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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

Iranian refugees and Iranians living in Greece wave a Kurdish flag while singing the Iranian protest song of Shervin Hajipour during a demonstration to commemorate 40 days from the death of Iranian Mahsa Amini while in police custody in Iran, in central Athens on Oct. 29, 2022.

A year since Mahsa Amini’s killing, Iran’s Kurds brace for renewed crackdown

The Kurdish twist to Iran's grassroots civic uprising cutting across ethnic, sectarian and gender lines served the regime well in its crackdown.

Biden Sisi

US to send more military aid to Egypt despite rights concerns

The Biden administration said it was in the US national security interest to release some of the funds that Congress had conditioned on Egypt making human rights progress.

Benjamin Netanyahu and Elon Musk

Analysis

Netanyahu to meet Musk, Erdogan, Zelenskyy, Biden — but no White House visit

The Israeli prime minister and the US president will most likely come face to face on the sidelines of the UN meeting in New York.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Captagon

Dubai's $1 billion Captagon bust ranks as one of world’s biggest

Sales of the highly addictive stimulant continue to fund the Syrian government, despite regional efforts to break up smuggling rings.

United Arab Emirates

ABDEL GHANI BASHIR/AFP via Getty Images

Saudi Arabia executes two soldiers convicted of 'treason'

Saudi Arabia has one of the highest execution rates in the world.

People marked the first anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amin, on September 13, 2023, London, England.

Timeline of Iran's Mahsa Amini protests and crackdown, one year on

One year after the death in custody of Mahsa Amini and the ensuing protests, Iranian authorities continue to repress all dissent, arresting and executing protesters, activists and minorities to sow fear among the population.

Amini

A year on, Mahsa Amini's death exposes divides in Iran establishment

The death of Mahsa Amini almost a year ago has had profound and enduring effects on Iranian politics and society, reconfiguring political alliances and a renewing debate over the future direction of the Islamic Republic.

A Russian helicopter flies off the coast of the Syrian port city of Tartus, July 25, 2022.

Suspected Israeli strikes in Syria hit military sites in Tartus, Hama

Several Syrian military sites were targeted in two rounds of airstrikes in Tartus and Hama, leaving at least two soldiers dead and causing material damage.

US Bahrain

Bahrain inks US deal on heels of prison hunger strike

Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa met with senior US officials in Washington following the largest prison protest in Bahrain's history.

Bahrain's Prime Minister and Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken sign a security integration and prosperity agreement at the US Department of State on September 13, 2023, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP) (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

US touts Bahrain defense agreement as model for Middle East strategy

The upgrade to US-Bahrain ties marks the latest sign of Biden's emerging Middle East strategy following the announcement of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor at the G20 summit last week.

Overturned cars lay among other debris caused by flash floods in Derna, eastern Libya, on Sept. 11, 2023.

Over 8,000 dead in Morocco earthquake, Libya floods

The two natural disasters in North Africa occurred within days of one another.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan attends a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart following their talks in Moscow on August 31, 2023. (Photo by MAXIM SHEMETOV / POOL / AFP) (Photo by MAXIM SHEMETOV/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Fidan: Turkey committed to 'understandings' on Sweden’s NATO bid

Fidan’s remarks came a few days after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan raised question marks over his country’s pending ratification of the Sweden’s accession to NATO.