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

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Politics & Security

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Explainer

Iran war pushes up coal use, complicating Turkey’s COP31 pledge

Turkey is asking world leaders at COP31 to back a global push to use more electricity, even as the Iran war has driven up natural gas prices and pushed some power producers back to coal.

Ahmed al-Alwani in an undated photo

Ex-Iraqi MP Ahmed Alwani found dead in Lebanon: What to know

Ahmed al-Alwani was a prominent leader of anti-government protests by Iraqi Sunnis in 2013, and was released from prison last year.

Iranian-made Zolfaghar missiles

Iran unveils new underground 'missile city': What to know

Iran has moved much of its missile stockpile underground as the threat of a new war looms.

OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey bars MP’s wife from travel after his fund scandal criticism: What to know

Opposition politicians and rights advocates described Yonca Verdioglu Sik’s brief detention as an attempt to intimidate her husband, opposition lawmaker Ahmet Sik, over his criticism of the government.

Latest News

GCC to build military command center in Kuwait as region simmers: What to know

ANDY BUCHANAN / AFP via Getty Images

Hegseth strikes defiant tone, calls House impeachment process 'farce'

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Jared Szuba

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

Explainer

From Oct. 7 inquiry to blocking Netanyahu: Eisenkot's bloc maps out Knesset agenda

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) casts his ballot, next to his wife Sara

Slotkin, Van Hollen emerge as potential challengers to Schumer’s Senate leadership

WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 23: U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) speaks at a press conference on China AI export controls at the U.S. Capitol on September 23, 2026 in Washington, DC. Slotkin, joined by fellow Senate Democrats, urged Senate Republican's and the Trump administration to enact stronger export controls on AI technology and computer chips to China. The Democrats also call for a vote on bipartisan export control legislation, including the AI OVERWATCH Act, the MATCH Act, and the Chip Security Act. (

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

A picture taken on May 7, 2019, shows billboards advertising "Watch iT," Egypt's first video-streaming app, in Cairo.

New Egyptian regional news channel hampered by lack of funds

Funding reasons have halted the Egyptian project to launch an international and regional news channel to promote Egypt's role in the Arab world.

AMANUEL SILESHI/AFP via Getty Images

Sisi lauds Egyptian water conservation programs as Nile dam progresses

Ethiopia plans to proceed with the third-stage filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam in the coming weeks.

Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr delivers a speech in the central Iraqi city of Najaf on June 3, 2022.

Sadr withdrawal from Iraqi parliament challenges Shiite rivals

Populist Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr withdrew his party members from Iraq's Council of Representatives, introducing a new level of uncertainty into Iraqi politics.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks to his supporters on June 7, 2013 in Istanbul, Turkey.

Ghosts of Gezi protests still haunt Erdogan

The timing of President Erdogan’s recent outbursts targeting the 2013 Gezi protests hints that the protests will play a central role in his campaigning ahead of the June 2023 elections.

Hossein Salami, head of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), takes part in Revolutionary Guards Col. Sayyad Khodai's funeral procession.

Iranian IRGC officers 'martyred' amid simmering tensions with Israel

The deaths followed the assassination three weeks ago of an IRGC colonel, which Tehran has blamed on Israel.

JAAFAR ASHTIYEH/AFP via Getty Images

Israel's Arab Knesset members fight bill restricting Palestinian flag

Israel’s Knesset is considering a bill banning Palestinian flags from being raised at Israeli-funded institutions and universities inside the Green Line.

YASIN AKGUL/AFP via Getty Images

Israel calls on nationals to leave Turkey over Iranian terror threat

After the uncovering of an Iranian plot to target Israelis in Turkey, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid called on Israeli nationals to leave the country immediately.

Tunisian citizens and lawyers leave the court of the governorate of Ariana after the announcement of a strike by judges, following the dissolution of the Supreme Council of the Judiciary by President Kais Saied, Feb. 9, 2022.

Tunisian president targets judiciary, dismisses dozens of judges

Tunisian President Kais Saied has dismissed 57 judges, accusing them of obstructing investigations into terrorism cases and committing financial and moral corruption.

Palestinian cadets of al-Rebat College for Law and Police Science take part in morning exercises in Gaza city on Feb. 21, 2022.

Can community policing in Gaza replace tribal judiciary?

The Gaza-based interior minister has formed the community police unit to solve disputes among individuals and families in a bid to ease the process in regular courts.

JOSEPH EID/AFP via Getty Images

As Lebanon’s electricity crisis deepens, water becomes scarcer

Despite its natural water resources, Lebanon has reached a crisis point, with many residents unable to afford clean water.

Erbil

Iraqi-KRG counterterrorism cooperation increases in response to attacks

Joint operations between Iraqi Counterterrorism Services and their counterparts in some areas of the Kurdistan Region continue to target Islamic State cells, while other armed groups attack Erbil.

A displaced family sits next to their tent during a dust storm over the town of Zardana in the countryside of the northwestern Idlib province, Syria, June 2, 2022.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham holds massive military maneuvers in Idlib

The Syrian jihadi group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham is boosting readiness in anticipation of new government offensive.