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

politics and security cover image

Politics & Security

Turkey’s main opposition Republican People's Party's (CHP) Ousted party leader Ozgur Ozel waves to supporters from atop a police water cannon vehicle after being forcibly evicted by police from his party’s headquarters on May 24, 2026 in Ankara, Turkey.

Top ally of Turkey’s Erdogan backs state funding for Ozel’s breakaway party

Devlet Bahceli’s suggestion exposes a more nuanced position within the country’s governing alliance over the ongoing legal crackdown against Turkey’s main opposition.

David's Sling.

Explainer

As Turkey rivalry heats up, Greece to acquire $4B Israeli air defense system

The Greek defense minister said that the air defense system will be operational within 35 months.

Iranian Presidential Office / AFP via Getty Images

Iraq deepens Iran ties days after US investment push

The Iraqi premier visited Tehran shortly after his trip to Washington for talks focusing on economic cooperation and plans to develop a cross-border railway network.

Latest News

Dozens killed in Yemen clashes as Houthis escalate threats against Saudi Arabia

Mohammed HUWAIS / AFP via Getty Images

Trump says Saudi nuclear deal 'totally subject' to Israel normalization

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Turkey to begin surveys for planned northern Cyprus gas pipeline

Turkey's servicemen stand at attention on a Turkish submarine as they participate in the live-fire phase of the Blue Homeland 2026 tactical military exercises in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, in Antalya on April 9, 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

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men bake Matzoth (unleavened bread) at a bakery in the central Israeli city of Beit Shemesh, on April 11, 2022. Religious Jews eat Matzoth during Pesach holiday (Passover). According to biblical narrative, due to the haste with which the Jews left the land of Egypt, the bread prepared for the journey did not have time to rise. To commemorate their ancestors' plight, religious Jews do not eat leavened food products throughout Passover. MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Israel’s ultra-Orthodox seek to prohibit Passover non-Kosher food in hospitals

Back in the coalition and in greater force, ultra-Orthodox parliamentarians exploit their political clout to advance religious legislation.

Mazal Mualem

By Mazal Mualem

In Tel Aviv, reporting on politics

A picture taken from the east Jerusalem Palestinian Shuafat refugee camp shows a view of the settlement of Pisgat Zeev (C), in the northern part of Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, and the Palestinian area of al-Ram in the occupied West Bank (background), Feb. 23, 2023.

Israel's Netanyahu government advances settlement expansion

Israel's High Planning Committee advances plans approved by the government Feb. 12 for thousands of new housing units in West Bank settlements.

Russian fighters

Iran is seeking billions in arms deals from Russia, White House says

Moscow may send Iran fighter aircraft as Pentagon officials warn the tactical relationship could evolve into strategic cooperation.

Russia / Mideast

Turkey quake refugee

A Syrian exodus: Some 30,000 refugees return home after Turkey's earthquake

The UN's refugee agency stresses that Syrian refugees who visit their homeland can return to Turkey later.

Israeli Prime Minister and Defense Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a statement to the media on the Iranian nuclear issue at the Foreign Ministry, Jerusalem, Sept. 9, 2019.

Israel steps up military planning against Iran’s nuclear program

Recent reports on Iran accelerating its uranium enrichment are pushing Israeli leaders to inspect concrete plans.

DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP via Getty Images

Ukraine war at year 1: Turkey's balancing act succeeds, but game far from over

Despite his diplomatic gains over the past year, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's cautious dance between Ukraine and Russia can't be declared a success quite yet.

SYLVIE LANTEAUME/AFP via Getty Images

US transfers Pakistani brothers from Guantanamo Bay

Abdul Rahim Ghulam Rabbani and Mohammed Ahmed Ghulam Rabbani are being repatriated after nearly two decades in the US military prison. Their departure brings the remaining number of detainees at Guantanamo Bay to 32.

Washington Pulse

A Russian Tupolev Tu-160 strategic bomber and Su-35S fighter jets fly in formation during the Victory Day military parade, Moscow, Russia, May 9, 2021.

Ukraine war at year 1: Russia-Iran alignment threatens delicate Middle East balance

US officials say Russia's invasion of Ukraine has given Iran a chance to hone its drone warfare skills while potentially expanding its proxies' footprint in Syria, risking escalation with Israel.

People lay flowers at a makeshift memorial for the victims of the Nov. 13 explosion at the busy shopping street of Istiklal, Istanbul, Turkey, Nov. 14, 2022.

Turkey says it killed major Istanbul bombing suspect in Syria drone strike

The drone strike came a week after a Turkish prosecutor indicted 36 suspects including a top Syrian Kurdish commander, over their alleged links to the bombing attack in 2022.

Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (L) answers journalists' questions with Iceland's Foreign Minister Thordis Kolbrun Reykfjord Gylfadottir (R), during a special session of the UN Human Rights Council on the situation in Iran, at the United Nations, Geneva, Switzerland, Nov. 24, 2022.

Analysis

As Germany's relations sour with Iran, pressure grows on Berlin to do more

Activists in Germany are doubtful whether the expulsion of two Iranian diplomats will thwart the death sentence of German-Iranian national Jamshid Sharmahd.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

A ship docks in the port Lebanon's second city Tripoli, on the Mediterranean coast, on Aug. 22, 2022.

Mediterranean Sea change: Ukraine war upsets Middle East status quo

Emboldened by the independent foreign policies of Western allies Israel and Turkey, more countries in the region are weighing where their own interests lie.

Karaj

Iran claims 'military exercises' behind Karaj explosions, gunfire

Iranian state media said there was a military training exercise in the area, near the city of Karaj. The news follows an Iranian attack on an Israeli-linked ship and a suspected Israeli attack on an Iranian factory.