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Politics & Security

A woman walks past a banner featuring Iran's late supreme leaders, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (L) and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (C), next to newly elected Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, in Tehran on April 19, 2026.

Analysis

Why Iran's wartime behavior risks lasting rupture with Gulf states

Iran's rhetoric and policies toward Gulf states have sharply escalated, raising questions about whether years of painstaking regional rapprochement can survive mounting distrust and maritime confrontations.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Shiite Muslim cleric Moqtada Sadr gives a speech in Iraq's central holy shrine city of Najaf on August 30, 2022.

Iraq’s Sadr says 'exclude' armed groups from next government as pressure builds

The cleric's call comes as Prime Minister-designate Ali al-Zaidi tries to form a government amid political divisions and US demands to curb the influence of Iran-backed actors.

Traffic passes a billboard depicting Iranian ballistic missiles in service, with text in Arabic reading "the honest [person's] promise" and in Persian "Israel is weaker than a spider's web," Valiasr Square, Tehran, April 15, 2024. ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images.

Analysis

CIA report on Iran missiles undercuts Netanyahu as war euphoria dissipates

The findings cast doubt on Israel’s wartime gains and put pressure on Netanyahu’s campaign strategy ahead of elections.

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

Latest News

US strikes Iran tankers as UAE reports fresh missile, drone attacks

Getty

US sets expectations for Iraq’s next PM to confront Iranian militias

Popular Mobilization Forces

Iran president says he held official meeting with Mojtaba Khamenei: What to know

An Iranian woman holds up an image of Iran's new supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei.

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

Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich walks with soldiers during a visit to Kibbutz Kfar Aza near the border with the Gaza Strip on Nov. 14, 2023, in the aftermath of an attack by Palestinian militants on Oct. 7.

Israel's Smotrich will abolish free trade deal with Turkey, slap 100% tariff

As Israel becomes increasingly isolated internationally, the army stated that two Thai workers, presumed kidnapped by Hamas, were actually killed by the group on Oct. 7.

A boy waves a flag of jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan as tens of thousands of Kurds gather during a rally of the DTP.

Turkey hands Kurdish leaders heavy sentences, dimming hopes of democratic change

Selahattin Demirtas, co-leader of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), and others were sentenced to a combined 375 years in Turkish prisons. Demirtas has remained in prison since 2016.

South African professor of International Law John Dugard and South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandor (R) arrive at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) prior to the verdict announcement in the genocide case against Israel, brought by South Africa, in The Hague on January 26, 2024. The top UN court said Israel should do everything it could to prevent any acts of genocide in the Gaza Strip, in a highly anticipated ruling. Israel must do everything to "prevent the co

South Africa calls on ICJ to end 'Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza'

South Africa claims that Israel did not fulfill provisional measures issued by the ICJ to prevent genocidal acts against Palestinians in Gaza.

A man looks from a shack surrounded by heavy flooding in Iran's northwestern city of Astara, Gilan province, after severe floods hit the northern part of the country, Sept. 18, 2023.

Floods in northeastern Iran leave at least 7 dead

The Persian Gulf region has experienced intense rainfall in recent weeks, and hundreds have been killed by floods in neighboring Afghanistan.

Egyptian army infantry fighting vehicles (IFV) are deployed near the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip on March 23, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict in the Palestinian territory between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Analysis

As they throw punches, will Egypt downgrade ties with Israel over Rafah?

The disagreement between Israel and Egypt over the Rafah crossing into the Gaza Strip contrasts heavily with the tight security cooperation between the two countries before Oct. 7.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

An Egyptian tanker truck bearing the insignia of the United Nations enters the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip on March 23, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict in the Palestinian territory between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. (Photo by Khaled DESOUKI / AFP) (Photo by KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images)

Why PA rejected Israel's offer for 'unofficial' control of Rafah crossing

A Ramallah-based source explained to Al-Monitor that the PA is not interested in cooperating with Israel on piecemeal projects that don't include a broader agreement on postwar governance of Palestinian territories.

A Bahrain security forces armored vehicle is stationed near a billboard depicting the faces of Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz (L), last year's Arab League summit host, and Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa (R), this year's host, ahead of the 33rd league summit in Manama, May 15, 2024.

Arab League calls for 'immediate' Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, deployment of international force

The statement further expresses the Arab nations' “firm position for a just and comprehensive peaceful settlement of the Palestinian issue” and their support for an international peace conference on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Iraqi autonomous Kurdish region's peshmerga forces and fighters from the Yazidi minority, a local Kurdish-speaking community targeted in a brutal campaign by the Islamic State (IS) group, enter the western Iraqi city of Sinjar, in the Nineveh Province, on Nov. 13, 2015.

Turkey’s Fidan says Iraqi Sinjar must be ‘clear’ of PKK presence

The top Turkish diplomat’s comment comes as Ankara is ramping up its threats for a large-scale operation in northern Iraq.

Antony J. Blinken, United States Secretary of State, shakes hands with the Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan before posing for the official press photo on the first day of the NATO foreign ministers' meeting at the NATO headquarters on April 03, 2024, in Brussels, Belgium.

Turkey dials up Gaza diplomacy as cease-fire talks hit 'impasse'

Ankara dials up Gaza diplomacy with Washington, Doha and Hamas, with the top Turkish diplomat describing the prospects of a cease-fire as dimming.

AHMAD SHOURA/AFP via Getty Images

Jordan thwarts Iran-linked weapons plot as Hamas denies involvement

Iran and its proxies have threatened Jordan since the start of the Gaza war, including in relation to the kingdom helping shoot down missiles the Islamic Republic fired at Israel.

JALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images

Lebanon’s Hezbollah hosts Hamas delegation, fires 60 rockets on Israel

The meeting is the latest between Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and senior Hamas officials since the Palestinian movement launched an assault on southern Israel Oct. 7.

Javad Sadatinejad, who served as agriculture minister (2021-2023) in the administration of incumbent President Ebrahim Raisi, is seen in this undated image.

Iranian ex-official gets jail term in rare ruling in $3.7B corruption case

The former official was found guilty of involvement in the largest-ever embezzlement case in the country's history, which has been exposed at a time of unprecedented economic hardships for ordinary Iranians.