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

politics and security cover image

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

Jabalia

Global outcry grows after Israeli strikes on Gaza's Jabalia refugee camp

Continued attacks with disproportionate toll on civilians draw international condemnation of Israel's war effort.

An undated image of Patrick Dai.

Who is Cornell University student Patrick Dai, accused of threatening Jews

Patrick Dai, whose parents say he suffers from depression, was arrested for allegedly threatening to kill Jews at the school in New York state as antisemitic incidents rise amid the Israel-Hamas war.

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (R) meets with exiled leader of the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement Khaled Meshaal.

Iran urges sanctions on Israel, says Hamas ready for more 'surprise' attacks

Iran's leader censured the West for supporting Israel, while the country's foreign minister warned that more militant "surprise" attacks were in the offing should Israel refuse to halt Gaza bombardments.

Iran Turkey FMs

Turkey, Iran FMs warn over Israel's expansion of Gaza war, disagree on oil boycott

As Turkey and Iran are signaling unity on joint warnings over expansion of the Israel-Hamas war, Tehran’s call for a boycott against Israel has not been echoed in Ankara.

US Air Force via Getty Images

US deploys B-1B bombers to Turkey for 'long-planned' exercise amid Gaza war

The Pentagon's show of force came as Iran's top diplomat visited Ankara amid threats by Tehran and its proxies to pile on Israel's war in the Gaza Strip.

The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says the unrelenting retaliatory Israeli bombardment has killed more than 8,000 people

Day 24 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Monday, Oct. 30

A Navy member of the Quick Acting Response Team scans the horizon as he protects the USS Whidbey Island and the USS Bataan.

Day 26 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Wednesday, Nov. 1

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia arrives at the formal welcome ceremony to mark the beginning of the G20 Summit on November 15, 2022 in Nusa Dua, Indonesia. The G20 meetings are being held in Bali from November 15-16. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images,)

Saudi's GCC-ASEAN summit: Toward an Asia minus China collective strategy

The GCC and ASEAN nations find themselves sharing more strategic commonalities amid the current era of deglobalization, geopolitical instability and economic uncertainties.

Palestinians search for survivors in the rubble of a building in the Nuseirat refugee camp, in the central Gaza Strip on October 31, 2023, amid relentless Israeli bombardment of the Palestinian enclave. Thousands of civilians, both Palestinians and Israelis, have died since October 7, 2023, after Palestinian Hamas militants based in the Gaza Strip entered southern Israel in an unprecedented attack triggering a war declared by Israel on Hamas with retaliatory bombings on Gaza. (Photo by Mahmud HAMS / AFP) (P

'Total blindness': Gaza paramedics recount horror during Israel's blackout

Gazans recount the 34 hours of internet and communications blackout during intense Israeli bombardment cutting off the enclave from the rest of the world.

Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian speaks during a joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart in Tehran on Sept. 3, 2023.

Iran’s FM heads to Turkey as Erdogan slams 'Israel's barbarity'

The Turkish Foreign Ministry has announced that Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian will pay an official visit to Turkey on Wednesday.

Israeli army soldiers gather by three tracked medical vehicles near the northern town of Kiryat Shmona close to the border with Lebanon, Oct. 31, 2023.

Analysis

Israel deepens Gaza incursion, seeks to pressure Hamas leaders Deif, Sinwar

The Israeli army is taking its time, choosing a slow-rolling ground operation instead of a massive armory entry.

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

Kharaz

West Bank death toll exceeds 120 as US warns Israel over settler violence

Over 120 Palestinians in the West Bank have been killed amid raids by the Israeli army and settler attacks since Oct. 7.