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

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Politics & Security

US Vice President JD Vance speaks at the Wisconsin Air National Guard facility at Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport on July 8, 2026, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Vance says Israeli intelligence had ties to Epstein: What to know

Vice President JD Vance has grown more critical of Israel, possibly in an effort to capitalize on changing views among voters with an eye on the 2028 presidential election.

DAVOS, SWITZERLAND - JANUARY 22: U.S. President Donald Trump (C) sits in between Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan (L) and Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev during a signing ceremony for the “Board of Peace” at the World Economic Forum (WEF) on January 22, 2026 in Davos, Switzerland. The US-backed “Board of Peace” is intended to administer the fragile ceasefire in the Gaza Strip after the war between Israel and Hamas. The final makeup of the board has not been confirmed. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/G

Trump taps Russia-born investor to oversee $200M+ fund backing Armenia-Azerbaijan corridor

The appointment of Chicago-based investor Konstantin Sokolov to oversee a $200 million fund marks a new phase for Washington's proposed trade and transportation route linking Azerbaijan, Armenia and Turkey.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a cornerstone laying ceremony for the Atarot Heritage Center at an abandon airport in East Jerusalem near the separation wall with the Israeli occupied West Bank city of Ramallah on July 5, 2026.

Israeli PM Netanyahu 'will not travel' to US next week, his office says

On Wednesday, an Israeli official had told Al-Monitor that Netanyahu was planning to travel on Saturday and meet with President Donald Trump next week and attend the memorial service for Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).

Zaid AL-OBEIDI / AFP via Getty Images

Syria seizes arms shipment on Iraq border destined for Hezbollah

The operation comes as part of the Syrian authorities' efforts to curb illicit arms smuggling through its territory, namely intended for Hezbollah.

Latest News

Turkish opposition leader Ozgur Ozel could launch new party by August

Ozgu Ozel

Russian couple faces deportation from Turkey after Bible reading at Hagia Sophia

Visitors stand inside Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque in Istanbul on April 14, 2025.

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

(D-NY)

Meeks urges pause on US military aid to Egypt in wake of Menendez indictment

Rep. Gregory Meeks on Friday sought a hold on more than $200 million in Egypt's military financing over human rights concerns.

Israel's Defense Minister Benny Gantz (L) and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid attend a preliminary vote on a bill to dissolve parliament and call an early election at the Knesset, Jerusalem on June 22, 2022.

Analysis

Will Israel’s opposition back Netanyahu on Saudi peace deal?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu knows that his far-right coalition partners oppose a Saudi deal requiring concessions to the Palestinians, but can he gain the support of the opposition instead?

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

French President Emmanuel Macron (R) and Senegal's President Macky Sall (L).

Analysis

Niger, Morocco turn their backs on France as Macron withdraws troops

In the Sahel region and in North Africa, post-colonial France is rapidly losing its influence.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Poster featuring jailed businessman and philanthropist Osman Kavala.

Turkey’s appeals court upholds life sentence for Osman Kavala, four others

The trial and ensuing sentences have turned into a symbol of Turkey’s democratic backsliding and erosion of judiciary independence.

Rescue teams attend to the scene of devastation after an Iranian military plane crashed into a residential building in a heavily built-up suburb on December 6, 2005 in Tehran, Iran. A huge explosion was reported as the plane, carrying 94 people, crashed into a 10-storey block killing all on board. Many deaths are also feared on the ground after the C-130 plane encountered a technical problem shortly after take-off from Mehrabad airport. (Photo by Hossein/Getty Images)

Mysterious fire at Iran's Defense Ministry site north of Tehran

The second such fire in less than a week comes amid high tensions between the United States and Iran, though details surrounding the incident remain unclear.

US Army helicopter crew from the 101st Airborne Division prepares the Apache attack helicopter at the the Camp Udairi airfield in preparation for a mission to Iraq 20 March 2003.

US accuses Iran’s IRGC of harassing helicopter over the Gulf

The first reported tense interaction between the US Navy and Iran's naval forces comes just days after Bahraini soldiers were killed in a drone attack attributed to Yemen's Houthi rebels, who receive arms from Iran.

WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 19: Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Daniel Werfel (L) greets Senate Finance Committee members Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) (R) and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) before a hearing about the Biden Administration's proposed budget request for FY2024 and the 2023 tax filing season in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on April 19, 2023 in Washington, DC. Confirmed by the Senate in March of this year, Werfel is tasked with overseeing the IRS's $80 billion overhaul to modernize i

Sen. Cardin 'looking at options' as calls grow to block US military aid to Egypt

Sen. Ben Cardin told reporters on Thursday he expects to make a decision soon on whether to use his new authority as Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman to hold up a fraction of Egypt's annual military assistance.

China's sole aircraft carrier, the Liaoning (R), arrives in Hong Kong waters on July 7, 2017.

Saudi Arabia and China to hold joint naval training as ties deepen

With energy and business ties rapidly improving between Saudi Arabia and China, the two countries have agreed to a second joint naval exercise.

Israel, Germany sign $3.5B Arrow 3 deal

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant signed a letter of commitment in Berlin for the sale of the advanced Arrow 3 air defense system, signaling a strengthening of ties between Israel and Germany.

Refugees sit in a bus near a Red Cross registration centre in Goris, on Sept. 27, 2023.

Turkey’s Fidan holds call with Armenia’s FM amid exodus from Nagorno-Karabakh

The phone call marks the first high-level contact between Ankara and Yerevan following the Azerbaijani offensive in the Nagorno-Karabakh region last week.

General Commander of the Libyan National Army (LNA) Khalifa Hifter (L).

Why is Libya's commander Hifter visiting Russia?

The visit comes amid the aftermath of the Wagner Group’s ill-fated mutiny and the death of its leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, in Russia.

Israel's National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

Five Israelis, Palestinians charged in Iran spy plot, Shin Bet says

Israel's security service said it had foiled a plot by five Israelis and Palestinians recruited for Iran to spy on Israeli politicians, including the far-right minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.