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Politics & Security

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi is welcomed to the Saadabad Palace in Tehran by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, July 23, 2026.

Analysis

Zaidi’s test in Tehran

Week in Review

By Week in Review

YASIN AKGUL/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Iran war puts Turkey’s inflation fight, lira under fresh pressure

A prolonged Iran war is leaving Turkey's economy management caught between maintaining painful monetary tightening and cutting rates before the economy is ready.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

moke rises from a high-rise building following a drone attack in Kuwait City on March 8, 2026.

Analysis

Can Kuwait secure a Saudi-style defense pact with Pakistan?

Kuwait and other GCC states are looking to Pakistan, among other countries, for alternate security arrangements and multilayered deterrence.

Sabena Siddiqui

By Sabena Siddiqui

In Karachi, reporting on South Asia, Middle East, Iran

U.S. President Donald Trump makes an announcement on American nuclear innovation in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 24, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein

US halts strikes on Iran, sees opening for talks: What to know

A four-day lull in Iranian attacks on commercial shipping in the strait of Hormuz was seen as an opportunity to resume diplomatic talks and dial down the war, Al-Monitor’s source said.

Jared Szuba

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

Latest News

Analysis

What Iran's warning to Britain reveals about broader escalation strategy

Muntions near a B1 Bomber are seen at RAF Fairford on July 24, 2026, in Fairford, England.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Analysis

What challenges await Erdogan’s new rival and Turkey’s new opposition party?

Ozgur Ozel

Halil Karaveli

By Halil Karaveli

Analysis

Saudi nuclear deal adds new wrinkle if Iran talks resume

US President Donald Trump (L) and Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia pause for photographs along the West Wing Colonnade at the White House on Nov. 18, 2025, in Washington.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

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

Iran signs 25 deals at SCO meeting: What to know

AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP via Getty Images

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

ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey's infamous Diyarbakir prison empties for museum makeover

Diyarbakir prison, a symbol of torture and oppression for decades in Turkey, has finally closed to be made into a museum, but some activists see whitewashing on its bloodstained walls.

Leon Neal/Getty Images

Next British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's views on Middle East

The Conservative statesman has expressed fairly mainstream views on Israel, Iran and other regional issues.

Erdogan economy

Can Erdogan pull up his sagging support?

Unlike previous polls that suggest steady decrease for Erdogan and his ruling party, a recent poll shows the tide may have been turned.

Israeli settlers walk with batons as they cross a street during clashes in which Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian residents and shops in the town of Huwara, West Bank, Oct. 13, 2022.

Settler violence ramps up as Israeli elections near

Alongside growing tensions in the West Bank and clashes between Palestinians and Israeli security forces, the number of violent clashes between settlers and Palestinians keeps growing rapidly.

People walk past the Zara store in a shopping mall, Modiin, Israel, Feb. 21, 2021.

Arab Israelis boycott Zara over ties with Jewish ultranationalist

The street-initiated boycott against Zara shops in Israel demonstrates the force of the young Israeli Arab generation, seeking to bring about a change through social media.

ISIS convoy

Islamic State regains momentum in Syria's Kurdish areas

The Islamic State has launched several attacks against the Kurdish-led forces in northeast Syria amid lax security by the Syrian Democratic Forces.

Military vehicles of a joint Russian-Turkish patrol pass through the M4 highway, which links the northern Syrian provinces of Aleppo and Latakia, near Ariha in the rebel-held northwestern Idlib province, Syria, June 10, 2020.

Russia oversees Syrian forces’ military exercises in northwest Syria

Russia is testing the readiness of the Syrian government forces in their area of deployment on the outskirts of Idlib, in what some fear is a prelude to a wide-scale military operation to uproot the opposition in northwest Syria.

Turkish troops are pictured in the area of Kafr Jannah on the outskirts of the Syrian town of Afrin on Oct. 18, 2022.

Syrian jihadist group HTS, armed groups agree to uneasy truce

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham has seized several cities and towns in areas under the control of the Turkish-backed factions after days of clashes between rival factions.

This picture taken on March 7, 2021, shows a view of Egypt's new parliament headquarters, some 45 kilometers east of Cairo.

More prisoners released in Egypt ahead of national dialogue

A number of political detainees have been released in preparation for the start of a comprehensive dialogue between the government and the opposition.

Abdul Hakim al-Shishani, commander of the Ajnad al-Kavkaz group (circled in red) with a Chechen fighting unit, Oct. 15, 2022.

Chechen fighters leave Syria to battle Russians in Ukraine

Abdul Hakim al-Shishani, a veteran of the Chechen-Russian war in the 1990s and commander of the Ajnad al-Kavkaz group fighting Syrian government forces in Latakia, arrived in Ukraine with a group of Chechen fighters to battle Russian forces.

ZAIN JAAFAR/AFP via Getty Images

Israel accuses Hamas of sponsoring 'Lion's Den' group

The loosely organized Lions' Den group says Israel is trying to discredit it through association with Hamas.

West Bank

Analysis

‘Lion's Den’ sharpens West Bank conflict as Israeli elections loom

Israel’s ultra-right could boost Netanyahu; Iran returns as election issue, via Ukraine.

Week in Review

By Week in Review