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

politics and security cover image

Politics & Security

Eisenkot - Netanyahu

Analysis

How Netanyahu is trying to discredit Arab parties in bid to block Eisenkot

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking to discredit the Arab parties' unprecedented electoral breakthrough by casting their victory as illegitimate.

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

Mohammed Mir / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images

Syria flash floods kill at least 5, force hundreds of families from camps

Heavy rain and flash floods left five people dead, including four children, and forced some 375 families to flee displacement camps in Syria’s Raqqa province.

A general view shows the Awad oil field in the eastern Qamishli countryside in northeastern Syria, on Feb. 15, 2026.

Interview

US oil firm HKN aims to double output in Syria's formerly Kurdish-run fields

HKN Vice President Matthew Zais tells Al-Monitor the company plans to double production at Syria’s northeastern oil fields while tackling pollution, as questions remain over the future of the Kurdish-run Jazira Oil Company.

Matthew Zais

Matthew Zais

HKN vice president for government affairs

US President Donald Trump walks on stage

Analysis

Mediators scramble to avert US-Iran fighting after Trump's midterm restraint fades

Tehran has little incentive to make concessions that the Trump administration could tout as a win before next week’s election.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

Latest News

Explainer

How Israel’s Arab parties could help oust Netanyahu after election gains

Yousef Jabareen, leader of Israel's Arab-led Joint List political alliance (C-L), and other members cheer at the alliance's campaign headquarters in the northern Israeli city of Nazareth on Oct. 27, 2026.

Egypt’s Sisi, Putin meet as Russia steps up Africa push: What to know

Russian President Vladimir Putin greets Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi during a welcoming ceremony for participants of the Russia-Africa summit at the Grand Kremlin Palace in central Moscow, on Oct. 28, 2026.

Iraq's Zaidi meets Sharaa on first Syria visit: What to know

Zaidi

Russian satellite data helped Yemen’s Houthis target Saudi Arabia: What to know

Security forces stand guard in front of a banner showing the Kaaba during a protest by supporters of the Houthi authorities against the Saudi intervention in Yemen and against Saudi Arabia's recent accusation that the Houthis fired at the holy city of Mecca, in Sanaa on Sept. 18, 2026.

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

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Explainer

Bombed sites, missing uranium: How Trump’s Iran deal hinges on inspector access

Iran's long record of obstructing the UN's nuclear watchdog raises questions about how much access it would grant in a future deal.

Speaker of the Parliament of Iran, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf (R) arrives at the Burgenstock resort in Obbuergen, near Lucerne on June 21, 2026.

Iran rejects Trump's claim frozen funds will buy US soybeans: What to know

Trump said Wednesday that the US would release “some” Iranian frozen funds and would use them to purchase corn, wheat and soybeans from American farmers.

ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images

Lebanon cancels national high school exams due to war: What to know

Lebanon has canceled its national exams for the year due to the war and ongoing hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, following weeks of pressure on the Education Ministry.

Hamed Malekpour / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images

Iran’s IRGC warns against using 'highly dangerous' Hormuz route: What to know

Tehran is warning that Oman's temporary routes will not guarantee safe passage through the key waterway.

Commander of US Central Command (CENTCOM) Navy Adm. Brad Cooper testifies during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on May 14, 2026, in Washington.

CENTCOM commander heads to Israel, Gulf as Lebanon talks stall

Israel's top defense official said his country would not withdraw from Lebanon despite diplomatic pressure from Washington as it seeks rapprochement with Iran.

Jared Szuba

In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military

Congressional candidate Claire Valdez, Congressional candidate Brad Lander, Mayor Zohran Mamdani, and Congressional candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier raise their hands during a Get Out the Vote (GOTV) rally at King's Theater on June 18, 2026 in New York City.

Explainer

Pro-Palestine Democrats win in NYC elections: What it means

According to a recent survey, 80% of Democrats expressed an unfavorable view of Israel, yet party leadership in the House and Senate has remained largely aligned with longstanding US support for Israel.

Defendant Wassim al-Assad appears before the Fourth Criminal Court during the opening session of his trial in Damascus on June 24, 2026.

Syria opens trial of Wassim al-Assad, cousin of ousted president: What we know

The trial follows another session in the case against Atef Najib, also a cousin of former President Bashar al-Assad, as Syrian authorities continue prosecuting figures linked to the former regime and its remnants.

Mandel NGAN / AFP via Getty Images

Trump insists no Hormuz tolls as Iran, US make conflicting claims

Iran has said it wants to charge "maritime service fees" in the Strait of Hormuz.

An Iranian man rides his motorbike past a billboard on May 28, 2026.

Analysis

Why Iran's generals are intensifying anti-US rhetoric amid negotiations

Leading figures within Iran's military and security establishment have framed the memorandum with Washington not as an end point but as a conditional arrangement tied to battlefield realities.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Demonstrators take part in a rally against the upcoming NATO Summit early July in Ankara, on June 13, 2026.

Turkey detains 233 ahead of NATO summit, including LGBTQ+ activist Yildiz Tar

The operation included alleged militant suspects as well as LGBTQ+ and leftist activists, raising concerns over the scope of the crackdown.