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

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Politics & Security

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) and Central Bank Governor Sahap Kavcioglu attend a signing ceremony with Abu Dhabi’s crown prince, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan at the Presidential Complex in Ankara on Nov. 24, 2021. ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey’s banking watchdog chief submits resignation amid fund scandal

Turkey’s government is facing growing criticism over regulators’ failure to prevent a fund scandal involving more than $20 billion.

Chris McGrath/Getty Images

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.

Latest News

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

OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images

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

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

KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP via Getty Images

Europe unhappy with Israel's reluctance to sanction Russia

While European capitals would like to see Israel join the sanctions packages enacted by the West against Russia, they have expressed understanding of Israel’s delicate position.

Beersheba stabbing victim funeral

Terror attack in Beersheba unsettles Israeli government

The stabbing attacks that killed four in the south of Israel is forcing the government to shift focus away from Ukraine and back to the domestic front.

Bermuda-flagged luxury yacht "My Solaris" belonging to Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich.

Will Turkey become haven for sanctioned Russians?

Ankara is facing increasing pressure to comply with sanctions imposed on Moscow and to increase scrutiny on Turkish banks to make sure they don’t violate sanctions.

Iran attack

Iran's Revolutionary Guards warn Israel over more attacks

Escalating the conflict in Iraq's Kurdish region, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has said that they will immediately respond to attacks by Israel.

American pastor Andrew Brunson.

Wave of expulsions shakes Turkey’s tiny Protestant community

Dozens of foreign Protestant missionaries have been forced to leave Turkey based on intelligence reports classifying them as security risks.

An Iraqi woman farmer digs with a shovel in a field in Diwaniyah

UN releases dire warning about water scarcity in Middle East and North Africa

Water scarcity is so bad in parts of Yemen that it has led to displacement, a UN official said.

AL-MONITOR Staff

By AL-MONITOR Staff

Children stand next to a sign reading "To reconstruct it, do not leave Halabja alone" by the Martyrs' Cemetery in Halabja on March 16, 2022.

Halabja anniversary takes political turn

Thirty four years after Saddam Hussein's Baath regime launched a chemical attack on the city, resident's of Halabja feel they have been forgotten by Iraqi and Kurdish authorities.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah a-Sisi, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Emirati Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed meet in Sharm el-Sheikh, March 22 2022

Analysis

The Takeaway: Israel looks to mediate Saudi, Emirati anger over Iran deal

Zelenskyy’s Holocaust comparison unsettles Israelis; Islamic State takes advantage of Russian distraction in Ukraine; Egypt, Sudan deepen military ties; Lebanon embraces cryptocurrency amidst crisis; Jenin becomes model of resistance to Israeli occupation — all in less than 1,100 words!

Elizabeth Hagedorn

Tyler Huffman

Andrew Parasiliti

Joe Snell

By Elizabeth Hagedorn , Tyler Huffman , Andrew Parasiliti , Joe Snell

Smoke billows from the house of a Palestinian suspect after it was demolished by Israeli security forces, in the village of Silat al-Harithiya near the flashpoint town of Jenin, West Bank, March 8, 2022.

Jenin becomes hub of resistance to Israeli policies in West Bank

Israel targets Palestnian armed groups and fears resistance could spread to other cities in the West Bank.

Iranian Embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine.

Russia war forces Iran to relocate Kyiv embassy

Iranian authorities face anger at home over their failure to promptly evacuate nationals caught up in the Russian war on Ukraine.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) welcomes Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte (R).

Turkey, Netherlands patch up relations amid Ukraine crisis

Arriving for a top-level visit in Ankara after years of tense relations, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte says he would like Turkey to join sanctions against Russia but understands Ankara’s unique position.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah a-Sisi, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Emirati Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed meet in Sharm el-Sheikh, March 22 2022

Bennett meets with Egyptian, Emirati leaders on Iran, regional alliances

In his meetings yesterday and today in Sharm el-Sheikh with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Emirati Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett continued his efforts to establish a regional alliance against Iran and a new nuclear deal.