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Politics & Security

Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler and his Egyptian counterpart, Lt. Gen. Ashraf Salem Zaher, met at the Turkey’s Defense Ministry in Ankara, July 13, 2026.

Turkey, Egypt expand military ties with cooperation frameworks: What to know

Increasing defense cooperation between Ankara and Cairo comes as Turkey seeks to offset the expanding Greek-Cypriot-Israeli alignment in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Mohammed HUWAIS / AFP via Getty Images

Yemen’s Houthis accuse Saudi Arabia of striking Sanaa airport: What to know

The Yemeni government claimed that its armed forces struck the Sanaa International Airport to prevent an Iranian plane from landing, while the Houthis accused the government's ally, Saudi Arabia, of carrying out the strikes.

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi at a Council of Ministers meeting in Baghdad on July 11, 2026.

Analysis

On first foreign trip, Iraqi PM Zaidi woos Trump but Iran casts long shadow

Iraq's new prime minister is in Washington promising business deals and closer ties with the United States, but convincing the Trump administration he can rein in Iran-backed militias may prove his toughest challenge.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

U.S. President Donald Trump returns to Joint Base Andrews on July 09, 2026 in Washington, DC. Trump, switched from the old Air Force One to the new Air Force One while stopping in the U.K. at RAF Mildenhall Air Force Base was returning from his visit to Ankara, Turkey where he attended the NATO summit. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Trump says US to resume naval blockade of Iran's ports

President Donald Trump countered Iran's attempts to collect tolls on shipping via the Strait of Hormuz by announcing the US would do so at a rate of 20% for all cargo transiting the waterway.

Latest News

Analysis

From S-400s to SAMP/T: Turkey’s defense pivot gathers pace after NATO summit

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer (L) and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pose after signing a defense partnership agreement on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, Wednesday, July 8, 2026.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Explainer

China expands Sudan footprint through ports, debt relief, mining

BEIJING, CHINA - MAY 14: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) shake hands with Omar Seddik, Sudan's newly appointed foreign minister before their meeting during the China-CELAC Forum at Diaoyutai State Guest House on May 14, 2025 in Beijing, China. The summit includes China's key Latin American trade partners, and comes as Beijing and Washington work on defusing a trade war. (Photo by Florence Lo - Pool/Getty Images)

Analysis

Why Iran is making infrastructure next front in Mideast conflict

A view of the B1 bridge is pictured, a day after it was destroyed by a strike in Karaj, around 20miles (35kms) southwest of Tehran, April 3, 2026.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

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

Lana Nusseibeh speaks during a UN Security Council meeting on the Israel-Hamas war at the United Nations headquarters on Nov. 22, 2023.

Analysis

International law 'cannot be a la carte': UAE, Saudi and Egypt scold Israel at ICJ

The presentations at The Hague could further the rift between Israel and the Arab world amid the Gaza war and efforts to expand normalization, though countries in the region are still interested in maintaining relations with Tel Aviv.

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

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

Eleven lions have been moved from the Sudan conflict zone to a sanctuary in South Africa.

Lions traumatized by Sudan war find safe haven in South African sanctuary

The war has not only created a devastating humanitarian crisis, but it has also impacted the welfare of wildlife in Sudan.

Turkish Ambassador to the United Nations Sedat Onal speaks during the 10th Emergency Special Session (resumed) 39th plenary meeting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at the United Nations, in New York, on October 27, 2023. Thousands of civilians, both Palestinians and Israelis, have died since October 7, 2023, after Palestinian Hamas militants based in the Gaza Strip entered southern Israel in an unprecedented attack triggering a war declared by Israel on Hamas with retaliatory bombings on Gaza. (Photo by

Meet Sedat Onal, veteran diplomat named Turkey’s new ambassador to US

Analysts argue Onal's appointment is also an indication of increasing influence for the country's top diplomat, Hakan Fidan.

Kaan

Turkey’s fifth-generation fighter jet Kaan completes maiden flight

Kaan's 13-minute flight, at an altitude of 8,000 feet and a speed of 230 knots, is being hailed as a milestone in Turkey’s efforts to maximize self-sufficiency in the defense sector.

People check the damage on a building reportedly hit in an Israeli air strike in the Kafr Sousa district of the Syrian capital Damascus on February 21, 2024. At least two people were killed on February 21 in an Israeli attack on Damascus, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and Syrian state media.

Syria says Israel behind multiple attacks in Damascus, at least 3 killed

The strikes occurred in a district close to housing state security agencies.

BERLIN, GERMANY - DECEMBER 4: Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva speaks during a press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at Chancellory on December 4, 2023 in Berlin, Germany. The German and Brazilian governments are holding consultations today in Berlin. (Photo by Carsten Koall/Getty Images)

Will Israel-Brazil row escalate as envoys recalled over Lula's Hitler comments?

Both Israel and Brazil are still recoiling after Brazilian President Luiz Ignazio Lula da Silva likened Israel's actions during the Gaza war to the Nazi regime.

Dr Richard Brennan WHO in Gaza

WHO official: 'Never seen anything like' Rafah crisis in 30-year career

Richard Brennan, regional emergency director of the World Health Organization, told Al-Monitor that only three fully functioning hospitals are serving Gaza's population of 2.3 million people.

Greg Nash/Getty Images

Sen. Coons to visit Lebanon amid Israel-Hezbollah clashes, leadership crisis

Democratic Senator Chris Coons is headed for Beirut in what some observers comment is a show of US support for Lebanon at a time of ongoing crisis.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses a meeting of provincial election officials at the headquarters of his ruling Justice and Development Party in front of giant portraits of himself and Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey, Ankara, Jan. 29, 2019.

Turkish lawyer detained over Sharia comments as Islamist-secularist debate flares

In the run-up to nationwide municipal elections, the arrest of the lawyer for her comments has provoked a fresh maelstrom over the role of religion in public life.

TOPSHOT - Muslims celebrate in front of the Dome of the Rock mosque after the morning Eid al-Fitr prayer, which marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, at the Al-Aqsa mosques compound in Old Jerusalem early on May 2, 2022. (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP) (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Can Netanyahu stop Ben-Gvir from restricting Al-Aqsa access during Ramadan?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu caved in part to the demands of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir despite warnings by the security establishment against the appearance of an attack on religion.

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

ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images

US vetoes Gaza cease-fire resolution at UN Security Council

The United States blocked a Security Council resolution demanding “an immediate cease-fire” between Israel and Hamas but offered its own draft calling for a “temporary” one.

This picture shows a general view of Lebanon's port city of Tripoli on April 26, 2023. A crushing economic crisis in Lebanon has impelled members of the security forces to take on side hustles to get by, raising concerns about security in the eastern Mediterranean country. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP) (Photo by ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images)

Nearly 1,000 buildings in Tripoli, Lebanon are at risk of collapse: Amnesty

Amnesty International has denounced the local Tripoli government’s lack of action to protect residents who have been living in unsafe buildings since last year’s earthquake.