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

politics and security cover image

Politics & Security

Fighters lift flags of Iraq and paramilitary groups, including al-Nujaba and Kataib Hezbollah, during a funeral in Baghdad for five militants killed a day earlier in a US strike in northern Iraq, on Dec. 4, 2023.

Analysis

Iran-linked militias seek to draw Iraq into regional war

“Iran’s logic is the logic of war,” a Gulf regional official tells Al-Monitor.

Week in Review

By Week in Review

Latest News

Explainer

Estimated 60,000 migrants cross from Morocco into Spanish territory: What we know

Ceuta

Analysis

No Iran commitment, no Trump endorsement: Netanyahu leaves US empty-handed

US President Donald Trump walks to board Marine One on the Ellipse near the White House in Washington, DC, on July 31, 2026. President Trump is traveling to Camp David in Maryland to hold a cabinet meeting and later to Bedminster, New Jersey to spend the weekend at his golf club. (Photo by Oliver Contreras / AFP via Getty Images)

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Exclusive

US nears full withdrawal from Iraq as bases in Kurdistan Region face attacks from Iran, proxies

Patriot

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

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

MOHAMED EL-SHAHED/AFP via Getty Images

Egyptian lawmaker calls for closer Syria ties

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s visit to the UAE prompted some Egyptian parliamentarians to press Cairo to follow suit.

A gas flare burns in a field close to the northern oil-rich city of Kirkuk, 225 kms from Baghdad on Nov. 2, 2009.

Will renewed interest in Iraqi Kurdish gas fuel Turkey-Iran rivalry?

Western capitals are seeking alternative natural gas resources to reduce their dependence on Russia, which creates a possible opportunity for Iraqi Kurdish gas exports.

A view of The Crossing apartment building in the Navy Yard neighborhood on April 8, 2022 in Washington, DC. The building, which was raided by the FBI on April 6, is the home of two men accused of posing as federal law enforcement employees and ingratiating themselves with U.S. Secret Service agents.

Men accused of posing as US federal agents investigated for Iran ties: report

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks to the press after meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban for discussions on Syria and migration, Budapest, Hungary, Nov. 7, 2019.

Can Erdogan coax Assad into dialogue?

Hopeful that the Ukraine war will tip the scales to its favor in Syria, Turkey is taking escalatory steps on the ground on one hand and testing the diplomatic waters with Damascus on the other.

view from Petra Hotel

Jerusalem's Christian population dwindles further

Christians made up about 25% of Jerusalem's population back in 1922, but today they number only 2% of the population.

Israelis light candles at the site of a shooting attack the previous night at Dizengoff Street in the center of Tel Aviv, Israel, April 8, 2022.

Israel on maximum security alert after Tel Aviv attack

Israeli security forces are on high alert following the deadly Tel Aviv attack last night, the fourth in just three weeks.

Israeli security forces patrol Jerusalem's Mahane Yehuda market, a day after a Palestinian gunman killed two Israeli men and wounded several others in Tel Aviv, April 8, 2022.

Israel’s Bennett challenged over attack in Tel Aviv, continuing terror wave

With a fourth deadly attack in less than three weeks, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has much more to cope with than just the current coalition crisis.

Syrians gather at a market as they prepare for the upcoming Muslim holy month of Ramadan, in the war-ravaged town of Ariha in the rebel-held northwestern Idlib province, Syria, March 31, 2022.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham leader seeks more popular support in Syria's Idlib

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani has recently visited the Jabal al-Zawiya area in Idlib upon an invitation by locals, to stress his organization’s ongoing support for the town.

US troops Syria

Four US soldiers injured by rocket attack in Syria

The barrage suggests Iran's proxies will continue to harass US forces in the region, whether or not the sides return to the 2015 nuclear deal.

Linda Sarsour

Explainer: Why Geico dropped pro-Palestine activist Linda Sarsour as 'diversity speaker'

Linda Sarsour’s harsh criticisms of Israel have been deemed anti-Semitic by numerous Jewish organizations in the United States, though she denies holding hateful views and has significant support among some progressives.

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

Yemen Hadi

US welcomes Yemen's leadership shakeup as president cedes power

The exiled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi's transfer of power to a newly formed presidential council comes days after a nationwide cease-fire took hold in Yemen.

The Marshall Islands-flagged Turkish-owned Yasa Jupiter ship, which was hit by a missile off the coast of Ukraine's port city Odessa, sails on the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Turkey, on Feb. 25, 2022.

Drifting sea mines bring Ukraine war to Turkey’s Bosporus Strait

At least three mines thought to have crossed the Black Sea have been spotted around the north mouth of one of the world’s busiest maritime channels.