Armed Militias and Extremist Groups

military projectile are embedded in the ground

Yemen’s Houthis claim new attack on Aramco refinery in Saudi Arabia: What to know

The strike follows a deadly Houthi attack on a ship in the Red Sea as the renewed conflict take its toll on shipping.

A man inspects the damage at the site of a strike in Bartalla, in the northern Iraq's Nineveh province, after US-Saudi attacks on militias, July 29, 2026.

Iraq intel and security officials visit Saudi Arabia after drone attacks

Iraqi authorities are cracking down on drone attacks after US and Saudi airstrikes targeted Iran-backed militias in the country.

Ebrahim HAMID / AFP via Getty Images

Sudan’s RSF attacks Khartoum, seizes border town: What to know

Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have escalated attacks after suffering setbacks more than three years into the civil war.

FADEL itani / AFP via Getty Images

Explainer

Who benefits from Lebanon’s amnesty law and why it is controversial

The law, initially intended to ease prison overcrowding, could see the release of Islamists accused of killing soldiers and allow Lebanese exiled to Israel return to the country.

Latest News

Analysis

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

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.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

IRGC chief Qaani reportedly in Iraq ahead of militia deadline

Qaani

Analysis

Netanyahu rejects Trump’s Gaza plan while quietly implementing it

lia YEFIMOVICH / AFP via Getty Images

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

Analysis

As Lebanon-Israel talks drag on, can Beirut break Iran linkage?

Manon Roca / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images

Beatrice Farhat

By Beatrice Farhat

In Beirut, reporting on regional news, culture, conflict

Women and children seen inside al-Hol camp, amongst them some 6,200 women and children from around 40 nationalities, and including relatives of suspected Islamic State jihadists in the desert region of Hasakah province on Jan. 25, 2026 in Al Hasakah, Syria.

Turkey to repatriate its ISIS fighters from Iraq as jihadis escalate Syria attacks

Ankara will repatriate its nationals from among thousands of fighters transferred from Syria, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said.

Barrack Sudani

US envoy Barrack oversees Chevron deal in Iraq amid Iran influence row

The Trump administration is maintaining pressure on Iraq over the nomination of former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and the influence of Iran-backed militias in the country.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stands amid debris outside the Soroka Hospital in the southern city of Beersheba, after it was hit by a missile fired from Iran on June 19, 2025. Israel's defence minister warned that Iran's supreme leader "can no longer be allowed to exist" after a hospital was hit in an Iranian missile strike on June 19, spiking tensions in the week-old war. (Photo by Marc Israel SELLEM / POOL / AFP) (Photo by MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Despite warnings from Israel's defense elite, Netanyahu pushes for Iran strike

Although Israeli advisers warn against appearing to drag the US into war, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not hidden his desire to help topple the Islamic Republic.

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

Joseph EID / AFP via Getty Images

As Hezbollah vows to defend Iran, Lebanon braces for potential spillover

Lebanon once again finds itself preparing for Hezbollah’s involvement in a looming US-Iranian military confrontation.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, US President Donald Trump's nominee to be ambassador to Israel, testifies during his Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing at the Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, March 25, 2025.

Interview

Huckabee confirms US-Israel alignment on Iran, says Hamas will disarm 'sooner or later'

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee told Al-Monitor in an interview that the 2025 strike on Iranian nuclear sites was only a preview of what the US military is capable of.

This photograph taken on Jan. 20, 2026, organized by the Saudi-backed Yemeni government, shows Saudi-backed Yemeni forces in the city of Mukalla in Yemen's coastal southern Hadhramaut province.

Saudi-UAE rift complicates Israel's counter-Iran efforts, normalization

Israel fears that the rivalry between the UAE and Saudi Arabia will further push Riyadh toward countries that espouse political Islam policies.

Ethiopian Prime Ministry

Analysis

What’s behind Saudi outreach to Ethiopia amid UAE rift?

After Saudi Arabia's foreign minister visited Ethiopia earlier this week, its deputy foreign minister arrived in Eritrea on Friday for talks with the country's president and foreign minister.

By Rosaleen Carroll

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

A handout photo made available by Iran's Supreme National Security Council office shows Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani (C) arriving in Muscat, Oman, on Feb. 10, 2026.

Iran’s Larijani in Qatar, meets Hamas leadership: What to know

Qatar and Oman have played a vital role in mediating between Iran and the United States to avoid military confrontation that would spill over to the rest of the region.

Ed Ram/Getty Images

Kuwait blacklists eight Lebanon hospitals over alleged Hezbollah ties: What to know

The affected hospitals, located in areas where Hezbollah has a heavy presence, are believed to be run by Hezbollah-affiliated institutions.

A person with a motorbike stands on the side of a road as US-led coalition plane operates at a base on Jan. 26, 2026 in Al-Shaddadi, Syria.

US troops pull out of Shaddadi base in Syria: What to know

The base has been a hub for American troops between the central city of Hasakah and the strategic Khabur River Valley, once the gateway to the Islamic State's oil-producing heartland.

Jared Szuba

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

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki speaks during a press conference on May 11, 2011, at the green zone area in Baghdad, Iraq.

Iraq’s Maliki rejects Trump criticism, vows to stay in PM race

Maliki refused to withdraw from the race, despite mounting pressure from the US, and expressed a desire for good relations with Iraq’s neighbors and Washington.

US Department of State's senior advisor to the president for Arab and African Affairs Massad Fares Boulos attends the Sudan Humanitarian Fund event at the Institute of Peace in Washington, on Feb. 3, 2026.

US says Sudan warring parties back withdrawal plan as donors pledge $700M in aid

State Department senior adviser Massad Boulos announced Tuesday that a "comprehensive peace plan" has been approved by Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, though it still needs to be approved by Sudan's warring parties.