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

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi (R) receiving Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Syria's Assad makes rare visit to Tehran

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad met with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other Iranian leaders.

Suleiman

Iraqi militia power plays bring back outcast Sunni leader

Iran-linked parties in Iraq are playing on perceived and actual support for once-ostracized Sunni leaders to divide their political opponents despite inherent risks.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog (L) and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan give a joint press conference, Ankara, Turkey, March 9, 2022.

Turkish foreign minister to visit Israel

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu's visit to Israel May 24 could finally open the way for both countries to reinstate their ambassadors.

Internally displaced Syrians arriving with their belongings in a convoy of trucks, at a new housing complex.

Syrian opposition wary of Erdogan’s plan to return 1 million refugees

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared that his country is preparing to return 1 million Syrian refugees to the northern Syria areas controlled by the Turkish-backed opposition, but he fell short of announcing the mechanism by which such numbers would return.

Egypt inflation

Egypt arrests TikTokers over satirical videos on high food prices

The three real estate guards' TikTok channel published two satirical videos about rising inflation rates, amid official concerns about public unrest over deteriorating economic conditions.

Turkey TV

Can Ankara-Riyadh rapprochement help improve Turkey-Egypt ties?

Although Ankara has secured several diplomatic strides by normalizing its relations with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, rapprochement with Egypt still seems a challenging prospect.

PKK

Analysis

Sinjar becomes latest flashpoint for Iran-Turkey tensions in Iraq

New Pentagon IG report says that the Turkey-PKK conflict and Iranian militias are contributing to instability in Iraq.

Week in Review

By Week in Review

Kamalmaz

Family of American missing in Syria feels 'left behind' by White House

The family of Majd Kamalmaz, a US citizen who disappeared in Syria in 2017, question whether President Joe Biden is prioritizing his case.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett (C) and his wife, Galit.

Israeli government rocked by bereaved parents' protests

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett knew that bereaved parents would protest against him on Memorial Day and chose to remain silent, respecting their pain.

The Ibrahimi Mosque, also known as the Tomb of the Patriarchs, is decorated with Israeli national flags ahead of Israel's 74th Independence Day, Hebron, West Bank, May 3, 2022,

Independence Day terror attack could force Israel to act in Gaza

The especially gruesome terror attack on Independence Day in which assailants attacked passers-by with axes might force Prime Minister Naftali Bennett to end Israel’s restraint in the Gaza Strip.

MAARTEN WEYNANTS/AFP via Getty Images

Iranian decision to execute Swedish dual national sparks backlash

Reports that the Islamic Republic is set to execute the scientist came as a Swedish court prepares to sentence a former Iranian official in connection to the killing of thousands of political prisoners in his country in 1988.

RINGO CHIU/AFP via Getty Images

More niceties, zero progress in third round of Turkey-Armenia peace talks

Turkey and Armenia's third round of rapprochement talks have produced little of substance as Armenians protested by in the thousands and called for Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to resign.