups, including al-Nujaba and Kataib Hezbollah, during a funeral in Baghdad for five militants killed a day earlier in a US strike in northern Iraq, on December 4, 2023.

Commander in Iraq's Kataib Hezbollah killed in Israeli strike in Syria

The Iran-backed group said Abu Haidar al-Khafaji had been a security advisor in Damascus.

Hezbollah fighters carry the coffins of people killed after hundreds of paging devices exploded in a deadly wave across Lebanon the previous day, during their funeral procession in Beirut's southern suburbs on September 18, 2024. Hundreds of pagers used by Hezbollah members exploded across Lebanon on September 17, killing at least nine people and wounding around 2,800 in blasts the Iran-backed militant group blamed on Israel. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP) (Photo by ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Pager attacks shake Hezbollah; are they prelude to Israel-Lebanon deal?

Despite US warnings about the unintended consequences of war with Hezbollah, Israel's leaders claim the extent and intensity of the fire can be controlled.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Latest News

Analysis

Middle East teeters on brink of war in Biden’s final stretch

MIRIAM ALSTER/AFP via Getty Images

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

Analysis

How ISIS brides held by Syria’s Kurds are smuggled to suitors in Europe

Women and a child queue to receive humanitarian aid packages at the Kurdish-run al-Hol camp.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

In London, reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Sign up to our Daily Briefing

Keep up with Al-Monitor's top stories with a morning digest from across the region.

Al-Monitor newsletter collage

Hezbollah chief says 'inevitable' response to Lebanon blasts coming

ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images

From Taiwan to Hungary: What we know about manufacturing of Hezbollah pagers

A man holds an Icom walkie talkie device after he removed the battery during the funeral of persons killed when hundreds of paging devices exploded in a deadly wave across Lebanon the previous day, in Beirut's southern suburbs on Sept. 18, 2024.

Amberin Zaman

Chief Correspondent

In London, reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Ben Caspit

Israel Columnist

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Elizabeth Hagedorn

State Department Correspondent

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

Ezgi Akin

Associate Editor (Turkey)

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

Jared Szuba

Pentagon Correspondent

In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military

Adam Lucente

News and Business Correspondent

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

An Iranian border outpost is seen behind a part of Turkey’s newly completed border wall on the Turkey-Iran border, Caldiran, Turkey, July 10, 2021.

Israeli indicted for espionage in alleged Iran scheme to kill PM, defense minister

Israel Police and Shin Bet suspect that Moti Maman traveled twice to Iran, where he was asked to help carry out a plot to assassinate Prime Minister Netanyahu, Defense Minister Gallant or another senior officials.

US President Joe Biden (R) and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan (L) attend a bilateral meeting at a hotel in Saudi Arabia's Red Sea coastal city of Jeddah on July 16, 2022. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN / AFP) (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

UAE president to visit White House as frustrations mount over Gaza endgame

Abu Dhabi has hardened its stance on Israel as Gulf states consider their role in rebuilding Gaza.

Jennifer Gnana

By Jennifer Gnana

In Dubai, reporting on Gulf energy policy and politics

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meets with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (not pictured) in Jeddah, on March 20, 2024.

Saudi crown prince says no Israel normalization without Palestinian state

The crown prince's comments follow the kingdom's top diplomat saying that any deal with Israel would require a pathway toward a Palestinian state.

AFP via Getty Images

At least 14 killed, 450 injured as second wave of blasts targets Hezbollah devices in Lebanon

Hezbollah has vowed to respond to the pagers attack, which it pinned on Israel, as the two parties continue to exchange fire along the Lebanese-Israeli border.

An Israeli soldier works on a tank as troops gather at a position in the upper Galilee region of northern Israel near the border with Lebanon on Nov. 7, 2023.

Israel deploys forces to Lebanon border after pager attack on Hezbollah

Reflecting a shift in priorities, the Israeli military has transferred the elite 98th Division from the Gaza Strip to the Lebanon border area.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin, accompanied by the country's Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu, meets with Ali Akbar Ahmadian, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, in Saint Petersburg, on Sept. 12, 2024.

Top Putin aides in Iran as Russia seeks to ease concerns on Zangezur Corridor

The flurry of diplomatic visits and discussions appear to be a fresh move by Moscow to reenergize Iran-Russia bilateral ties, which have recently faced new complexities.

Lebanese army soldiers stand guard as an ambulance rushes wounded people to a hospital in Beirut on Sept. 17, 2024.

Exclusive

Exclusive: Hezbollah suspicions forced Israel to expedite Lebanon pager attack

It was not Israel’s preferred course of action to detonate the pagers ahead of a full-scale war with Hezbollah, but security officials made an 11th-hour decision after at least two Hezbollah members suspected something was amiss with the devices.

Gabrielle Debinski

Tyler Huffman

By Gabrielle Debinski , Tyler Huffman

Ambulances are surrounded by people at the entrance of the American University of Beirut Medical Center, on September 17, 2024, after explosions hit locations in several Hezbollah strongholds around Lebanon amid ongoing cross-border tensions between Israel and Hezbollah fighters.

Pentagon denies role in suspected Israeli pager attacks in Lebanon

Phone pagers exploded across Lebanon and in Syria, injuring thousands in a suspected Israeli attack targeting Hezbollah just a day after top Washington officials urged Israeli leaders not to escalate the conflict.

Jared Szuba

Rina Bassist

By Jared Szuba , Rina Bassist

EYAD BABA/AFP via Getty Images

Palestinian poll finds majority of Gazans say Hamas' Oct. 7 attack was wrong

A September public opinion poll from the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research shows that Palestinian support for Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack has dropped and a majority of Palestinians in Gaza say the attack was not the right move.

An ambulance rushes wounded people to the American University of Beirut Medical Center, on Sept. 17, 2024.

Lebanon: At least 11 killed, 4,000 injured in suspected Israeli pager attack against Hezbollah

The blasts, which reportedly killed several and injured thousands, came amid rising tensions between Israel and Hezbollah.

Iran's former President Hassan Rouhani (L) waves to the media as India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi looks on before a meeting at Hyderabad house, New Delhi, India, Feb. 17, 2018.

India tells Iran’s Khamenei to 'look at own record' over comments on Muslims suffering

India’s Ministry of External Affairs condemned Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei’s remarks on the treatment of Muslims.

Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant meets soldiers on the Israeli border with the Gaza Strip, Sderot, Israel, Oct. 19, 2023.

Analysis

Can Netanyahu both fire Gallant and go to war in Lebanon?

The Biden administration clearly finds it hard to believe Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will go through with firing Defense Minister Yoav Gallant while warning that war with Hezbollah could break out soon.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense