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Politics & Security

Trump Netanyahu

On eighth visit, Israel’s Netanyahu seeks to repair ties with Trump

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to focus on Iran in his Tuesday meeting with President Donald Trump, while the US leader is more likely to want to discuss Lebanon and Syria.

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi speaks during a meeting with US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (not pictured) at the Pentagon on July 14, 2026 in Arlington, Virginia.

Zaidi to meet Erdogan as Turkey-Iraq ties take off, Kurds feel sidelined

The Iraqi prime minister's visits to Ankara and Riyadh underscore Baghdad's push to deepen regional ties as Turkey seeks closer cooperation on energy and security.

US President Donald Trump takes questions from the media during a bilateral meeting with President of Lebanon Joseph Aoun in the Oval Office of the White House on July 21, 2026 in Washington, DC.

Trump says Iran seeks talks after strikes halted

An Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said the two sides have communicated only through intermediaries.

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.

Latest News

Analysis

Zaidi’s test in Tehran

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

Week in Review

By Week in Review

Analysis

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

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.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

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

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

Iraq protest

Baghdad prepares for Tishreen protest amid political deadlock

Tishreen movement, supported by Sadrists, plan to march tomorrow in Baghdad on the anniversary of the sweeping protests of 2019.

AFP via Getty Images

Iran vows to strike back if US destroys more of its drones over Iraq

Iran has vowed to respond to any “hostile actions” after an Iranian drone was reportedly shot down en route to Erbil.

Turkish soldier Sefter Tas, who was killed by the Islamic State, is seen in an undated photo. -

Turkish opposition revives questions over Islamic State burning execution

Almost six years on, Turkey’s public remains in the dark on the burning execution of two compatriots in Syria.

Stephanie Keith/Getty Images

Israel-US tensions grow over West Bank escalation

With elections just a month out and despite American warnings, Prime Minister Yair Lapid is sticking with his hawkish line on West Bank security escalation.

Israeli border guards are pictured during clashes with Palestinian demonstrators in the area of Bab al-Zawiya in the center of the city of Hebron, West Bank, Sept. 29, 2022.

Israeli army could use armed drones for targeted killings in West Bank

If the IDF does not manage soon to thwart the current wave of violence in the West Bank, it could opt for targeted killings of terrorists using armed drones.

Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), speaks during the IAEA's General Conference at the agency's headquarters in Vienna, Austria on Sept. 26, 2022.

Analysis

Will Iran's shift on IAEA help break deadlock in nuclear talks?

Iranian protesters shift tactics in response to government crackdown.

Week in Review

By Week in Review

Turkey-backed Syrian rebel fighters man a roadblock in the Turkish-controlled city of al-Bab following reported artillery shelling, northern Aleppo province, Syria, Feb. 2, 2022.

Al-Bab residents demand houses back from Turkish-backed forces in Syria

Demonstrations were organized against the Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army in the city of al-Bab, during which protesters demanded that the factions return their houses and farms that had been seized after the FSA took control of the city in 2017.

Palestinian men clean a street as calm returns to the city of Nablus following clashes between protesters and Palestinian security forces the previous day, West Bank, Sept. 21, 2022.

Israel threatens Gaza amid West Bank escalation

Israel threatened to target Hamas and its leaders in the Gaza Strip over the movement’s role in inciting young Palestinians to attack Israel in the West Bank and forming and funding military cells.

Afghan Iran protest

Civil disobedience grows as Iran continues to crush protests

Working around the state's internet crackdown, Iranians were resorting to strikes, as women walked without hijabs in public in defiance of the hard-line establishment.

ROY ISSA/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey pledges to boost military presence in Cyprus

President Erdogan and Foreign Minister Cavusoglu say Turkey will send more troops and arms to northern Cyprus after the Biden administration lifts defense trade restrictions to Greek Cypriots.

Smoke billows following an Iranian cross-border attack in the area of Zargwez.

US confirms American citizen killed in Iranian rocket attack in Iraq

Omar Mahmoudzadeh's family confirmed to Al-Monitor that he died in an Iranian strike Thursday in the Iraqi-Kurdish town of Koya.

Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

US unveils new sanctions targeting Iran’s oil sales

The Biden administration on Thursday blacklisted entities in China, Hong Kong, Iran, India and the United Arab Emirates over their alleged involvement in Iran’s petrochemical trade.