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

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Politics & Security

A woman walks past a banner featuring Iran's late supreme leaders, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (L) and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (C), next to newly elected Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, in Tehran on April 19, 2026.

Analysis

Why Iran's wartime behavior risks lasting rupture with Gulf states

Iran's rhetoric and policies toward Gulf states have sharply escalated, raising questions about whether years of painstaking regional rapprochement can survive mounting distrust and maritime confrontations.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Shiite Muslim cleric Moqtada Sadr gives a speech in Iraq's central holy shrine city of Najaf on August 30, 2022.

Iraq’s Sadr says 'exclude' armed groups from next government as pressure builds

The cleric's call comes as Prime Minister-designate Ali al-Zaidi tries to form a government amid political divisions and US demands to curb the influence of Iran-backed actors.

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

Latest News

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

Getty

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

Popular Mobilization Forces

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.

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 picture shows the new Iranian drone "Mohajer 10" during Iran's defence industry achievements exhibition in Tehran on August 23, 2023. Iran unveiled on August 22 its latest domestically built drone that can fly at a higher altitude and for a longer duration with enhanced weapons capabilities, state media reported. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran showcases Shahed drones, missiles at Qatar's defense exhibition

This year’s Doha International Maritime Defence Exhibition and Conference features Iranian drones, Russian warships and delegations from across Asia and Africa.

Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan visits the Flamingo Marine Base in Port Sudan on Aug. 28, 2023.

Sudan’s army ready for 'indirect' talks with Hemedti’s RSF via Libya, Turkey

The Sudanese foreign minister said authorities agreed to Libyan- and Turkish-led indirect negotiations with the Rapid Support Forces, amid fears the internal conflict will turn into a proxy war between major international and regional countries.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian speaks at the General Assembly on Oct. 26, 2023, in New York City.

At Saudi OIC summit, Iran seeks Islamic world's 'decisive' action against Israel

In its relentless diplomatic offensive to isolate Israel, Tehran has so far failed to talk Islamic countries into severing economic ties with Israel.

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (R) and Israeli Minister of Defense Benny Gantz (L) stand at attention during the playing of the Israeli national anthem at an arrival ceremony at the Pentagon June 3, 2021 in Arlington, Virginia.

Israel's Gantz meets Austin, Blinken on 'unauthorized' Washington visit

The Biden administration is sending a signal to Netanyahu by leveraging its longstanding ties with Gantz, as it seeks to close the gap with Israeli leadership over its approach to its war in Gaza.

Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan speaks during a press conference at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Venezuela in Caracas on Feb. 24, 2024.

Turkey’s Fidan to meet Blinken in Washington as US ties strengthen

Hakan Fidan's meeting with Blinken comes on the heels of his meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at the Antalya Diplomatic Forum.

Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani greets Secretary of State Antony Blinken (R) in the Treaty Room of the State Department on March 5, 2024 in Washington, DC.

Gaza truce talks loom large as Qatar's PM visits US

Strategic talks on the US-Qatari relationship are underway as Doha and Washington race to get a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip.

GIL COHEN-MAGEN/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey detains seven Mossad suspects as ties with Israel fray

Among the detainees is a former Turkish officer, according to local reports.

Benny Gantz, a member of Israel’s war cabinet, talks to the media after a meeting with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) at the US Capitol, Washington, March 4, 2024.

Analysis

Netanyahu fumes as Gantz welcomed to US

The visit by Minister Benny Gantz, a member of Israel's war cabinet, to Washington was not an initiative of the Biden administration, but the White House was only too happy to host him.

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

In this handout photo provided by the Palestinian Press Office (PPO), Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (L) meets with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on January 12, 2015 in Ankara, Turkey (Photo by Thaer Ghanaim/PPO via Getty Images)

Abbas in Turkey: Gaza aid, Hamas-Fatah reconciliation on agenda with Erdogan

Analysts believe the pair also discussed post-cease-fire scenarios in Gaza.

Turkish presidential spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin.

Turkey spy chief Kalin to meet CIA’s Burns, discuss Syria on first US visit

In addition to bilateral ties, the Gaza and Russia-Ukraine wars will top the agenda of the Turkish intelligence chief’s meetings with his US counterpart and other US officials.

An Iranian woman walks through a flooded road on Jan. 13, 2020.

Floods devastate Iran’s Baluchistan as losses exceed $40 million

Iran has been hit with severe flooding and significant drought in recent years, and the government has been accused of mismanaging the crises.

US special envoy Amos Hochstein (C) arrives to a meeting with Lebanon's Prime Minister Najib Mikati, amid continuing tenions on the Lebanese-Israeli border, one month after the start of the war between Hamas and Israel, Beirut, Lebanon, Nov. 7, 2023.

Amos Hochstein arrives in Lebanon as Hezbollah-Israel escalation threatens war

Hochstein’s visit comes as the US seeks an end to the fighting along the Lebanese-Israeli border in parallel with a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip.