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Politics & Security

BEIJING, CHINA - MAY 14: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) shake hands with Omar Seddik, Sudan's newly appointed foreign minister before their meeting during the China-CELAC Forum at Diaoyutai State Guest House on May 14, 2025 in Beijing, China. The summit includes China's key Latin American trade partners, and comes as Beijing and Washington work on defusing a trade war. (Photo by Florence Lo - Pool/Getty Images)

Explainer

China expands Sudan footprint through ports, debt relief, mining

Reports have emerged of a potential $300 million copper mining deal between the Sudanese government and a Chinese company.

A view of the B1 bridge is pictured, a day after it was destroyed by a strike in Karaj, around 20miles (35kms) southwest of Tehran, April 3, 2026.

Analysis

Why Iran is making infrastructure next front in Mideast conflict

Tehran appears to be codifying a pattern that emerged during the recent conflict, increasingly floating attacks on economic infrastructure as an integral part of the conflict's equation.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa (L) welcomes France's President Emmanuel Macron for a joint press conference in Damascus on July 7, 2026.

Explainer

How Macron seeks to carve out France's role in new Syria

French President Emmanuel Macron became the first Western leader to visit Syria since the fall of the Assad regime, showcasing Paris' support for Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa while seeking to secure a share of the country's emerging reconstruction market.

Latest News

Analysis

As US-Iran fighting resumes, Israel weighs 3 options with restraint winning, for now

Jim WATSON / AFP via Getty Images

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

Lebanese PM Salam in Turkey as Erdogan seeks wider regional role

Israel warns US of new Iran plot to assassinate Trump: What to know

US President Donald Trump walks to board Air Force One as he departs Bismarck Municipal Airport on July 01, 2026 in Bismarck, North Dakota.

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

Breaking | Last Updated: January 22, 2024, 4:25 pm

Turkey's parliament to vote on Sweden’s NATO accession this week

The progress follows intense diplomatic contacts between Ankara and Washington.

David C. Mercil/US Navy/Getty Images

Two US Navy SEALs presumed dead after anti-Houthi raid: Pentagon

The two special operators are presumed dead after attempting to board a stateless boat off Somalia earlier this month.

Iranian mourners gather during the funeral ceremony of yesterday's explosion, Kerman, Iran, Jan. 5, 2024.

Soldier arrested in Iran after inside attack killing 5 troops in Kerman

The latest incident involves the killing of five soldiers by a fellow conscript in Kerman, which was the scene of a deadly bombing claimed by ISIS earlier this month.

First Lady Michal Herzog at a consolation visit by the Idan family, Oct. 25 Kibbutz Mishmar Haemek.

Israel’s first lady speaks out about 'unbearable' plight of women hostages in Gaza

Michal Herzog, Israel's first lady, spoke to Al-Monitor about her mission to make the world recognize the sexual violence perpetrated against Israeli women on and since Oct. 7.

(L-R) Bloomberg Television's journalist Francine Lacqua, Singapore's President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan, President of the European Central Bank (ECB) Christine Lagarde, Co-chairman of the private equity firm of The Carlyle Group David Rubenstein, German Finance Minister Christian Lindner and World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala attend a session on the closing day of the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, on January 19,

Analysis

From Davos, all roads lead to the Middle East

At the World Economic Forum, Al-Monitor interviewed regional decision-makers on economics, energy, environment, governance and conflict across the region.

Week in Review

Andrew Parasiliti

By Week in Review , Andrew Parasiliti

Pakistan activists protest in Lahore on Jan. 19, 2024, after Iran launched an airstrike in Pakistan's southwest Baluchistan province.

What's behind Turkey's muted response to Iran-Pakistan escalation?

Two considerations stand out in Turkey’s muted response to recent Iranian strikes in Iraq and Pakistan.

PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

With Iran's cyberattacks on rise since Gaza war, Israel looks to private industry

Israeli experts warn that cyberattacks against Israeli companies, institutions and infrastructure have grown more frequent and sophisticated since Oct. 7.

Tal Pavel

In Modiin, Israel, reporting on Israel

Pakistani police officers stand guard outside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad on Jan. 18, 2024. Pakistan said on Jan. 18 it carried out strikes against militant targets in Iran, after Tehran launched attacks on Pakistani territory earlier this week.

How Iran miscalculated its gamble in the Pakistan strike

With its brief attack on Pakistani territory, Iran appears to have shot itself in the foot, inadvertently playing into the Western argument that Tehran is a destabilizing state in an already volatile region.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz attend a press conference in the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv on October 28, 2023 amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas.

Analysis

Does split in Israel's cabinet threaten Netanyahu's grip on power?

Israel war cabinet members Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot are not hiding their frustration with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s refusal to discuss the future of the Gaza Strip and a potential deal for the release of remaining hostages in Gaza.

Mazal Mualem

By Mazal Mualem

In Tel Aviv, reporting on politics

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is greeted by Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan as he arrives at al-Ula in northwestern Saudi Arabia on January 8, 2024, during his week-long trip aimed at calming tensions across the Middle East.

In policy shift, White House links Israel-Saudi normalization to Palestinian statehood

Jared Szuba

In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military

Members of the radical Islamist movement "Hizb ut-Tahrir" protest in the northern Lebanese port city of Tripoli, on April 28, 2023, against the deportation of Syrian refugees.

What is Hizb ut-Tahrir, anti-Israel Islamist group banned in the UK?

The international Islamist group has been banned across the Middle East and is known for espousing antisemitism.

Second Israeli soccer player in Turkey dropped over Gaza hostages post

Karzev’s departure comes amid rising Turkish-Israeli tensions against the backdrop of the war in Gaza.