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

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Politics & Security

Iranian security forces stand guard in front of the French Embassy in Tehran in this undated image.

Iran summons French ambassador after detaining 2 diplomats: What to know

Last week, France’s foreign minister said that two French diplomats had been detained and interrogated, and that one had been physically assaulted by Iranian security services.

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

Vendors sell dry food as people shop by a banner reading " No to Inflation" near the New Mosque area in Istanbul's Eminonu district on Nov. 6, 2018.

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

Latest News

Analysis

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

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

Sabena Siddiqui

By Sabena Siddiqui

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

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

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

Jared Szuba

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

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

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

Turkey gas

Turkey-Libya energy deal clouds waters in East Mediterranean

An energy deal signed between Turkey and the Libyan administration of  Abdul Hamid Dbeibah on Monday has brought a reaction from Greece, EU and Libya’s eastern-based parliament.

Nasiriyah protest

Iraq situation ‘highly volatile,' envoy warns Security Council

The UN’s envoy to Iraq delivered a scathing indictment of the country’s political class during today’s Security Council briefing, decrying its exposure of the population to severe risks.

Turkish pop star Gulsen performs during a concert in Aydin, Turkey, on March 27, 2022.

Once a safe haven, Iranians in Turkey say civil liberties are at risk

Many Iranians feel that space for culture, freedom of speech and a secular lifestyle is steadily shrinking in Turkey, which until now has been serving as a safe haven for many Iranians to live freely.

Tunisia's Speaker of the Parliament Rached Ghannouchi flashes the victory sign as he arrives for questioning at the judicial police headquarters in the capital Tunis, on April 1, 2022.

Tunisia’s Islamists under siege as Saied rolls back democracy

Islamists are bearing the brunt of President Kais Saied’s "counter revolution" with their leaders facing possible jail time and little public sympathy, as many view them as the principal architects of the economic woes and political gridlock that has long gripped the country.

A Ukrainian serviceman carries a downed Russian drone.

Analysis

Russia's use of Iranian drones in Ukraine hints at reliance on Iran

Problems equipping Russian troops with "nationally developed drones" leave Russia's military primarily operating Iranian drones.

Anton Mardasov

By Anton Mardasov

Itamar Ben-Gvir (L), Israeli far-right lawmaker and leader of the Jewish Power party, arrives with other Israeli right-wing activists at the archaeological and religious site of the Tomb of Samuel in Nabi Samuel village, between Ramallah and Jerusalem, West Bank, Sept. 2, 2022.

Netanyahu's ultranationalist minister pick concerns US

American officials are warning opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu that including ultranationalist Itamar Ben Gvir in a possible future cabinet would damage Israel’s relations with its great ally.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepares to speak at the Computer History Museum, Mountain View, California, March 5, 2014.

Netanyahu attacks US over Israel-Lebanon maritime border deal

In his efforts to win the Nov. 1 elections, opposition head Benjamin Netanyahu is willing to torpedo the American-mediated agreement between Israel and Lebanon on maritime border demarcation and to attack the Biden administration.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a meeting with Yemeni Foreign Minister Ahmed Awad Bin Mubarak at the State Department, Washington, May 17, 2022.

US urges Yemen's Houthis to extend truce amid fears of renewed fighting

The United States is seeking the renewal of a nationwide truce that brought a much-needed pause in violence to Yemen before it expired on Sunday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Turkey’s Caucasian diaspora to help kinsmen fleeing Russian draft

The Caucasian community in Turkey is treading carefully in an initiative to help kinsmen fleeing Moscow’s military call-up, wary of coming off as encouraging draft evasion and angering Russia.

Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, president of the Transitional Sovereign Council of Sudan, addresses the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly at the UN headquarters, New York, Sept. 22, 2022.

Sudanese coup leader’s trips to UK, US fail to win over the West

Burhan tried to portray the trips to Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral and the UNGA meeting in New York as the beginning of a new chapter with the Western capitals.

Kadhimi in Erbil

Iraqi PM, in Erbil, makes case for national dialogue

Iraq's political deadlock continues amid fear of a new wave of violence erupting in the streets.

Smoke billows following Russian airstrikes near Syria's Bab al-Hawa border crossing with Turkey, Sept. 27, 2022.

Russian warplanes bomb FSA camp in Syria's Idlib

As Syrian and Russian attacks escalate in Idlib, the FSA-affiliated Jaysh al-Izza denied Russian reports that an airstrike at one of their sites in a displaced camp in the north killed some of their commanders.