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

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Politics & Security

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Former Assad official sentenced to 60 years in US for torture

Samir Ousman Alsheikh was convicted by a jury in March of three counts of torture, one count of conspiracy to commit torture, visa fraud and attempted naturalization fraud.

Yemenis gather during a rally to show their support for the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) in the coastal port city of Aden, on December 14, 2025. (Saleh Al-OBEIDI / AFP via Getty Images)

Interview

Yemen separatists urge US not to let Saudi Arabia ‘call the shots’

As Houthi fighters steamroll Yemen’s Red Sea coast, the country's southern separatists say an independent South Yemen is the best check on the group’s expansion.

A US Air Force F-35 fifth-generation jet fighter takes off during the NATO's Ramsteign Flag 2025 exercise at Leeuwarden Air Base on April 8, 2025.

Trump administration approves $24B sale of F-35 jets to Saudi Arabia

Trump first announced the planned sale in November 2025, ahead of hosting Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House.

A pedestrian passes by the Treasury Building in Washington, DC on Jan. 18, 2023.

US sanctions Iranian crypto exchange BitBank over Hormuz payments

The US government says the exchange was used to channel payments from an Iranian maritime-insurance scheme to the regime.

Latest News

Turkey's Erdogan to run for 'final' third term in 2028, adviser says

Vyacheslav PROKOFYEV / AFP via Getty Images

Israel, Morocco agree to exchange ambassadors, open embassies

Royal Air Maroc Boeing 787-9 'Dreamliner' aircraft

China presses Iran, US to reopen Hormuz as disruptions threaten oil supply

AFP via Getty Images

Explainer

Why France is pushing to keep UNIFIL in Lebanon beyond 2026

UN peacekeepers stand next to an armored vehicle during a patrol in southern Lebanon, Feb. 22, 2026.

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

US flag ironed

Israel puts finishing touches on preparations for Biden visit

Jerusalem has been decorated with 1,000 American and Israeli flags ahead of US President Joe Biden's arrival tomorrow.

Members of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly visit the Knesset, Jerusalem, July 7, 2022.

Israel redefines ties with NATO as security provider

During a visit of a NATO parliamentary delegation, Israel showcased high tech capabilities.

OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images

UN Security Council extends Syria cross-border aid for six months

Aid agencies say the short-term extension puts more than 4 million Syrian lives on the line.

Iraqi Aqeel Hassan, one of the owners of private electric generators, is pictured on July 17, 2021, at his business in Baghdad's Sadr City.

Iraq diversifies, expands sources of energy and electricty

Iraq is looking to Arab partners to help expand energy production and imports to meet summer demand.

Israeli Minister of Transportation Merav Michaeli arrives to attend the first weekly cabinet meeting of the new government in Jerusalem, on June 20, 2021.

Israeli leftist parties enter elections with weak hand

The way things look now, joining the coalition didn’t do any good for Meretz and the Labor parties, who have so far failed to enlarge their electoral support.

Sudan's President of the Transitional Sovereignty Council Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.

Opposition skeptical of concession by Sudan military leader

The country’s military leader proposed a change in the structures created after the coup, but his plans have been widely rejected as it maintains the army’s power and privileges.

Debris from a destroyed car litter the street at the scene of an explosion near a grocery store, following bombardment at in Ukraine's second city Kharkiv on April 18, 2022.

US: Iran aims to send drones to Russia for use in Ukraine

White House releases intel linking Iran to Russia's war on Ukraine just days before President Joe Biden is set to meet Israeli, Arab leaders.

A picture taken on February 18, 2017, shows a general view of a bridge in the Iranian city of Ahvaz during a sandstorm.

UAE, Iran to cooperate to fight dust storms

Dust storms in the region have been severe.

A giant poster featuring Iranian director Jafar Panahi is displayed in front of the Berlinale Festival Palace.

Iran arrests three filmmakers over protests

Iran arrested Jafar Panahi after he was looking into the case of two other filmmakers accused of involvement in anti-government protests.

An undated image of the FSO Safer.

Analysis

World looks away as oil disaster looms off Yemen’s coast

Time is running out to prevent what Yemen envoy Tim Lenderking warns will be a "massive oil spill the likes of which the world has not seen."

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

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

This photo shows the inside of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg, eastern France, on Feb. 7, 2019.

Europe’s top court reprimands Turkey for jailing philanthropist

Today’s decision by Europe's top rights court on Osman Kavala, who has kept behind bars for four and a half years in pre-detention and sentenced to life, inches Turkey closer to suspension of its voting rights or even membership in the Council of Europe.

Israeli Regional Cooperation Minister Issawi Freij arrives for a photo at the president's residence during a ceremony for the new coalition government, Jerusalem, June 14, 2021.

Arab representation vanishes from Israeli parties

The announcement of Minister of Regional Cooperation Issawi Freij that he will not run on the Meretz party list in the upcoming election could be a devastating blow to Arab representation in Jewish/Arab mixed parties.