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

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Politics & Security

Marco Longari / AFP via Getty Images

France denies Israeli settler leader entry: What to know

The head of Israel's Samaria Regional Council settler organization claims that France turned him back at the Paris airport.

Anwar AMRO / AFP via Getty Images

Lebanon detains Hezbollah members as PM pledges end to impunity

Concerns about internal strife are growing amid tensions between Lebanese authorities and Hezbollah.

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.

Latest News

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

Ahmed al-Alwani in an undated photo

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

Iranian-made Zolfaghar missiles

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

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

US President Joe Biden meets with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett in the Oval Office at the White House on Aug. 27, 2021, in Washington, DC.

Analysis

Does Raisi need a nuclear deal more than Biden?

Also: The Iran talks in Vienna enter their final days, what comes next, and why neither president should expect an assist from the US Congress on Iran.

Week in Review

By Week in Review

Emilie Moatti

Israeli legislator promotes new 'Peace Authority'

Emilie Moatti, head of the Knesset's subcommittee on foreign affairs, is busily planning meetings on advancing cooperation between Israelis and Palestinians.

Sarahbeth Maney/Getty Images

House Republicans urge Biden to change course on Iran talks

In a letter to President Joe Biden, more than 160 GOP lawmakers warned a deal reached without their approval could "meet the same fate" as the original nuclear agreement.

ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images

As Turkey warms to Israel, Ankara reiterates support for Palestinians

Turkish officials say support for two-state solution and Palestinian rights will not be sacrificed ahead of the Israeli president’s visit.

AFP via Getty Images

Iran’s supreme leader dismisses 'nonsense' nuke allegations

Iran’s supreme leader said there was no military side to his country’s nuclear program and stressed Iran's need for nuclear energy.

Majd Kamalmaz

US talks directly with Syria on missing American but White House a ‘holdup,’ family says

The family of Majd Kamalmaz is pleading with the White House to build on previous engagement with Damascus, saying the Syrians have demanded to speak with a high-level US official.

A Syrian soldier looks over at the town of Daraa from his position in the southern city of Sweida on Jan. 23, 2013.

Violence on rise in Syria’s Suwayda

Residents of Syria’s southern city of Suwayda accuse the Syrian government of supporting gangs and the spread of weapons, which encourage violence within the community.

Libyan interim Prime Minister Fathi Bashagha, newly named by the Libyan parliament, delivers a speech at Mitiga International Airport, Tripoli, Libya, Feb. 10, 2022.

Egypt backs Libyan PM-designate to form new government

Egypt pins hope on Prime Minister-designate Fathi Bashagha to secure the exit of all foreign forces from Libya and prepare for holding elections in the war-torn country.

State heads pose during the 35th Session of the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Feb. 5, 2022.

AU summit in Addis Ababa ignores Nile dam crisis

The 35th African Union Summit was held in Addis Ababa to discuss peace and security issues in Africa, but the Grand Ethiopian Renassiance Dam was not on the agenda.

Libyan interim Prime Minister Fathi Bashagha delivers a speech at Mitiga International Airport in Tripoli on Feb. 10, 2022.

Russia voices support for new Libyan PM

Moscow is throwing its support behind new Prime Minister Fathi Bashagha and its belief that he can "unite Libyan society."

Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, Ali Bagheri Kani, arrives at the venue of the JCPOA meeting that aims at reviving the Iran nuclear deal, in Vienna on Feb. 8, 2022.

Analysis

The Takeaway: Differences persist as clock ticks on Vienna talks

Islamic State and Turkey; HTS's role in Islamic State leader's killing; Iran's message for Iraq; Gaza's dangerous landfills; Egypt's climate action; and more.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

Andrew Parasiliti

Joe Snell

By Elizabeth Hagedorn , Andrew Parasiliti , Joe Snell

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi at a joint press conference in Ankara, Dec. 17, 2020.

Iraqi court's ruling on KRG gas puts Turkey on the spot

A top Iraqi court has ruled that the 2007 oil and gas law affecting the Kurdistan Regional Government is unconstitutional in a heavy blow to the KRG and its energy deals with Turkey.