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Politics & Security

A billboard with the image of the late Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei wraps the front of a building in Tehran on May 5, 2026.

Analysis

Iran's Gulf gambit: Attacking the UAE to shift US calculations

Tehran is escalating pressure on the United Arab Emirates through strikes and rhetoric, signaling a strategy to widen the conflict and indirectly force Washington to ease its blockade on Iranian ports.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Parker Song / Getty Images

Iran’s Araghchi heads to China as US presses Beijing over Hormuz: What to know

The visit comes ahead of President Donald Trump's long-awaited trip to Beijing next week.

A picture taken near Kars on Feb. 28, 2024 shows the ruins of a bridge over Arpacay river, the natural border between Turkey and Armenia.

Turkey, Armenia agree to restore medieval bridge in normalization push

Ankara is pursuing normalization with Armenia ahead of June parliamentary elections in a thaw also positioned to advance its broader Middle Corridor ambitions.

Lionel BONAVENTURE / AFP via Getty Images)

EU says energy costs tied to Hormuz crisis have surged past $35B

Global energy price increases tied to the Hormuz disruption are driving higher import costs in Europe, despite limited reliance on gas flowing through the strait.

Latest News

Ethiopia rejects Sudan's strike claims, accuses Khartoum of backing Tigray rebels

The charred remains of a tank from clashes between the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) lie on a road near Gereb Agew, Southern Tigray, on March 3, 2026.

Analysis

Israel fears Trump seeking Hormuz win while sidestepping Iran nuclear issue

Amirhossein KHORGOOEI / ISNA / AFP via Getty Images

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

Pentagon says Iran ceasefire continues despite UAE attack

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks at a press briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, DC, on April 24, 2026.

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

OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey scales back $23 billion F-16 deal with US

Turkey scrapped plans to acquire F-16 modernization kits for domestic industry to take over, the Turkish defense minister said.

Israel Lebanon

US military to monitor Israel-Lebanon ceasefire alongside UN, France

The Lebanese Army emerges as the lynchpin of a fragile ceasefire as Biden vows no US troops on the ground in south Lebanon.

A picture taken on Nov. 10, 2019, shows an Iranian flag in Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant, during an official ceremony to kick-start works on a second reactor at the facility.

Iran, Europe gamble on fresh talks in Geneva to resolve nuclear deal deadlock

The upcoming negotiations in Geneva follow a two-year hiatus in Iran's nuclear diplomacy, reviving cautious optimism regarding potential economic relief while also highlighting the pressure Tehran is facing in the wake of Donald Trump's new tenure.

One of the two top political leaders of the Syrian Kurdish alliance and co-chair of the Syrian Democratic Council Ilham Ahmed attends a press conference, in Paris, on Dec. 21, 2018.

Interview

Syrian Kurd FM Ilham Ahmed says PKK leader Ocalan's words of 'vital importance'

Ilham Ahmed, the de facto foreign minister of the Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, spoke to Al-Monitor about the latest developments in the region, including Turkey's new initiative to end its conflict with the outlawed PKK.

Ilham Ahmed

Ilham Ahmed

Co-President of the Executive Council of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria

KEMAL ASLAN/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey detains more than 230 as pressure on opposition ramps up

The detentions include pro-Kurdish politicians, rights activists and journalists.

SIMON WOHLFAHRT/AFP via Getty Images

Sudan clears path for 17,500 tons of food aid as war rages

Some of the aid has reached the Zamzam camp in Darfur, where famine has been confirmed, while the opening of a key border crossing was extended earlier this month.

Smoke billows from the site of an Israeli airstrike in Marjayoun, near the Lebanon-Israel border, on Sept. 23, 2024.

Israel security cabinet approves ceasefire deal with Hezbollah to end Lebanon war

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his security cabinet approved the US-mediated deal with Hezbollah for stopping the conflict in Lebanon.

Majid Saeedi/Getty Images

Iran promises response 'beyond imagination' to Israeli strikes even as deal looms

A month after Israel's Oct. 26 strikes on Iran, Iranian officials are ramping up discussions of a response to the attack.

Smoke billows above Beirut's southern suburbs following an Israeli airstrike on Nov. 26, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah.

Cautious optimism in Lebanon as Israel inches toward cease-fire deal

Lebanon is awaiting Israel’s decision on a US-brokered cease-fire deal even as Israeli strikes continue across the country.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives at the District Court to follow Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan by video conference from Brighton, testifying at a trial involving Netanyahu, Jerusalem, June 25, 2023.

Netanyahu gets partial delay for testimony; cease-fire decision expected in hours

As the Jerusalem District Court decided to delay Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's trial by one week only, reports say a deal with Lebanon is imminent.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps special forces fire a short-range missile during a military drill in the Gulf of Oman near Iranian southern port town of Bandar-e-Jask on Tuesday, April 4, 2006.

Iran and Azerbaijan hold joint military drills in sign of easing tensions

Iran and Azerbaijan are at odds over the planned Zangezur Corridor through Armenia, as well as Baku’s relations with Israel.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte speaks at the press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (not seen) at the Chancellery, Berlin, Germany, Nov. 4, 2024.

NATO chief in Turkey as Russia-Ukraine war escalates

The NATO chief pays his inaugural visit to Turkey following the Turkish president's criticism of the Biden administration over its authorization of the use of longer-range missiles.