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

politics and security cover image

Politics & Security

Fighters supporting the Aden-based, internationally recognized Yemeni government gather during a vigil along the Red Sea shore in Khokha, in Yemen's western Hodeidah province, on July 20, 2026.

Analysis

How Saudi Arabia seeks to contain Yemen's Houthis without provoking Iran

Riyadh is balancing pressure on the Houthis with efforts to keep Iran from widening the conflict, as attacks threaten Saudi energy exports through the Red Sea.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

El Alamein International Airshow

Turkey’s defense giants court Egypt at Alamein Airshow: What to know

Three leading Turkish defense companies are participating in the El Alamein Airshow as Ankara seeks new sales and closer military-industrial cooperation with Egypt.

Chaim Goldberg / AFP via Getty Images

Netanyahu threatens to sue Haaretz for reporting UAE warned Israel of Oct. 7 attack

The Emirati president reportedly warned that a planned attack could cause bloodshed, destabilize the region and threaten the Abraham Accords.

Two women stand before graffiti on the cemetery wall for victims of the chemical massacre, on Aug. 21, 2025 in Zamalka, Syria.

UN watchdog formally ends probe into Assad-era nuclear sites

The vote follows last month's visit by international inspectors to two suspected former nuclear sites in Syria.

Latest News

Iran's IRGC set to declare new ‘sanctions zone’ beyond Hormuz: What to know

Elke Scholiers/Getty Images

Majority of Palestinians lose trust in Hamas and Fatah, new poll finds

Palestinians hold up the green Hamas flag during a protest by supporters of both the Fatah and Hamas movements, as they rally in support of the Palestinian people following Friday noon prayers in Hebron, occupied West Bank, Nov. 3, 2023.

US strikes Iranian tankers after attempted attack on Navy ship

Vessels transit the Hormuz Strait off the coast of Iran's southern port city of Bandar Abbas on September 7, 2026. Iran's top negotiator threatened on September 6 of a more forceful response to any further US attacks after Tehran targeted American warships in their latest round of clashes. The exchanges of fire, which began with US raids last week, come amid a deadlock in the six-month war between the two foes. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP via Getty Images) /

Analysis

What Houthi setbacks in Yemen mean for Iran's regional influence

Forces loyal to Yemen's Saudi-backed government

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

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

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan looks on during a joint press conference with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov (not pictured) after their meeting in Ankara, Turkey on July 31, 2023. (Photo by Adem ALTAN / AFP) (Photo by ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Turkey FM to discuss alternatives to Black Sea grain deal in Ukraine

Turkey's foreign minister will stop in Ukraine Aug. 25 to discuss options for shipping Ukrainian grain amid the deadlock with Russia.

A truck drives on a road as a plume of smoke rises from a building during a reported Russian airstrike on Syria.

Russian airstrikes target Hayat Tahrir al-Sham in Syria

The al-Qaeda offshoot is focused on defending its territory from Russian-backed Syrian government forces, but it has also clashed with the Islamic State recently.

KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images

Egypt releases journalist detained over reporting on Zambia plane seizure

A reporter for a local fact-checking site is the latest Egyptian journalist to be arrested over the weekend.

A UN vehicle parks in Pyla village, which lies between the internationally recognised Republic of Cyprus and the Turkish-occupied north, on Aug. 20, 2023.

Russia benefits from Turkey’s tiff with UN, NATO allies over Cyprus village

The UN Security Council will discuss an incident in the Cypriot border village of Pyla, where Turkish Cypriot security forces are accused of manhandling UN peacekeepers over a controversial road project.

Eilat coral

Israeli environmental report warns of threats to Eilat coral reef

Following an alarming report by the Ministry of Environmental Protection, Israeli environmentalists are calling for tighter limits on oil shipping in the Gulf of Eilat.

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of the Sixth Summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) in Astana on Oct. 13, 2022.

Explainer: What's going on between Russia and Turkey amid Black Sea escalation

Ankara’s avoidance of a public confrontation with Moscow reflects its determination to maintain a balancing act between Russia and the West.

Iran's "Fattah" missile.

Iran claims to have produced key engine for supersonic missile tech

The announcement was the latest in a chain of advancements Iran has claimed in its missile technology in defiance of Western criticism and amid regional tensions.

Getty images

Families of Israel’s missing Yemeni babies continue search for truth

The families of Yemeni babies and toddlers who disappeared 70 years ago are still fighting for justice.

A medic works at a laboratory at the Nablus hospital, run by Doctors Without Borders (MSF), in Iraq's northern city of Mosul on Dec. 16, 2021.

Iraq's war-battered cities grapple with rising resistance to antibiotics

Six years after the liberation of Mosul from the Islamic State, the city battles a silent enemy: abnormally high rates of multidrug-resistant infections. It's a phenomenon fueled by decades of war that poses a massive threat to global health.

President Joe Biden speaks at the George E. Wahlen Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center on Aug. 10, 2023 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Analysis

Is Biden’s reset on Iran paying off?

Republicans say no; four benchmark dates to watch.

Week in Review

Andrew Parasiliti

By Week in Review , Andrew Parasiliti

Peacekeepers look on from the UN65 Checkpoint of the United Nations Buffer Zone opposite the Roman Catholic Church of the Holy Cross in the divided old walled city of Cyprus' capital Nicosia where the Pope will hold an ecumenical prayer with migrants, on Dec. 3, 2021.

Tensions in Cyprus amid Turkish Cypriot plans to build controversial road

The rare confrontation between United Nations peacekeepers and Turkish Cypriot security forces rattled the ethnically divided island, which is home to one of Europe’s oldest frozen conflicts.

A woman walks in front of a mural painting depicting the Iranian flag, in the capital Tehran on August 6, 2018.

Republican senators claim 'dangerous precedent' set by Iran prisoner deal

Some Republicans call the deal a "ransom payment," but US officials say Iran could only access its frozen funds for humanitarian purchases under tight supervision.