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Politics & Security

US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York, speaks during a press conference

Explainer

Who will lead Congress? Democrats weigh Schumer alternatives, Jeffries bid

A number of contenders have emerged as challengers to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, including strong critics of the Iran war and US support to Israel.

Tump

Can Trump turn midterm defeat into Iran breakthrough?

Although Iran may have contributed to Republican losses in midterms, the Trump administration still has a historic opportunity in the Middle East.

Manon Roca / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images

Lebanon files charges against 2 Hezbollah members as UNIFIL prepares to withdraw

The move comes amid growing security concerns in the south less than two months before the UNIFIL mandate expires.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses Turkish members of parliament during the opening of the parliamentary session at the Grand National Assembly of Turkey in Ankara, on Oct. 1, 2026.

Turkey’s parliament ratifies Mecca pact in boost to Saudi Arabia

Turkey will now decide the scope of military support for Saudi Arabia amid ongoing Iran-backed Houthi attacks on the kingdom.

Latest News

Explainer

Arab parties' backing gives Eisenkot edge over Netanyahu for PM: What to know

Tomer Neuberg / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images

Massie renews Hegseth impeachment push as GOP blames Iran war for midterm losses

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth testifies during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill, on July 21, 2026, in Washington.

Jared Szuba

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

Can Erdogan’s Baku visit fix Turkey-Azerbaijan rift?

TOFIK BABAYEV/AFP via Getty Images

Russia to provide Iran with 90 missile launchers as military ties grow: Reports

Russian Mil Mi-8 military helicopters fly over a joint Russian and Turkish convoy, northeastern Hasakeh province, Syria, Feb. 4, 2021.

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

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) calls on the Senate to take up the Israel Security Assistance Support Act during a news conference.

House passes bill to force Biden to lift bomb shipment pause to Israel

A bill that would mandate sending military aid to Israel passed with the support of 16 Democrats, but Biden is expected to veto it.

Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich walks with soldiers during a visit to Kibbutz Kfar Aza near the border with the Gaza Strip on Nov. 14, 2023, in the aftermath of an attack by Palestinian militants on Oct. 7.

Israel's Smotrich will abolish free trade deal with Turkey, slap 100% tariff

As Israel becomes increasingly isolated internationally, the army stated that two Thai workers, presumed kidnapped by Hamas, were actually killed by the group on Oct. 7.

A boy waves a flag of jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan as tens of thousands of Kurds gather during a rally of the DTP.

Turkey hands Kurdish leaders heavy sentences, dimming hopes of democratic change

Selahattin Demirtas, co-leader of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), and others were sentenced to a combined 375 years in Turkish prisons. Demirtas has remained in prison since 2016.

South African professor of International Law John Dugard and South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandor (R) arrive at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) prior to the verdict announcement in the genocide case against Israel, brought by South Africa, in The Hague on January 26, 2024. The top UN court said Israel should do everything it could to prevent any acts of genocide in the Gaza Strip, in a highly anticipated ruling. Israel must do everything to "prevent the co

South Africa calls on ICJ to end 'Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza'

South Africa claims that Israel did not fulfill provisional measures issued by the ICJ to prevent genocidal acts against Palestinians in Gaza.

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.