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Politics & Security

Palestinian Hamas militants arrive to secure the area as Egyptian workers accompanied by members of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), search for the last two remaining bodies of hostages -an Israeli soldier and a Thai national- from under the rubble of the Jabalia refugee camp, in the northern of Gaza Strip on Dec. 1, 2025.

Analysis

How Hamas disarmament deal may test Iran's regional strategy

A possible Hamas decision to disarm would represent more than a Gaza development, testing Iran's decades-old strategy of projecting power through regional allies.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Mourners carry one of the bodies of members of Iraq's Hashed al-Shaabi, or Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) who were killed earlier in Diyala in central Iraq by US-Saudi strikes, during the funeral in Baghdad on July 29, 2026. The US-Saudi strikes killed at least 20 militants, including Iranians, according to the Hashed al-Shaabi. The US and Saudi Arabia said the strikes were in response to attacks on US forces and Saudi oil facilities. (Photo by murtadha ridha / AFP via Getty Images) /

Analysis

Renewed Iraq attacks test Zaidi’s push to disarm Iran-backed militias

An attempt by Iraqi government forces to seize weapons belonging to an Iranian-backed faction encountered resistance, raising questions about Prime Minister Ali Zaidi’s pledge to disarm militias by Sept. 30.

Mustafa Salim

By Mustafa Salim

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

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

Israel's incoming Prime Minister Naftali Bennett gives an address before the new Cabinet, accompanied by Alternate Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and Defense Minister Benny Gantz at the Knesset, Jerusalem, June 13, 2021.

Tensions increase at highest levels of Israel’s leadership

Tensions between Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid keep increasing, destabilizing the already fragile coalition.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett (C) attends a Cabinet meeting at the prime minister's office, Jerusalem, March 27, 2022.

Fingers pointed at Israel’s security agencies for failing to prevent terrorist attacks

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett finds himself destabilized politically, after the Shin Bet failed to thwart three deadly terrorist attacks.

Zandberg

Israel’s environment minister strives for regional coalition on climate change

Participating at the OECD ministerial meeting in Paris on ensuring a resilient and healthy environment for all, Environment Protection Minister Tamar Zandberg says she is also working with neighboring countries to achieve this goal.

Khashoggi

Turkish prosecutor calls for transfer of Khashoggi trial to Riyadh

The call to discontinue the case against 26 defendants in killing of the Saudi journalist comes as Turkey is working to improve relations with rivals across the Arab world

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh.

Iran slams new US sanctions amid nuclear deal uncertainty

The fresh sanctions targeted a network of Iranian firms over links to the Revolutionary Guards' missile program and came as an impasse in the nuclear deal talks drags on.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (C) walks with officials, including Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu

Ukraine war boosts Erdogan's 'new Atlanticism,' but for how long?

Turkey’s westward focus may complicate, or complement, Ankara’s previous priority of Eurasia.

Palestinian devotees pray on Laylat al-Qadr (Night of Destiny) outside the Dome of the Rock at Al-Aqsa Mosque compound during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, East Jerusalem, May 8, 2021.

Israel lifts restrictions on Gazans ahead of Ramadan

Israel fears an escalation in the West Bank and Jerusalem during Ramadan that will extend to the Gaza Strip.

Litzman

Ultra-Orthodox parties may offer Israeli government political safety net

Journalist Amit Segal claims that Yitzhak Shapira, the most-likely replacement for senior ultra-Orthodox legislator Yaakov Litzman, has been secretly negotiating with the government for a deal that would halt anti-ultra-Orthodox legislation.

Members of the Free Syrian Army wave the flag of the Syrian opposition as they travel in a truck through the town of Hazano, in Idlib's northern countryside, as reinforcements are deployed from Aleppo's northern countryside to Idlib's countryside to counter an ongoing pro-regime offensive, Syria, Feb. 5, 2020.

HTS explores rapprochement with Turkey-backed factions in north Syria

Regular meetings between the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army factions and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham leaders in northwestern Syria will open a new page in relations between the two parties and might pave the way for military integration in the future.

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak (C) speaks to the press.

Analysis

The Takeaway: Turkey thrust into spotlight amid Ukraine-Russia talks

Turkey acts as mediator in the Russia-Ukraine crisis, Israel is on high alert after a wave of terrorist attacks, how drones are revolutionizing the battlefield, and more.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

Andrew Parasiliti

Joe Snell

By Elizabeth Hagedorn , Andrew Parasiliti , Joe Snell

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian (R).

Iran FM: US needs to be ‘realistic’ in nuclear talks

Iran’s foreign minister continues to lobby for the United States to come to an agreement for the revival of the nuclear talks.

Le Point

International, domestic groups ring alarms on human rights in Turkey

Two reports, one from Amnesty International and another from Turkey’s Association of Journalists, have again drawn attention to Turkey’s deteriorating record on freedom of expression.