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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

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

ROBIN VAN LONKHUIJSEN/ANP/AFP via Getty Images

ICJ to host hearing on Israel's Rafah operation

The International Court of Justice will conduct hearings this Thursday and Friday to discuss a new request by South Africa to order Israel to stop its Rafah operation.

A United Nations vehicle drives by as Palestinian girls share a food ration in Rafah, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, Gaza Strip, March 31, 2024.

HRW says Israel launched 8 airstrikes on aid workers in Gaza

The report comes amid outrage following the killing of a foreign UN worker in Israeli fire on an aid convoy in Rafah.

An Israeli army battle tank takes a position in southern Israel near the border with the Gaza Strip on May 13, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict in the Palestinian territory between Israel and the Hamas movement.

Israel unlikely to achieve 'total victory' over Hamas, US official says

Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said the United States and Israel are “struggling over what the theory of victory is” in the Palestinian enclave.

Protesters gather as a man holds up a sign demanding that soldiers from the United States Army leave Niger without negotiation during a demonstration in Niamey, on April 13, 2024.

Pentagon delegation heading to Niger to discuss US withdrawal

Hopes have faded in Washington that the roughly 1,100 American troops based at a remote drone base in central Niger will be allowed to remain in the country.

AL-MONITOR Staff

By AL-MONITOR Staff

A man films with his phone a damaged trailer truck that was carrying humanitarian aid supplies.

Israeli settlers attack aid convoy of 98 trucks heading to Gaza from Jordan

Israeli settlers have repeatedly attacked and vandalized aid trucks heading to the Gaza Strip, where the humanitarian situation is quickly deteriorating.

The Pentagon is seen from a flight taking off from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on November 29, 2022, in Arlington, Virginia.

Pentagon intelligence officer resigned over US support for war in Gaza

US Army Maj. Harrison Mann is the first Defense Department official to have publicly linked his resignation to US support for Israel's war in Gaza war.

This handout photograph taken and released by the Turkish Presidency Press Service on May 13, 2024 shows Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (L) and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan posing before a meeting in Ankara.

Erdogan rebukes Greek PM for calling Hamas ‘terrorists,’ says 1,000+ members being treated in Turkey

Erdogan’s comments came after the Greek prime minister told the news conference that “particularly in the Middle East there are differences with Turkey.”

AFP via Getty Images

Israel ramps up attacks on northern Gaza as 60,000 flee Rafah

As the Israeli military expanded its operation in Rafah, the government faced strident criticism over its failures on and since Oct. 7 at Memorial Day observances around the country.