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Politics & Security

Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud speaks during the launch of an offshore energy exploration at the port in Mogadishu on April 10, 2026.

Turkish jets strike al-Shabab targets in Somalia: What to know

A Somali Defense Ministry statement initially said Turkish F-16s carried out strikes on Al-Shabab targets before a later version referred only to “international partners.”

Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images

Who is Melat Kiros, the pro-Palestinian who unseated a longtime Democrat?

Kiros has taken a hard stance against Israel and opposes all aid to the country as pro-Palestinian candidates make further inroads in the party.

Latest News

Explainer

Turkey eases job rules for 1M+ Syrians under temporary protection: What to know

Syrian textile employees work in a textile workshop in Gaziantep, Turkey, on Jan. 30, 2025.

Syria announces Sharaa's parliamentary appointees, SDF Kurds sidelined

Al Sharaa

Analysis

Why Iran's Pezeshkian is facing an uphill battle in postwar diplomacy

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian listens during a joint press conference alongside Armenia's Prime Minister in Yerevan on August 19, 2025.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

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

A poster of slain Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander Hossein Salami, killed following Israeli strikes on targets in Iran, is set up at a Tehran square on June 16, 2025.

US targets Iran’s defense industry with sanctions as Trump weighs strikes

The Treasury Department also announced sanctions targeting the illicit oil trade of the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen.

Protesters hold Turkish flags and placards reading 'Freedom for Imamoglu' as they take part in a demonstration against the detention of the Mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu, organized by the country's main opposition, the Republican People's Party (CHP), at Beyazid Square, in Istanbul, May 7, 2025.

Turkey jails Imamoglu's lawyer as government crackdown continues

Opposition and legal groups condemn the arrest as an attempt to undermine legal defense rights.

Smoke rises from locations targeted in Tehran amid the third day of Israel's waves of strikes against Iran, on Sunday, June 15, 2025.

Analysis

As Netanyahu pushes Trump to join Iran war, will Israel strike Fordow alone?

Israel needs the United States to join its attack on Iran in order to destroy the nuclear facility at Fordow, but it's also preparing contingency plans.

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

ISRAEL-IRAN-CONFLICT Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits the Soroka Hospital in the southern city of Beersheba, after it was hit by a missile fired from Iran on June 19, 2025. Israel's defence minister warned that Iran's supreme leader "can no longer be allowed to exist" after a hospital was hit in an Iranian missile strike on June 19, spiking tensions in the week-old war. (Photo by Marc Israel SELLEM / POOL / AFP) (Photo by MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

What Iran’s hospital strike reveals about Israel’s missile defense limits

The direct strike highlights the limits of Israel's vaunted aerial defense systems as the Iran-Israel war intensifies.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

JOHN WESSELS/AFP via Getty Images

Israel calls Iran's hospital missile strike war crime, vows escalation

Israeli officials have condemned the Iranian strike at a hospital as a war crime and vowed to intensify its attacks against Iran.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi holds a joint press conference with Turkish Foreign Minister after their meeting in Ankara, on Dec. 2, 2024.

Iran’s Araghchi to visit Turkey as Ankara seeks war mediation role

Iran’s top diplomat is expected in Turkey for the OIC talks as the Iran-Israel war dominates the agenda.

A picture of Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is held aloft at a rally on Enghelab (Revolution) Square, Tehran, June 14, 2025.

Hezbollah vows loyalty to Khamenei as Iran-Israel war approaches week 2

The group publicly defended the Iranian leader as some worry Hezbollah might retaliate against Israel for its attack on Iran, its main ally and supporter.

TO GO WITH STORY BY NATACHA YAZBECK (FILES) A picture dated June 13, 2003 shows Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his brother Maher (L) attending their father's funeral in Damascus on June 13, 2000. As Bashar al-Assad's regime fights to stay in power, one man has emerged as the symbol of the dynasty's brutal military might -- the president's feared younger brother Maher. AFP PHOTO/RAMZI HAIDAR / AFP PHOTO / RAMZI HAIDAR (Photo credit should read RAMZI HAIDAR/AFP via Getty Images)

Was Maher al-Assad, brother of ousted Syrian president, spotted in Moscow?

Maher al-Assad is wanted for war crimes and reportedly fled to Russia by way of Iraq as rebel forces took over Syria.

Ground staff prepare a Middle East Airlines flight for departure on the tarmac at Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut on May 2, 2025.

From Lebanon to Qatar, Israel-Iran war disrupts flights, airport traffic: What to know

Lebanon’s Middle East Airlines canceled all flights to Iraq through Thursday as the ongoing Israel-Iran war forces widespread disruptions across Middle East aviation.

Turkish soldiers patrol near the border wall between Turkey and Iran in the Van Province, eastern Turkey, on Nov. 1, 2024.

Turkey ramps up Iran border security as Ankara, UNHCR monitor refugee risks

UNHCR stands ready to support Turkey, though no major refugee movement has been observed along the Iranian border, the international body’s Turkey spokesperson told Al-Monitor.

The President will attend the annual meeting of the Group of 7 nations, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States are taking place in the Canadian Rocky Mountains in Alberta, and will run until late Tuesday. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

Analysis

Israel tests Trump’s promise to keep US out of new wars

The president who said he would bring peace to the Middle East now has another war unfolding on his watch.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan arrives at the 6th European Political Community summit on May 16, 2025 at Skanderbeg Square in Tirana, Albania.

Armenia's Pashinyan, Turkey's Erdogan to hold 'historic' talks amid Iran-Israel war

The meeting comes as both countries weigh the fallout of a widening regional conflict and rising tensions along their shared border with Iran.