Politics & Security - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

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Politics & Security

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Analysis

As US-Iran fighting resumes, Israel weighs 3 options with restraint winning, for now

Despite Israel's military readiness to resume strikes on Iran, officials say looming elections make Netanyahu more likely to stay out unless Tehran forces his hand.

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

Lebanese PM Salam in Turkey as Erdogan seeks wider regional role

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s visit to Turkey comes after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently warned that Israeli attacks against Lebanon and Syria threaten Turkey’s security.

Latest News

Israel warns US of new Iran plot to assassinate Trump: What to know

US President Donald Trump walks to board Air Force One as he departs Bismarck Municipal Airport on July 01, 2026 in Bismarck, North Dakota.

In first, Russia confirms S-400 talks with Turkey amid transfer reports to acquire F-35

AFP via Getty Images

New Israeli election poll puts Eisenkot ahead of Netanyahu: What to know

Former Israeli army chief of staff Gadi Eizenkot speaks during the launch of the Yashar party's election campaign in Hod Aharon, in central Israel, on June 30, 2026.

Turkey brokers intra-Somalia talks as federal rifts test Ankara’s influence

Minister of Energy and Natural Resources of Turkey Alparslan Bayraktar speaks during the launch of an offshore energy exploration at the port in Mogadishu on April 10, 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

MoD Crown Copyright via Getty Images

US, UK launch new round of airstrikes against Yemen's Houthis

The Houthis reported the highest death toll yet of the US and UK strike campaign.

DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey's Erdogan threatens Syrian Kurdish groups as local elections near

The Turkish president said his country would "not hesitate to take action" as Ankara dials up its threats of a fresh military incursion into regions held by Kurdish-led groups in Syria.

A police car is seen outside the Israeli Embassy in Stockholm, Swedem, Jan. 31, 2024.

Mossad says Iran behind attacks on Israeli targets in Sweden, Belgium

Two months before the Olympic Games in France, the Mossad warns that criminal organizations are acting on Iran's behalf to target Israelis and Jews across Europe.

Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa (front row, 4th-L), Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (front row, 5th-L) China's President Xi Jinping (front row, 5th-R), United Arab Emirates' President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (front row, 4th-R), Tunisia's President Kais Saied (front row, 3rd-R) and delegations pose for a family photo ahead of the opening ceremony of the 10th Ministerial Meeting of China-Arab States Cooperation Forum at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, May 30, 2024, Beijing, China.

China's largest Arab summit wraps with 'Beijing declaration': What we know

The meeting in Beijing in the presence of Arab leaders comes as the war in Gaza rages on, while China seeks a wider role in the region.

A man looks at artifacts, under restoration after being destroyed by the Islamic State (IS) group, at the Mosul Museum in Iraq's northern city on May 11, 2023.

Iraq recovers over 6,000 stolen historical artifacts, government says

An Iraqi official says the Iraqi government’s efforts to get back historical artifacts smuggled out of the country were focused on Mosul, which was overrun by ISIS in 2014.

Ghadr

What we know on Houthis' latest Ghadr anti-ship Iranian ballistic missile

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Wednesday that the Yemeni militant group has obtained the technology to manufacture anti-ship ballistic missiles.

Israeli armored personnel carriers move along the border with the Gaza Strip on May 29, 2024 in southern Israel.

Israel in control of Philadelphi Corridor, expects 7 months of war

The Israeli military says its troops are stationed along most of the border and that its firepower covers the whole frontier.

Italy's Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni and Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu hold a joint press conference following their meeting on March 10, 2023 at Palazzo Chigi in Rome. (Photo by Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP) (Photo by ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Once an ally, Italy’s Meloni sours on Israel's Netanyahu, repositions on Gaza

With regional stability at stake and a growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, Rome has adjusted its position and Netanyahu can no longer assume Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is in his political pocket.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani speaks to the media during a press conference in Tehran on March 16, 2015.

Jalili to Larijani: Key names emerge in Iran's presidential elections

Another hard-liner and a Reformist recently declared their candidacies, and others may soon announce theirs in the election to replace the late President Ebrahim Raisi.

TOPSHOT - This video grab from AFPTV shows an aerial view of destroyed buildings in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on April 22, 2024 amid the ongoing conflict in the Palestinian territory between Israel and them militant group Hamas. Israel pulled its ground forces from Khan Yunis on April 7 after carrying out what it called a "precise and limited operation" at the Nasser Medical Complex, one of the biggest hospitals in the Palestinian territory. (Photo by AFPTV / AFP) (Photo by -/AFPTV/AFP via Getty

For the day after, a 3-phase Gaza plan toward a two-state solution

The stark options before Israelis and Palestinians today are to continue to fight each other or to agree on a plan to achieve the timely fulfillment of a two-state solution.

Iranian conservative presidential candidate and Tehran mayor Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf gives an address during a campaign rally in the Iranian capital Tehran on May 14, 2017. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

What does reelection of Ghalibaf as parliament speaker mean for Iran?

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, whose strong connections have spared him prosecution over an array of corruption allegations, is also seen as a potential contender in the upcoming snap presidential election to find a successor to late President Ebrahim Raisi.

ILKER ERAY/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

Protests against Israel spread in Turkey following Rafah strike

As Israel's Rafah strike sparked protests across the country, Turkey’s National Security Council implicitly criticized Washington for police interventions in pro-Palestinian protests in US colleges.