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Politics & Security

Abu Dhabi's crown prince, Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and Brazil's president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, shake hands before a bilateral meeting ahead of the BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on July 5, 2025.

UAE purchases 10 military aircraft from Brazil as BRICS ties grow

The purchase of C-390 Millennium aircraft for the Emirati air force comes as the UAE seeks to build up its military capabilities amid the war with Iran and boost ties with BRICS member states.

United Arab Emirates

WASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 18: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (R), French President Emmanuel Macron (L), and European leaders at the White House on August 18, 2025 in Washington, DC. President Trump hosted President Zelensky at the White House for a bilateral meeting and an expanded meeting with European leaders to discuss a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Macron casts doubt on Trump’s Hormuz operation as France-US gap grows

French President Emmanuel Macron slammed President Donald Trump for launching a unilateral operation to reopen the Strait of Hormuz instead of pursuing a coordinated effort with Iran.

Sabah Fidan

Turkey hosts Kuwaiti FM as UAE's OAPEC exit fuels Gulf rift

Kuwait's top diplomat visited Turkey as the Gulf rift deepens following the UAE’s exit from OPEC and its affiliated alliances, forcing Ankara to balance ties between Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi.

Latest News

Analysis

What UAE’s $3.45B pullback from Pakistan signals about Abu Dhabi's priorities

A security personnel sits in a market after markets reopened in Islamabad on April 23, 2026, following heightened security measures amid the ongoing US-Iran peace talks.

Sabena Siddiqui

By Sabena Siddiqui

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

Under US pressure, will Lebanon repeal Israel Boycott Law?

Members of Lebanese security forces stand guard in the perimeter of the Parliament, a day ahead of a parliamentary session to elect a president in Beirut on January 8, 2025. Lebanese political heavyweights held talks on January 8, a day ahead of a parliamentary session to elect a president of the tiny Mediterranean country, already deep in economic and political crisis, and which has been without a president for more than two years. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP) (Photo by ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Iraq’s Zaidi offers economic promise for Turkey but unknowns loom

Zaidi

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Analysis

Can Bennett, Lapid unite Israel’s opposition to unseat Netanyahu?

Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Yair Lapid (L) speaks to outgoing Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, during a meeting at the Knesset (parliament), in Jerusalem on June 30, 2022. - Final approval of the parliament dissolution bill was initially expected by midnight but was postponed to June 30 as coalition and opposition lawmakers sparred over last-minute legislative details, several sources familiar with the parliamentary said. (Photo by Menahem KAHANA / AFP) (Photo by MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images)

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Amberin Zaman

Chief Correspondent

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Adam Lucente

News and Business Correspondent

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

Elizabeth Hagedorn

Diplomatic 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

Ben Caspit

Israel Columnist

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

Jared Szuba

Defense and Security Correspondent

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

Ed Ram/Getty Images

Israel-Hezbollah war cost Lebanon $8.5B, damaged 100,000 homes: World Bank

The World Bank estimated that about $8.5 billion worth of damages and losses have piled up from the year-long war in Lebanon, which had already been struggling with a devastating economic crisis.

WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 15: Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu waves as he arrives outside the West Wing of the White House September 15, 2020 in Washington, DC. Netanyahu is in Washington to participate in the signing ceremony of the Abraham Accords. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Analysis

Israel euphoric over Trump's cabinet: Will he pick annexation or Saudi deal?

"Everything is ready," a senior source in Israel's settlement enterprise told Al-Monitor. "We just have to get Trump's approval and carry it out."

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

WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 13: U.S. President Joe Biden meets with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House on November 13, 2024 in Washington, DC. President Biden continued the tradition inviting the newly-elected president to meet at the White House after Trump won the presidential election on November 5. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

From State to CIA, here are Trump's key foreign policy, national security appointments

US President-elect Donald Trump has been rolling out his picks for key positions in his administration, many of which will impact Middle East relations.

US Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), newly elected senate majority leader for the upcoming 119th Congress, speaks to reporters at the US Capitol, on Nov. 13, 2024, in Washington.

Analysis

How will Congress' Republican power duo navigate Trump’s Middle East agenda?

Sen. John Thune, an institutionalist, will lead Senate Republicans and work alongside House Speaker Mike Johnson to pass the president's policies.

Megan Mineiro

By Megan Mineiro

In Washington, DC, reporting on US Congress

YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP via Getty Images

French-made military technology used in Sudan war, Amnesty reports

The report is the latest sign of growing foreign interference in Sudan, where the brutal civil war has created the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, according to the United Nations.

MAXIM SHIPENKOV/AFP via Getty Images

BRICS offers Turkey 'partner country' status, Turkish trade minister says

The Turkish trade minister stopped short of clarifying whether Ankara accepted the offer or not.

Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, arrives for a meeting of the board of governors at IAEA headquarters on Sept. 11, 2023, in Vienna, Austria.

In first since Trump win, nuclear watchdog chief Grossi arrives in Iran for talks

As Iran braces for another Trump presidency, which last time saw the dissolution of the Iran nuclear deal, the director of the UN's nuclear watchdog agency holds talks in Tehran regarding the Iranian nuclear program.

A man walks in a street covered in mud in a flooded area in Picanya, near Valencia, eastern Spain, on Oct. 30, 2024.

As floods ravage Spain, Morocco utilizes disaster diplomacy, offers help

Relations between Morocco and Spain are warming after years of tensions, and a railway linkage project is gaining momentum.

Turkish Jandarma soldiers guard the entrance to the Silivri Courthouse while awaiting the court's decision during the ongoing trial of journalists from the Cumhuriyet newspaper.

Turkey postpones debate on controversial ‘foreign agent’ law amid public outcry

The move follows criticism from the opposition and civil society over potential threats to free speech and media independence.

Zebulon Simantov reads his old, tattered Hebrew prayer book as he celebrates the Jewish New Year feast of Rosh Hashanah, Sept. 18, 2009, in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Three years after fleeing, Afghanistan's last Jew arrives in Israel

Having fled Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover in 2021, heading to Istanbul via Pakistan, Afghanistan's last Jew has now arrived in Israel.

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 21: Singer Kelly Rowland (R) is interviewed by co-host Pete Hegseth during "Fox And Friends" at FOX Studios on March 21, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Ben Gabbe/Getty Images)

Trump stuns Pentagon by naming Fox News host Pete Hegseth defense chief

The president-elect’s made-for-TV decision to name Fox News host Pete Hegseth is reinforcing broad doubts about the seriousness of Trump's foreign policy.

US investor Steve Witkoff attends the last day of the 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 18, 2024.

From golf to the Gulf: Who is Trump’s new Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff?

Trump's long-time friend will face a tough job in trying to quell a regional war that has been raging since Oct. 7, 2023, between Israel, Lebanon and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.