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Politics & Security

People wave flags of Kurdistan during a march in Erbil, Iraq, on April 21, 2026, expressing support for the unity of Iranian Kurdish parties and condemning Iranian missile strikes and military actions against Kurdish groups in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

Analysis

Why Iran's Kurdish front is becoming a growing wartime concern

A Friday Iranian strike on a Kurdish dissident base underscores Tehran's concern that its oldest internal security challenge has now become a wartime vulnerability.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Israeli police officers clash with ultra-Orthodox Jewish men during a protest against their conscription, Bnei Brak, Israel, July 16, 2024.

Analysis

How Netanyahu's bet on ultra-Orthodox exposes his vulnerability in Israel's upcoming election

The prime minister needs the support of the ultra-Orthodox, who reject mandatory conscription, if he is to have a chance at winning reelection and forming the next government.

Mazal Mualem

By Mazal Mualem

In Tel Aviv, reporting on politics

Supporters of the Iran-backed Houthi movement brandish their weapons as they rally in solidarity with Iran and Lebanon in Sanaa on April 10, 2026.

Yemen's Houthis raise Red Sea stakes for Trump

With President Donald Trump ratcheting up his threats, will Iran play its Houthi card?

Latest News

Analysis

Trump's ‘180-degree reversal’ on Lebanon, Syria leaves Netanyahu with few options before elections

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a session of the Israeli Parliament in Jerusalem on July 16, 2026, before the start of the election recess ahead of the Oct. 27 general election.

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

Iran strike damages Kuwait power, desalination plant: What to know

The sun sets behind overhead power lines in Kuwait City, June 19, 2024.

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

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.

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

Astana talks

Few signs of progress at Turkey-Syria normalization talks in Astana

Syrian president sees no need to compromise, while UN representative admits 'comprehensive solution is not doable.'

Oman's Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamood Albusaidi (R) meets with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in Muscat, on April, 25, 2023. (Photo by AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran’s FM visits Qatar, Oman as indirect talks with US see momentum

Qatar and Oman have maintained communications with Iran and Saudi Arabia, also playing a mediating role between Washington and Tehran.

Iraqi Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani (L) meets with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) in Ankara, June 20, 2023.

Erdogan, Barzani meet in Ankara as Iraqi oil exports via Turkey remain frozen

Prime Minister Masrour Barzani of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara as the deadlock continues over the exportation of Iraqi and KRG crude.

Almog Cohen (R) of the far-right Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) and right wing activists demonstrate in support of the Israeli army operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, at the Tel Aviv University campus on Jan. 30, 2023.

Knesset member threatens to 'blow up' Palestinian, Israeli orphans' summer camp

A debate at the Knesset Education Committee meeting grew heated over a summer camp for Israeli and Palestinian orphans, threatening the funding of a venerable Israeli children's institution.

An Israeli soldier gestures at the scene of an attack near the Jewish settlement of Eli.

Four Israelis killed in West Bank shooting attack

Only one day after the deadly clashes in Jenin between IDF forces and Palestinians, four Israelis were killed and four wounded in a shooting attack near the Eli West Bank settlement.

A Palestinian youth flashes the victory sign as tyre smoke billows during a protest by the border fence with Israel east of Gaza city on June 19, 2023 following an Israeli raid in the West Bank. Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank killed five Palestinians including a militant on June 19, in a raid that saw eight Israeli security personnel wounded and rare helicopter fire. (Photo by Mohammed ABED / AFP) (Photo by MOHAMMED ABED/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Israel increasingly fears West Bank chaos, rise of Hamas

According to Israel’s strategic assessment, the era after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has already started, although the Palestinian leader is still alive and still at the head of the government.

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

Turkey's newly appointed Foreign Affairs Minister Hakan Fidan delivers a speech during a handover ceremony in Ankara on June 5, 2023.

US top diplomat Blinken to meet Turkey's FM Fidan in London

The top agenda item would be Turkey’s continued objections to Sweden’s bid to join NATO, diplomatic sources told Al-Monitor.

Jenin, West Bank

Five Palestinians killed in Israel's West Bank raid as Hamas leader visits Iran

The latest violence left five Palestinians dead and wounded at least 91 more, while the Israeli army said seven of its troops were injured in the fighting.

A picture shows the beach in the town of Beit Lahia with a view of the towers of an Israeli power plant in the city of Askelon, northern Gaza Strip, Dec. 15, 2021.

Israel to work with Egypt, Palestine to develop Gaza gas field

After years of objection, Israel finally agrees to the development of the Marine undersea natural gas field, off the Gaza coast.

KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images

UAE, Qatar reopen embassies after years of political rift

The Emirati and Qatari foreign ministers held a phone call ahead of the two embassies restarting their diplomatic functions on Monday.

United Arab Emirates

JAVAD PARSA/AFP via Getty Images

NATO expansion reaches 3-way standoff between Sweden, Turkey, US

Despite some recent progress, dysfunction in US-Turkish relations and Sweden’s domestic politics are likely to keep the Swedish nation out of NATO for a little longer.

Women walk along a mural painting behind which appears a giant billboard bearing a picture of the 'Fattah' hypersonic missile, in Tehran on July 7, 2023. Iran's Revolutionary Guards unveiled an intermediate range ballistic missile on June 6 capable of travelling at hypersonic speeds of up to 15 times the speed of sound, state television reported. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

In new purge, Iran expels independent, Reformist professors

Iran's hard-line government is forcing its own critics out of universities.