Armed Militias and Extremist Groups

Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam (R) shakes hands with Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan before their meeting in Beirut on Jan. 23, 2025.

Saudi Arabia lifts 5-year ban on Lebanon imports: What to know

Saudi Arabia had been a main donor for Lebanon before ties strained during Hezbollah’s rising influence in the country.

KAWNAT HAJU / AFP via Getty Images

Hezbollah calls on Lebanon to 'correct' relations with Iran

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun recently told Iran to stay out of the country’s affairs, drawing a rebuke from Tehran.

US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrive to speak to journalists during a joint press conference at Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, on December 29, 2025. US President Donald Trump hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Florida on December 29 for crucial talks on moving to the next stage of the fragile Gaza truce plan.The two leaders also discussed Iran, with Trump saying that if Tehran rebuilt its nuclear facilities the United States wo

Analysis

'We are already hearing the bus': Israeli insiders fear Netanyahu is losing Trump’s backing on Iran

“He couldn’t afford a confrontation with Trump, who was the last asset he had left,” a Netanyahu associate told Al-Monitor, describing the prime minister’s struggle to balance pressure for retaliation against Iran with the need to preserve his alliance with the US president.

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

Rocket trails are seen in the sky above the Israeli coastal city of Netanya on June 7, 2026.

US military helped Israel intercept Iran's missiles: What to know

Iranian barrages targeting Israel came after Israeli warplanes struck the outskirts of Beirut, despite the White House publicly signaling its opposition to such strikes.

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Analysis

Israel’s Lebanon endgame remains elusive despite ceasefire deal

Smoke rises following Israeli bombardment in southern Lebanon close to the Beaufort Castle as seen from a position across the border in the Upper Galilee, in northern Israel on June 4, 2026.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Analysis

Why Israel sees Lebanon’s 'pilot zones' as path to containing Hezbollah

A portrait of the late Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah is visible in heavily damaged building in the border town of Ayta al-Chaab, southern Lebanon, Feb. 21, 2026.

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

Tom Barrack addresses criticism over his remarks on Hezbollah, Turkey: What to know

Tom Barrack testifies during his Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on April 01, 2025, in Washington, DC.

What’s in new Israel-Lebanon ceasefire deal — and what’s missing?

First responders gather at the site of an Israeli strike that hit near a hospital in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre on June 1, 2026.

Turkish military tanks drive past the town of Ariha on the M4 highway in Syria's rebel-held northwestern Idlib province on May 7, 2020.

Pentagon warns Turkey against renewed invasion of Syria

A US defense official called for a political process to end Turkey's perpetual battles with Kurdish militants.

ABDULAZIZ KETAZ/AFP via Getty Images

US drone strike kills al-Qaeda affiliate in northwest Syria

The rare drone strike in Idlib province was aimed to disrupt Huras al-Din's ability to stage terror attacks outside Syria, according to the Pentagon.

A Turkish soldier mans a turret on an infantry fighting vehicle driving near the village of Yazi Bagh.

Why are Turkey’s allies fighting each other in Syria?

Turkey’s handling of recent clashes between allied groups in Syria has called its intention into question, with some arguing that the jihadi outfit controlling Idlib has gained a foothold in Afrin by using a Turkish-linked group as a Trojan horse.

Gantz

Israel says Middle East air defense partnership already in action

Israel's defense minister said he hopes US President Joe Biden's trip to the region will further the joint defense cooperation.

Saudi air force

Congress wants Pentagon to bolster Arab, Israeli air defenses against Iran

The Abraham Accords could enable Israel to share missile defense technology with Arab Gulf countries in a joint defensive architecture against Iran.

A truck carrying aid packages from the World Food Program drives through the town of Hazano in the rebel-held northern countryside of Idlib province, Syria, May 16, 2022.

Jihadi group in Syria’s Idlib seeks control of NGOs

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham continues to restrict humanitarian organizations operating in its areas of control in northwestern Syria.

Syria attack

Pentagon inquiry finds no fault in 2019 Syria strike that killed civilians

Internal investigation blamed Syrian Kurdish forces for failing to mention the presence of civilians when calling in US airstrike.

Iraq Turkey

Pentagon: Iran-backed militias, PKK coordinated vs. Turkish troops in Iraq

Turkey’s targeting of veteran PKK cadres in Iraq has pushed the Kurdish guerrillas to collaborate with an unlikely partner, a new Pentagon report suggests.

Taliban members of the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice.

Iran confirms Taliban diplomats stationed in Tehran Embassy

Tehran said the move to allow Taliban-appointed diplomats was not a step toward recognizing the current establishment in neighboring Afghanistan.

A picture taken on April 19, 2022 shows smoke billowing from behind the mountains of Matin (Jabal Matin) in the town of Chiladze following a Turkish offensive targeting rebels in the northern Iraqi Kurdish autonomous region.

Turkey steps up attacks on Syria’s Kurds amid Iraq operation

Ankara is using the cover of Ukraine’s war to weaken the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and associated groups in the region.

US troops Syria

Four US soldiers injured by rocket attack in Syria

The barrage suggests Iran's proxies will continue to harass US forces in the region, whether or not the sides return to the 2015 nuclear deal.

blinken

Analysis

The Takeaway: Trump's revenge as Biden deal with Iran stymied by IRGC sanctions

Russia backs Syrian attacks on opposition; Turkish inflation soars as result of Ukraine war; Iran-linked mob attacks Kurdish party offices in Iraq; new generation runs for election in Lebanon; Egypt rallies Africa climate consensus.

Andrew Parasiliti

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Andrew Parasiliti , Elizabeth Hagedorn