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

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Politics & Security

Smoke rises following Israeli bombardment in southern Lebanon as seen from a position across the border in the Upper Galilee in northern Israel on May 31, 2026.

Trump says Hezbollah, Israel agree to stop fighting after call with Netanyahu

The US president announced the ceasefire after Iran's IRGC threatened a major attack on northern Israel and warned it could close the Bab al-Mandeb strait if Israel followed through on plans to strike Beirut.

This photograph shows Kimom, the first of four modern French Defense and Intervention Frigate, part of Greece's major military modernization program, sailing upon its arrival in the Saronic Gulf, near Athens on Jan. 15, 2026.

Turkey maritime law prompts Greek rethink on Aegean marine parks

The debate risks adding a new irritant to a fragile Turkey-Greece thaw that followed years of tensions.

US ambassador to Turkey Thomas Barrack attends a meeting with President Donald Trump and President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the Oval Office at the White House on Sept. 25, 2025 in Washington, DC.

What Barrack’s expanded role in Syria, Iraq signals for US policy

The expansion of Ambassador Tom Barrack’s mandate to include Iraq along with his continued roles in Turkey and Syria will likely be welcomed in Ankara, where he has played a key role in advancing US-Turkish ties.

In this picture obtained from Iran's ISNA news agency on June 1, 2026, vessels sail at Suru Beach in Bandar Abbas along the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran suspends US talks over Israel’s Lebanon escalation, state media reports: What to know

Iran’s Tasnim News Agency also said Tehran could "activate other fronts," including closure of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

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Lebanon fears return of Israeli occupation as Beirut strikes loom

patrol

Analysis

A draft maritime law and strategic rivalry: Why Greece is watching Turkey closely

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) addresses the media during a joint press conference with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (L) at the Presidential Complex, Ankara, Feb. 11, 2026.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Analysis

Can Iraq absorb Iran-backed militias without deepening Tehran’s influence?

Hawre Khalid/Getty Images

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

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

People hold portraits of the dead at the Imam Khomeini Mosalla Mosque to commemorate those killed in the current US-Israeli war as well as previous wars on May 24, 2026, in Tehran, Iran.

Analysis

How Tehran's hardening rhetoric signals uneasy path for US talks

Iran's leadership is increasingly portraying negotiations with Washington not as compromise but as a continuation of confrontation by other means.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in Jarjoua, southern Lebanon, on May 13, 2026.

Lebanon and Israel hold military talks at Pentagon despite Israeli offensive: What to know

A renewed Israeli offensive in southern Lebanon aims to extract concessions from Beirut in US-brokered diplomatic talks, but Lebanese military officials say there is no path forward until Israel halts its attacks and returns to the April ceasefire.

PALM BEACH, FLORIDA - DECEMBER 29: (EDITOR'S NOTE: Alternate crop) U.S. President Donald Trump welcomes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to his Mar-a-Lago club on December 29, 2025 in Palm Beach, Florida. The two leaders are scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting to discuss regional security in the Middle East as well as the U.S.-Israel partnership. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Exclusive

Trump 'hit the brakes': Netanyahu's circle faults US president for failed Iran regime change, looming deal

With regime in Iran still standing and a possible US-Iran agreement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stands to pay the ultimate political price as elections near in Israel.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

US President Donald Trump speaks alongside Secretary of state Marco Rubio during a cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on May 27, 2026.

As US and Iran near deal, Trump confronts familiar dilemma

It's unclear whether President Donald Trump will take the off-ramp as fellow Republicans rail against an interim deal that wouldn't immediately address Iran's nuclear program.

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the southern Lebanese area of al-Hosh, near the coastal city of Tyre on May 16, 2026.

Lebanon-Israel talks at Pentagon undercut by escalation: What to know

The Lebanese army is expected to press for the full implementation of the ceasefire with Israel during military-level talks at the Pentagon, to allow it to carry out its plan to disarm Hezbollah.

Ibrahim AMRO / AFP via Getty Images

Israel strikes Lebanon's capital Beirut for first time in 3 weeks: What to know

According to Israeli media, Ali al-Husseini, the commander of the missile unit in the Imam Hussein Division, a brigade affiliated with Iran’s Quds Force that operates alongside Hezbollah, was the target of the attack.

Oman's Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi (L) and US President Donald Trump pose during a summit on Gaza in Sharm el-Sheikh on October 13, 2025.

Trump threatens to 'blow up' Oman as US-Iran talks stall

“Oman will behave just like everybody else, or we will have to blow them up,” Trump said in surprising comments on Wednesday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, (R) shakes hands with Viktor Orban, Hungary's prime minister, during a news conference on April 3, 2025 in Budapest, Hungary.

With Hungary’s ICC U-turn, Israel loses a key European ally

Hungary’s parliament voted to remain in the International Criminal Court, reversing a planned withdrawal and marking a shift in Budapest’s approach to Israel and the EU.