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Politics & Security

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) casts his ballot, next to his wife Sara

Explainer

From Oct. 7 inquiry to blocking Netanyahu: Eisenkot's bloc maps out Knesset agenda

Israel's opposition to advance anti-Netanyahu government measures as soon as Knesset convenes Tuesday, without waiting for a new cabinet to take shape.

WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 23: U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) speaks at a press conference on China AI export controls at the U.S. Capitol on September 23, 2026 in Washington, DC. Slotkin, joined by fellow Senate Democrats, urged Senate Republican's and the Trump administration to enact stronger export controls on AI technology and computer chips to China. The Democrats also call for a vote on bipartisan export control legislation, including the AI OVERWATCH Act, the MATCH Act, and the Chip Security Act. (

Slotkin, Van Hollen emerge as potential challengers to Schumer’s Senate leadership

A growing number of Democrats are calling for new leadership in the Senate to replace Schumer, arguing that the party needs a leader who better reflects its generational and ideological shift to the left.

SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images

Massie introduces impeachment articles against Hegseth over Iran war

House Democrats are on board with voting to impeach the Pentagon chief, but it's not clear how many Republicans will break with the White House's public messaging.

This photograph shows empty fresh-food refrigerators at an Intermarche supermarket in Nevez, France, on Oct. 12, 2026, following a cyberattack that caused its refrigerators to defrost.

France blames Iran for supermarket fridge hack, seeks EU sanctions

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot on Monday blamed Iran for the October cyberattack that disabled refrigeration at supermarkets across France.

Latest News

Explainer

Iraqi PM cancels Mosul airport contracts, citing Iran militia links: What to know

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi speaks during a joint press conference with Germans chachellor at the Chancellery on September 15, 2026 in Berlin, Germany. High on the meeting's agenda is the expansion of economic cooperation between Germany and Iraq. (Photo by Michele Tantussi/Getty Images)

Trump meets Qatar PM as mediators push Iran deal

President Donald Trump (R) attends a bilateral meeting with Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani during the G7 summit, in Evian, France, on June 16, 2026.

Lebanon replaces Detroit consul expelled over 1983 Marines attack posts

Marines barracks

Iran claims IAEA held 'recent' inspection at Bushehr plant: What to know

A picture taken on Nov. 10, 2019, shows an Iranian flag at Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant.

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

Lebanon's Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh gives an interview with AFP at his office in the capital Beirut on December 20, 2021. (Photo by JOSEPH EID/AFP via Getty Images)

European investigative team in Lebanon starts probe into Riad Salameh

French Judge Aude Buresi is leading the European delegation, and was scheduled to interview at least 15 bankers and business figures in the country tied to Salameh.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu at United Nations headquarters, New York, May 18, 2022.

Turkish FM travels to Washington seeking to seal deal for F-16 fighter jets

Mevlut Cavusoglu’s meeting with Antony Blinken comes as Washington reportedly ties warplane deal to NATO expansion.

This grab taken from AFP video footage shows a member of Ukraine's military looking away as a rocket launcher fires on the outskirts of Soledar, whose fate was uncertain after Russian Wagner group claimed it controlled the town, Ukraine, Jan. 11, 2023.

Russia to expand private militaries in broader Middle East amid staffing crisis

As it wages a full-scale war in Ukraine, Russia wants to reform its army while being chronically short of security personnel, and increasingly dependent on mercenaries

DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images

Interview

Syrian Kurdish commander wants peace with Turkey, but will 'fully' resist attack

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Syrian Democratic Forces head Mazlum Kobane said he expects a Turkish attack in February, and warned Ankara should not punish Syria’s Kurds over its own failure to resolve its own domestic issues.

Mazlum Kobane

Mazlum Kobane

SDF commander in chief

OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images

Syrian refugees in Turkey watch uneasily as Erdogan warms to Assad

Syrians in Turkey are wary of losing refuge as the Turkish President eyes dialogue with Assad

Iran labor

Suicide rates on rise in Iran as economic conditions grow more dire

Amid a rapidly deteriorating economic situation in Iran, news reports says that some workers are taking their own lives due to poverty.

FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images

Fledgling Turkish-Syrian dialogue faces bumpy road ahead

Ankara and Damascus need to moderate their positions to avoid a collision in their quest for normalization.

Iraq Sadr

Iraq's Sadr indicates return to politics in public prayer session

Muqtada al-Sadr organized a public prayer on Friday, making a comeback to politics after months of silence.

F-16 jet

US working with Congress towards Turkey F-16 sale

Opposition to the sale of 40 new fighter jets remains entrenched in the Senate.

AL-MONITOR Staff

By AL-MONITOR Staff

Middle East oil

Analysis

Middle East states seek to stave off global downturn

World Bank report portends trouble for fragile economies; Saudi Arabia looks to copper; Oman invests in hydrogen; Egypt floats its exchange rate; Iran’s currency crisis; Algeria expects to profit.

Week in Review

By Week in Review

JEAN-PHILIPPE KSIAZEK/AFP via Getty Images

European Parliament set to debate Iran as members push for IRGC designation

More than 100 EU Parliament members are calling on the European Commission and EU member states to add Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to their terror lists and increase sanctions on Tehran.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Judges David Re (2nd L) and Janet Nosworthy (L) are seen before the start of the session of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, where the sentence was set for Salim Jamil Ayyash, a member of the Hezbollah militant group who was convicted of involvement in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and 21 others in 2005, Leidschendam, the Netherlands, Dec. 11, 2020.

UN extends Lebanon investigation into Hariri assassination for another year

The UN approved the extension of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon for about a year, to finalize its work.