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Politics & Security

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Israel strikes Lebanon's capital Beirut for first time in 3 weeks: What to know

According to Israeli media, Ali al-Husseini, the commander of the missile unit in the Imam Hussein Division, a brigade affiliated with Iran’s Quds Force that operates alongside Hezbollah, was the target of the attack.

Oman's Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi (L) and US President Donald Trump pose during a summit on Gaza in Sharm el-Sheikh on October 13, 2025.

Trump threatens to 'blow up' Oman as US-Iran talks stall

“Oman will behave just like everybody else, or we will have to blow them up,” Trump said in surprising comments on Wednesday.

Latest News

With Hungary’s ICC U-turn, Israel loses a key European ally

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, (R) shakes hands with Viktor Orban, Hungary's prime minister, during a news conference on April 3, 2025 in Budapest, Hungary.

Iraq’s Sadr moves to place his militia under state control: What to know

Iraqis walk past portraits of Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, including one on a banner calling for a boycott of the upcoming parliamentary elections in Sadr City, east of Baghdad on October 29, 2025. Parliamentary elections are scheduled to be held in Iraq on 11 November 2025, which will determine the 329 members of Iraq's Council of Representatives, who are responsible for electing the country's president and approving the appointment of the prime minister. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP) (Photo by

Who was Mohammed Odeh, Hamas military commander killed by Israel in Gaza?

Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP via Getty Images

White House calls Iranian report on Hormuz, MOU 'complete fabrication'

Vessels are seen anchored in the Strait of Hormuz, off the port city of Khasab on Oman's northern Musandam Peninsula on May 17, 2026.

Jared Szuba

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

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

Staff of the Palestinian Central Elections Commission display electoral lists ahead of the upcoming general elections, at the commissions local offices in Ramallah, West Bank, April 6, 2021.

West Bank local elections bring Hamas, PFLP closer

Local elections in the West Bank seem to have boosted ties between Hamas and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, which are running as allies.

Montélimar power plant

Ukraine war could delay Egypt’s first nuclear power plant

Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Egypt's vote in favor of a UN resolution condemning Moscow could possibly throw a wrench into the Dabaa nuclear plant project, a joint project with Russian companies.

Egyptians carry the coffin of a soldier who was killed a day earlier in the restive Sinai Peninsula in an attack claimed by the Islamic State, during a funeral ceremony in the 10th of Ramadan city, north of Cairo, Egypt, July 8, 2017.

Islamic State affiliate in Sinai steps up attacks under new leader

Since the radical Islamic State-affiliate Wilayat Sinai pledged allegiance to the new IS leader Abu al-Hassan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi, it intensified its operations in northern Sinai, where they are confronting local tribes.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein attends a news conference with High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy in Brussels on Jan. 20, 2022.

Analysis

Iraqi foreign minister says Iran nuclear deal in Iraq’s interest

Fuad Hussein, in an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, says Iraq continues to play a role in helping to facilitate dialogue, and de-escalating conflict, between Washington and Tehran.

Week in Review

By Week in Review

Demonstrators wave a giant flag of Ukraine and Israel .

Israel’s Bennett continues mediation efforts between Russia, Ukraine

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett continues to be engaged and involved in contacts between Russia and Ukraine and in efforts to end the war.

BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images

Iran, Ukraine top agenda as Blinken tours Middle East

Blinken's trip will include extensive discussions with Abu Dhabi's crown prince and stops in North Africa.

MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images

Israel shocked by Islamic State-inspired terror attack

Israel’s security agencies were blindsided when the killer of four civilians in Beersheba this week turned out to be an Israeli citizen from the nearby Bedouin town of Hura.

Members of Syria's top jihadi group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, led by al-Qaeda's former Syria affiliate, parade with their flags and those of the Taliban's declared "Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan" at the Clock Square in the center of the rebel-held city of Idlib, Syria, Aug. 20, 2021.

HTS faces backlash from jihadis over Syrian revolution anniversary celebrations

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham celebrated the anniversary of the Syrian revolution amid much fanfare, while preventing Islamic banners at the celebrations, in what provoked the jihadis who oppose it and led them to accuse HTS of trying to court the West.

A picture taken on Dec. 7, 2021, in Istanbul shows Turkish liras.

Turkish taxpayers outraged at cost of lira protection scheme

Turkey’s Treasury faces a hefty bill from a controversial plan to defend the Turkish lira, even as the scheme has failed to make a major impact in reducing dollarization.

A picture shows vehicles blocked in traffic in the capital, Tehran, on March 9, 2022.

Iran's New Year marred by alarming road accident fatalities

Officials said an average of two Iranians have died per hour in the first week of the Nowruz holidays, galvanizing debates on the safety of domestically produced vehicles.

US President Joe Biden shakes hands with France's President Emmanuel Macron (C,L) next to Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (L) at NATO Headquarters in Brussels on March 24, 2022.

Erdogan gets no meeting with Biden at NATO Ukraine summit

Despite reportedly intense diplomatic efforts, Turkey's president did not get to meet his US counterpart at today’s NATO summit in Brussels.

KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP via Getty Images

Europe unhappy with Israel's reluctance to sanction Russia

While European capitals would like to see Israel join the sanctions packages enacted by the West against Russia, they have expressed understanding of Israel’s delicate position.