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

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Politics & Security

A giant billboard depicts late Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (2nd L), and his son Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, with Arabic writing that reads: "Thank you Iran," in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburbs, on June 15, 2026.

Khamenei says Hezbollah's agenda 'strategic mandate' for Iran

Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei’s comments come as Lebanon and Israel move forward with a US-backed plan to disarm Hezbollah in the south, though the Iran-backed group is resisting calls to turn over its weapons.

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.

Latest News

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

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

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

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

Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid meets with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin, Germany, Sept. 12 2022.

In Germany, Lapid makes case for Israel’s position on Iran

Israel’s diplomatic blitz against a renewed JCPOA reaches new heights, with Prime Minister Yair Lapid traveling to Germany and Defense Minister Benny Gantz traveling again to the United States.

ABBAS MOMANI/AFP via Getty Images

As violence spreads, Israel braces for escalation in West Bank

Ahead of the Jewish holiday period, the Israel Defense Forces are preparing for the possibility of more terror attacks originating from the West Bank.

This picture shows a general view of the Israeli Knesset (parliament) during a meeting, in Jerusalem on June 30, 2022.

Israeli parties unconcerned with equal gender representation

Few, if any, Israeli parties are expected to present for the upcoming Nov. 1 elections Knesset lists with equal representation of women.

Cars drive on a highway with a backdrop of the Milad telecommunications tower in Iran's capital Tehran on March 12, 2022. - Iran said that US attempts to seize its tankers and oil cargo had failed to stop exports that are subject to sanctions imposed by its arch foe. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

Post-sanctions risks & opportunities for international companies in Iran

Bijan Khajehpour

Bijan Khajehpour

In Vienna, reporting on Iranian politics

JOE KLAMAR/AFP via Getty Images

Iran criticizes Europe over nuclear talks comments

Tehran has criticized the three European signatories to the nuclear deal for their recent joint statement questioning Iran's intentions.

A media adviser of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu makes a Facebook live broadcast as he opens the weekly Cabinet meeting at his office, Jerusalem, Jan. 21, 2018.

Courting Arab voters, Netanyahu creates TikTok, Instagram accounts in Arabic

Much like the 2021 election campaign, but with multiple efforts, opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu opens Arabic-language accounts on all social media networks.

ABBAS MOMANI/AFP via Getty Images

Israel watches closely as West Bank seethes

Increasing skirmishes have Israel reportedly considering a large-scale invasion of the northern West Bank.

Souvenir stand in Petra, Jordan.

Gendarmerie operation sparks controversy in Petra, Jordan

Petra’s tribal entrepreneurs react to a security operation carried out inside Jordan’s most-visited UNESCO World Heritage Site with criticism and concern for their livelihoods.

A Palestinian family whose house is located in Area C of the Israeli-occupied West Bank and was demolished by the military sit inside a cave.

Israeli demolitions force Palestinians to live in caves

The demolitions carried out by Israel since 2005 in the small village of Khirbet Tana, near Nablus, have forced hundreds of Palestinians to live in caves, lacking basic necessities.

Members of the Syrian Kurdish Asayish security forces use a metal detector to sweep the ground during an inspection of tents at the Kurdish-run al-Hol camp, which holds relatives of suspected Islamic State (IS) group fighters in the northeastern Hasakeh governorate, on Aug. 28, 2022, as the Syrian Democratic Forces mount a security campaign against IS "sleeper cells" in the camp.

Senior US commander sounds alarm over Syria’s Islamic State prison camps

Michael 'Erik' Kurilla, the Army four-star general overseeing all American troops in the Middle East, went inside Syria's al-Hol Islamic State detainment camp Friday and spoke with residents. He says many can be sent home.

ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Israel capitalizes on deadlock in Iran nuclear talks

Hezbollah and the Lebanon-Israel gas talks; US-Israel friction over report on killing of Shireen Abu Akleh; Al-Monitor Pro webinar to feature UAE Minister of the Future Al-Roumi

Week in Review

By Week in Review

GENT SHKULLAKU/AFP via Getty Images

US sanctions Iran over cyberattack on Albania

The sanctions come after Albania severed diplomatic ties with Iran following a July cyberattack ahead of a conference held by the Mujahedeen e-Khalq.

Washington Connection