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Politics & Security

Traffic passes a billboard depicting Iranian ballistic missiles in service, with text in Arabic reading "the honest [person's] promise" and in Persian "Israel is weaker than a spider's web," Valiasr Square, Tehran, April 15, 2024. ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images.

Analysis

CIA report on Iran missiles undercuts Netanyahu as war euphoria dissipates

The findings cast doubt on Israel’s wartime gains and put pressure on Netanyahu’s campaign strategy ahead of elections.

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

Getty

US strikes Iran tankers as UAE reports fresh missile, drone attacks

Strikes on Iranian tankers and fresh exchanges in the Gulf escalate tensions as Washington awaits Tehran’s response to a deal proposal.

Popular Mobilization Forces

US sets expectations for Iraq’s next PM to confront Iranian militias

The Trump administration is cautiously sizing up Iraq’s new prime minister-designate, Ali al-Zaidi, as a potential partner in pushing back on Iranian influence.

Latest News

Iran president says he held official meeting with Mojtaba Khamenei: What to know

An Iranian woman holds up an image of Iran's new supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei.

Turkey, Japan launch defense industry partnership with eye on drones

People look at a drone on display at the Baykar exhibit at the SAHA International Defence and Aerospace Expo on May 06, 2026 in Istanbul, Turkey.

Israel strikes Beirut in breach of Lebanon ceasefire

People gather at the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted Beirut's southern suburbs neighborhood of Haret Hreik on May 6, 2026.

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

A man looks from a shack surrounded by heavy flooding in Iran's northwestern city of Astara, Gilan province, after severe floods hit the northern part of the country, Sept. 18, 2023.

Floods in northeastern Iran leave at least 7 dead

The Persian Gulf region has experienced intense rainfall in recent weeks, and hundreds have been killed by floods in neighboring Afghanistan.

Egyptian army infantry fighting vehicles (IFV) are deployed near the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip on March 23, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict in the Palestinian territory between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Analysis

As they throw punches, will Egypt downgrade ties with Israel over Rafah?

The disagreement between Israel and Egypt over the Rafah crossing into the Gaza Strip contrasts heavily with the tight security cooperation between the two countries before Oct. 7.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

An Egyptian tanker truck bearing the insignia of the United Nations enters the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip on March 23, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict in the Palestinian territory between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. (Photo by Khaled DESOUKI / AFP) (Photo by KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images)

Why PA rejected Israel's offer for 'unofficial' control of Rafah crossing

A Ramallah-based source explained to Al-Monitor that the PA is not interested in cooperating with Israel on piecemeal projects that don't include a broader agreement on postwar governance of Palestinian territories.

A Bahrain security forces armored vehicle is stationed near a billboard depicting the faces of Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz (L), last year's Arab League summit host, and Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa (R), this year's host, ahead of the 33rd league summit in Manama, May 15, 2024.

Arab League calls for 'immediate' Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, deployment of international force

The statement further expresses the Arab nations' “firm position for a just and comprehensive peaceful settlement of the Palestinian issue” and their support for an international peace conference on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Iraqi autonomous Kurdish region's peshmerga forces and fighters from the Yazidi minority, a local Kurdish-speaking community targeted in a brutal campaign by the Islamic State (IS) group, enter the western Iraqi city of Sinjar, in the Nineveh Province, on Nov. 13, 2015.

Turkey’s Fidan says Iraqi Sinjar must be ‘clear’ of PKK presence

The top Turkish diplomat’s comment comes as Ankara is ramping up its threats for a large-scale operation in northern Iraq.

Antony J. Blinken, United States Secretary of State, shakes hands with the Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan before posing for the official press photo on the first day of the NATO foreign ministers' meeting at the NATO headquarters on April 03, 2024, in Brussels, Belgium.

Turkey dials up Gaza diplomacy as cease-fire talks hit 'impasse'

Ankara dials up Gaza diplomacy with Washington, Doha and Hamas, with the top Turkish diplomat describing the prospects of a cease-fire as dimming.

AHMAD SHOURA/AFP via Getty Images

Jordan thwarts Iran-linked weapons plot as Hamas denies involvement

Iran and its proxies have threatened Jordan since the start of the Gaza war, including in relation to the kingdom helping shoot down missiles the Islamic Republic fired at Israel.

JALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images

Lebanon’s Hezbollah hosts Hamas delegation, fires 60 rockets on Israel

The meeting is the latest between Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and senior Hamas officials since the Palestinian movement launched an assault on southern Israel Oct. 7.

Javad Sadatinejad, who served as agriculture minister (2021-2023) in the administration of incumbent President Ebrahim Raisi, is seen in this undated image.

Iranian ex-official gets jail term in rare ruling in $3.7B corruption case

The former official was found guilty of involvement in the largest-ever embezzlement case in the country's history, which has been exposed at a time of unprecedented economic hardships for ordinary Iranians.

ISIS resurgence in Iraq sees fresh attacks, clashes after commander killed

The Islamic State is suspected of killing soldiers in eastern Iraq in the latest sign of the group’s persistence.

SAKIS MITROLIDIS/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey, Greece reach understanding on contentious Aegean marine park plan

The announcement comes a day after Turkish-Greek leadership summit in Ankara between Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

Smoke rises over Gaza as an Israeli tank takes position along the border with the Gaza Strip, southern Israel, May 13, 2024.

Analysis

Netanyahu buys time in Rafah, balances Israel's far right and Biden's 'red lines'

As the Israeli military steps up its eastern Rafah operation, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will soon have to decide whether to cross the American red line: a full-scale invasion of the Gazan city.

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