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

Demonstrators gather with Israeli flags at the Western Wall in the old city of Jerusalem on May 29, 2022, during the Israeli 'flags march' to mark "Jerusalem Day".

Hamas refrains from rocket response to controversial Jerusalem march

Hamas has refrained from responding and even foiled attempts by other factions to launch rockets from Gaza toward Israel.

People chant slogans during a rally for International Women's Day on March 08, 2021 in Istanbul, Turkey.

Turkish women’s groups rally behind anti-femicide platform

In Turkey, women’s groups and the political opposition are demonstrating in support of the We Will Stop Femicides Platform as it fights for its survival.

BULENT KILIC/AFP via Getty Images

Israelis warned to leave Turkey over Iran threat

Following the killing of Sayad Kohdai last week, Iran has warned it will avenge his death by targeting Israeli businesspeople in Turkey.

A young woman runs while a fighter approaches a man.

Displaced Yemenis grow desperate in camps

Humanitarian organizations are struggling to meet the needs of millions of internally displaced Yemenis amid the ongoing war.

A Turkish-backed Syrian fighter of the Sultan Murad Turkoman brigade.

Syrians north of Aleppo prepare for Turkish military operation

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s pledge to carry out a new military operation on Turkey’s southern border sparked speculations as to the possible targets, which could include towns such as Tel Rifaat, Manbij and Kobani.

Syrian government forces monitor the northern Syrian town of Tel Rifaat on March 28, 2018.

The stumbling blocks facing Turkey’s new operation plan in Syria

Kobani, Manbij and Tel Rifaat stand out as the main targets in a prospective new Turkish operation in northern Syria, but Erdogan might narrow his objectives to avoid tensions with the United States.

A protester holds a tissue to his nose while holding a Palestinian flag near a tire fire.

Tensions flare in Jerusalem over flag march despite caution in Gaza

The flag march in Jerusalem sparked confrontations and clashes that quickly expanded to several sites in the West Bank, in a scene reminiscent of the beginnings of the second Palestinian intifada in 2000.

Demonstrators gather with Israeli flags at the Western Wall.

Jerusalem Flag March splits Israeli coalition parties

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett embraced right-wing calls to hold the traditional Jerusalem Flag March on its usual route.

Egyptians gather near a car that exploded after a bomb went off before reaching the intended target, killing three passengers, el-Arish, Sinai Peninsula, July 24, 2013.

Egyptian army changes strategy in war against terrorism in Sinai

The Egyptian army has recently made public statements about its operations against militants in the Sinai Peninsula, pointing to a shift in its strategy that had been reliant on local tribes, while refraining from publicly speaking about the battles.

Members of the Syrian army deploy in the al-Rashidin 1 district, in Aleppo's southwestern countryside, on Feb. 16, 2020.

Release of Syrian soldier accused or war crimes stirs protests

Protesters rallied in the city of al-Bab, which is controlled by factions allied with Turkey, demanding an investigation into the release by the opposition-affiliated military police of a soldier accused of murder and rape.

KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images

Despite rise in attacks, Egyptian military recounts success story in Sinai

While militant attacks have escalated against Egyptian security forces in the Sinai Peninsula, military analysts attribute the uptick to desperation amid a successful crackdown.

Female soldiers from the Israeli army's Caracal battalion take a break in their Hummer between patrols on June 12, 2007.

IDF to integrate women into elite air force unit

In another victory in the principle of gender equality, the Israel Defense Forces will now open its air force elite Rescue Unit 669 to women.