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

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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

Blinken Israel

Israel needs 'clear plan' to protect Gaza civilians, Blinken says

The top US diplomat said Israel must take steps to protect civilians in southern Gaza once the fighting resumes, including creating safe zones.

An Israeli soldier walks next to an armed APC (Armed Personnel Carrier) in southern Israel near the border with the Gaza Strip on November 30, 2023, as a truce between Israel and Hamas enters its seventh day. A truce between Israel and Hamas was extended on November 30 just before it was due to expire, the two sides announced, with mediator Qatar reporting it would continue for one day under the same conditions that saw hostages released in exchange for prisoners. (Photo by GIL COHEN-MAGEN / AFP) (Photo by

How the Israel-Hamas war is impacting Middle East economies, from energy to arm sales

Smoke billows following Israeli artillery bombing on the outskirts of the Lebanese border village of Aita al-Shaab, from an Israeli military position overlooking the area, Oct. 9, 2023.

What is behind return of Israel-Lebanon border tension after brief pause?

Exchanges of fire come one day after the Lebanese government approves financial compensation for residents affected by the hostilities.

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Yossi Beilin (L) after meeting in Gaza City 06 September 1999.

Yossi Beilin, Israel’s Oslo architect: Gaza war shattered Netanyahu’s hopes for Arab normalization

Former politician and architect of the Oslo Accords Yossi Beilin says that the only feasible solution for future governance of Gaza would be an international consortium led by the United Nations or the Arab League.

COP27 and COP28 presidents

COP28 opens in UAE amid intense scrutiny over fossil fuel links

A breakthrough was made on the first day of the UN climate summit as world leaders established a loss and damage fund to help developing countries adapt to climate change.

United Arab Emirates

Newly release Israeli hostages sit among soldiers as they arrive inside a vehicle at Ofakim army base in southern Israel early on Nov. 30, 2023, after being freed from the Gaza Strip following the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel by the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

American among hostages freed on 6th day of Gaza truce

Hamas released 16 hostages, including dual Israeli-American citizen Liat Beinin Atzili, as talks continued over extending the truce.

Senate Democrats

Democrats split on conditioning Israel aid ahead of war’s next phase

Some Senate Democrats have floated conditions on Israel's future military assistance after President Joe Biden said attaching strings was a "worthwhile thought."

Amberin and Fabrice webinar

The Israel-Hamas war: A view from Iraq and Syria

Join a live Q&A webinar with Amberin Zaman and Fabrice Balanche on Friday, Dec. 1 at 11 am ET (Pro members only).

USS Eisenhower

US Navy shoots down Iran-made drone fired from Yemen

The shooting follows a separate incident in the Persian Gulf in which an Iranian drone came within 1,500 yards of the USS Eisenhower aircraft carrier.

A child mourns over the body of one of five people killed in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin during an overnight Israeli incursion, at the morgue of a hospital on November 26, 2023. Five people were killed by Israeli army fire in Jenin, the Palestinian health ministry said, during an incursion by a large number of armoured vehicles into the city, which was recently the scene of the deadliest Israeli raid in the West Bank in almost 20 years. (Photo by Zain JAAFAR / AFP) (Photo by ZAIN JAAFAR/AFP via Get

Two Palestinian children killed in Israeli raid in Jenin as West Bank tensions soar

The truce between Israel and Hamas in Gaza has not calmed the situation in the West Bank with at least 240 Palestinians killed since Oct. 7.

Israel Inon

Meet Israeli activist Maoz Inon, who lost his parents in Hamas attack, now calls for peace

Having lost both his parents at the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, Maoz Inon calls on the government to take responsibility for the divide within the Israeli society, which had weakened the country, and for what happened that terrible day.

ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images

Calling him 'butcher of Gaza,' Turkey's Erdogan unloads on Netanyahu

Erdogan also said hopes for a permanent cease-fire between Israel and Hamas have been dampened.