Institution building

The commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Esmail Qaani, speaks during a commemoration ceremony marking the anniversary of the 2020 killing of Guards general Qasem Soleimani (on screen) in the capital Tehran on Jan. 3, 2024.

Analysis

What Qaani's Baghdad visit reveals about Iran's post-war dilemma

The Quds Force commander's Baghdad visit is occurring as Iran faced difficult choices in Iraq where the government is moving to bring powerful armed groups under state control after the recent war.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrives for a meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Lotte New York Palace Hotel on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York City, on Sept. 22, 2025.

A year on, uncertainty shadows Washington's bet on Syria

The Trump administration has embraced Syria's new leadership, but engagement is being tested by security risks and unresolved questions about Damascus' control.

US Deputy Assistant Secretary for Levant Affairs and special envoy for Syria Joel Rayburn speaks during a session on reconciliation and reconstruction at the 2019 World Economic Forum.

White House withdraws Rayburn’s nomination for top Mideast policy role

Decision raises questions about future role of the State Department’s Near Eastern Affairs Bureau as the Trump administration relies on special envoys to cut through bureaucracy with big promises for a region still reeling from interlinked wars.

The chief of the Lebanese Armed Forces, Gen. Rodolphe Haykal, meets with Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani in Doha, Oct. 8, 2025.

Lebanon army chief visits Qatar amid push to disarm Hezbollah

Haykal has held meetings with the Qatari army chief, the country’s prime minister and its minister of state for defense affairs.

Latest News

As Syria finalizes candidates for parliament, women make up 14% of list

LOUAI BESHARA/AFP via Getty Images

Saudi Arabia and Qatar pledge $89M for Syrian public sector: What to know

People and street vendors move past one of Hama's landmark historic water wheels on a bridge over the Orontes riverbank in the heart of the central Syrian city on Dec. 30, 2024.

Egypt holds second Senate vote as pro-Sisi parties dominate: What to know

TOPSHOT - A voter casts her ballot at a polling station in a school in the district of Agouza in the Egyptian capital's twin city of Giza on the first day of the 2025 Egyptian Senate elections on August 4, 2025. Egypt's two-day vote beginning on August 4 will elect 200 of the 300 seats in the upper chamber of parliament, with the remaining third appointed directly by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the former army chief who came to power after ousting Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013. (Photo by Khal

Analysis

Sudan’s new PM dissolves government but military control remains firm

SUNA

By Rosaleen Carroll

In Washington, DC, US, reporting on the Middle East

Secretary General of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Hussein al-Sheikh, gestures as he arrives for the 32nd Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) Central Council session in Ramallah on April 23, 2025. Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas on April 23 urged Hamas to free all hostages in Gaza, saying their captivity provided Israel with "excuses" to attack the territory, as rescuers recovered charred bodies from an Israeli strike. (Photo by Zain JAAFAR / AFP) (Photo by

Analysis

Hussein Sheikh as PLO's first vice president: Palestinian reform or Abbas gesture?

Mahmoud Abbas' move to create a vice chairman position within the PLO may signal potential plans for succession, but the decision is clouded by the PLO's waning influence and uncertainty over Palestinian governance in Gaza.

By Rosaleen Carroll

In Washington, DC, US, reporting on the Middle East

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (R) meets Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Al Salam Royal Palace, Jeddah, April 22, 2025.

Analysis

Can Modi leverage Saudi-China ties to reshape India’s global standing?

The Saudi "pivot to the east" requires a careful balancing act to avoid antagonizing the United States and damaging ties with China.

Sabena Siddiqui

By Sabena Siddiqui

In Karachi, reporting on South Asia, Middle East, Iran

Syria's interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa receives the country's constitutional declaration, which will be enforced throughout a five-year transitional period, before signing it at the presidential palace in Damascus on March 13, 2025. Sharaa said he hoped the constitutional declaration would mark the start of "a new history for Syria, where we replace oppression with justice", as he signed the document setting out the transitional period. (Photo by Bakr ALKASEM / AFP) (Photo by BAKR ALKASEM/AFP via Getty I

Syria's draft constitution: Separation of powers, territorial unity and Islamic jurisprudence

After more than a week of uncertainty amid violent clashes and Israeli strikes, Syria's interim president has signed a constitutional declaration.

Lebanon's Prime Minister Nawaf Salam walks among Lebanese army soldiers as he visits the southern village of Khiam near the border with Israel, on Feb. 28, 2025.

US green lights $95 million in aid for Lebanon’s army

The Trump administration made an exception to its foreign assistance freeze for a $95 million aid package headed to Lebanon's armed forces.

SHADI AL-DUBAISI/AFP via Getty Images

Canceled Syrian justice workshop sparks repression fears: What to know

Syrian civil society organizations condemned the sudden cancelation of a planned workshop on transitional justice in Damascus, calling it an act of oppression reminiscent of the Assad era.

President Joseph Aoun (C) chairs the first meeting of Lebanon's new government at the Baabda Palace, east of Beirut, on Feb. 11, 2025.

Lebanon’s government wins confidence vote ahead of Aoun’s visit to Saudi Arabia

The Lebanese parliament gave their backing to the new government's ministerial statement, which excluded acknowledgement of Hezbollah, days before President Aoun is set to visit Saudi Arabia.

The leader of the new Syrian administration, Ahmed al-Sharaa waits to greet Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha (not in picture) ahead of a meeting between the Syrian leadership and a Ukrainian delegation to help strengthen ties between the two countries on December 30, 2024 in Damascus, Syria. Syria is transitioning after the fall of the Baath regime and the Assad family's rule, with a temporary administration now in place in Damascus and Aleppo. (Photo by Ali Haj Suleiman/Getty Images)

Syria suspends constitution, declares Ahmed al-Sharaa transitional president

Syria's de facto leadership previously said that new elections could take up to four years and that it could also take several years to draft a new constitution.

CHRISTINE OLSSON/TT/TT NEWS AGENCY/AFP via Getty Images

Turkish-American economist Daron Acemoglu wins joint Nobel Prize

Turkish-American Daron Acemoglu has become Turkey's third Nobel laureate.

Lieutenant General Lucas Schreurs of the Netherlands assumes command of the NATO Mission to Iraq (NMI) in Baghdad, May 24, 2024.

Interview

NATO deepens engagement with Iraq as US prepares to withdraw

In an exclusive Al-Monitor interview, Lucas Schreurs, commander of NATO Mission Iraq, explains the scope of his outfit's mandate.

Commander of NATO Mission Iraq

Commander of NATO Mission Iraq

Lucas Schreurs

This image was taken in January 2016 in Hara Marine Forests (Mangrove Jungle) in Qeshm Island.

Azerbaijan detains Iranian boat for alleged drug smuggling

The incident has added to tense ties between Iran and Azerbaijan, in part due to the Baku’s ties to Israel and Tehran's support to Armenia.

Azerbaijan's Minister of Energy Parviz Shahbazov meets with his Iranian counterpart Ali Akbar Mehrabian in Tehran on March 15, 2024.

Iran-Azerbaijan ties still off track despite diplomatic gestures

Azerbaijan's energy minister visited Tehran for preparations to reopen his country's embassy, but such hot-button issues as the Nakhchivan corridor and Azerbaijan's affinity with Israel appeared as stumbling blocks on the path to effective normalization.

Shiite Muslims protest near the local headquarters of the US-led Coalition Provisional Authority on July 20, 2003, in Najaf, Iraq.

Analysis

20 years after US invasion of Iraq, what lessons remain?

With the Pentagon now refocusing elsewhere, and with Iran getting closer to nuclear weapons by the day, the widening post-Iraq American boots-on-the-ground Middle East vacuum is cautiously being challenged by China.

Gilles Kepel

By Gilles Kepel