Defense/Security cooperation

Turkish naval forces patrol vessel TCG F 500 and an unidentified submarine (back) sail during a military naval parade on the Bosphorus in Istanbul on Oct. 29, 2023.

Analysis

Turkey's defense sector enters 2026 with naval progress — and unresolved vulnerabilities

A year marked by regional wars, drone incursions and major arms exports has left Turkey confronting a familiar dilemma: how to turn ambition and prototypes into real deterrence without the budget to fully sustain them.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Saudi Air Force advanced F-15SA fighter jets perform during a ceremony in Riyadh on Jan. 25, 2017.

Analysis

2025: Why Gulf defense megadeals finally met reality

From fighter jet debates to drones and megadeals, Gulf defense planners are shifting from political signaling to tangible results.

Francesco Schiavi

By Francesco Schiavi

In Bologna, reporting on security, defense, economy, governance

ABIR SULTAN / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Eyeing Turkey, Netanyahu boosts Greece, Cyprus ties ahead of US visit

Worried about the increasing empowerment of Turkey across the Middle East, Israel is making a show of neighborhood strength with Greece and Cyprus.

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

A view of a concrete wall built by Israel near the Blue Line in Maroun al-Ras, Lebanon, on Nov. 13, 2025.

Analysis

France seeks to bolster Lebanon's army through UNIFIL coordination, donor conference

France believes that the key to stabilizing the region is bolstering the Lebanese military so it can regain control over the south of the country.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Latest News

Syria seizes anti-aircraft missiles near Iraqi border: What to know

Syria's security directorate in al-Bukamal seized SAM-7 missiles being prepared for smuggling into Iraq, on Dec. 22, 2025.

Italy pledges to maintain troops in southern Lebanon after UNIFIL withdrawal

Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto (Middle-L) meets with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun (R) in Beirut at Baabda Palace, on Dec. 22, 2025.

Laced with intrigue: What did Tom Barrack’s shoes reveal about US-Turkey ties?

US ambassador to Turkey, Tom Barrack, showed up at a Dec. 16 meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan

Analysis

How Netanyahu ceded to Trump, agreed to Egypt's $35B gas deal

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, EGYPT - OCTOBER 13: U.S. President Donald Trump and President of Egypt Abdel Fattah El-Sisi clasp hands as they speak to the press before their meeting on October 13, 2025 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. President Trump is in Egypt to meet with European and Middle Eastern leaders in what’s being billed as an international peace summit, following the start of a US-brokered ceasefire deal to end the war in the Gaza Strip. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

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

Interview

Sen. Van Hollen challenges Trump's bypass of Congress on Saudi Arabia, Iran

In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, Maryland Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen describes efforts to curtail the Trump administration’s Gulf policies.

Chris Van Hollen

Chris Van Hollen

US Senator from Maryland

Russian military jets are seen at Hmeymim air base in Syria, June 18, 2016. Picture taken June 18, 2016. REUTERS/Vadim Savitsky/Russian Defense Ministry via Reuters ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. EDITORIAL USE ONLY. - S1AETKWCWFAA

How Russia defends its Syrian air base from attacks

Russia has been using attacks on its air base in Khmeimim as a leverage in talks with Turkey over Idlib, but has also taken some practical steps to counter the assaults.

West Bank security arrests alleged IS recruit targeting Israel

Palestinian Authority security services tell Israeli media they arrested a Palestinian woman they believe was going to blow herself up in Israel for the Islamic State.

Military vehicles carrying Wing Loong, a Chinese-made medium altitude long endurance unmanned aerial vehicle, travel past Tiananmen Gate during a military parade to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II in Beijing Thursday Sept. 3, 2015. REUTERS/Andy Wong/Pool - GF10000191339

Pentagon fears China’s growth in Middle East arms market

The Donald Trump administration is worried that China is capturing a larger role in a Middle East arms market that the United States has traditionally dominated.

A woman uses her mobile phone to take picture of the damage created by debris, after ballistic missiles fired by Yemen's Houthi militia, fell at a house in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia March 26, 2018. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser - RC13CCD3D530

Trump declares Iran emergency to bypass Congress on Gulf arms sales

The Donald Trump administration cited Iran as the justification to invoke emergency powers to transfer arms to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates over congressional objections.

Russian and Turkish delegations, led by Presidents Vladimir Putin and Tayyip Erdogan, attend a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia April 8, 2019. Sputnik/Alexei Nikolsky/Kremlin via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC16BFAECE20

Turkey squeezed between Russia, US in Syria

Turkey, pressed between Russia and the United States, is headed toward a foreign policy crash in addition to an economic one.

Viktor Zolotov, the director of the Federal Service of National Guard Troops and Commander of the National Guard Troops, attends a wreath laying ceremony marking the anniversary of the Nazi German invasion in 1941, at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier by the Kremlin wall in Moscow, Russia June 22, 2018. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin - RC17EE6222D0

Why 'Putin's personal army' chief visited Turkey

Viktor Zolotov, the head of Russian National Guard, also known as Vladimir Putin's personal army, paid a surprising visit to Turkey's capital.

What does the UAE expect from Egypt?

Political analysts believe Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s visit to Cairo helps solidify UAE-Egypt relations as the situation escalates in the Gulf.

Turkish and Iraqi troops are pictured during a joint military exercise near the Turkish-Iraqi border in Silopi, Turkey September 26, 2017. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RC1FB6450AB0

How viable is Turkey’s bid for military partnership with Iraq?

Turkey and Iraq have agreed to work on sealing a military cooperation agreement, and although regional developments dictate the solution of bilateral crises, the volatile relationship between the two neighbors calls for tempered optimism.

Egyptian Air Force holds an air show displaying F-16 aircrafts delivered to Egypt by U.S., as part of a military package that had been unfrozen earlier this year, in Cairo, Egypt, July 31, 2015. REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih - GF20000010043

House ratchets up pressure on Egypt

The House’s annual foreign aid bill would place conditions on military aid.

U.S. soldiers stand guard as a Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II aircraft is moved on the eve of the 52nd Paris Air Show at Le Bourget Airport near Paris, France June 18, 2017. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol - RC1634F4C3A0

Congressional appropriators move to tie up F-35 deliveries to Turkey

The new House foreign aid bill would prohibit spending federal dollars to transfer the jets unless Ankara abandons its plans to buy missile defenses from Moscow.

Libyan National Army (LNA) members, commanded by Khalifa Haftar, pose for a picture as they head out of Benghazi to reinforce the troops advancing to Tripoli, in Benghazi, Libya April 7, 2019. REUTERS/Esam Omran Al-Fetori - RC1AEB991490

Libyan Salafists fight alongside 'secular' Hifter

Although Libyan strongman Khalifa Hifter has often been perceived as a secular leader, his Libyan National Army contains many Salafi fighters.