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

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Politics & Security

US President Donald Trump gestures as he steps off Air Force One to board the new Qatari-gifted Boeing plane, en route to the United States following his participation in the NATO Summit at Royal Air Force Mildenhall on July 8, 2026, in Mildenhall, England.

Trump says US to strike Iran's Pickaxe Mountain nuclear site

Satellite imagery has detected recent construction at the underground facility.

Israelis turn out to cast their ballots on election day for the 20th Knesset on March 17, 2015 in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Explainer

Israel's next election: Who's leading in polls and what's at stake?

After months of negotiations and speculations, the coalition announced that general elections will take place on Oct. 27.

Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler and his Egyptian counterpart, Lt. Gen. Ashraf Salem Zaher, met at the Turkey’s Defense Ministry in Ankara, July 13, 2026.

Turkey, Egypt expand military ties with cooperation frameworks: What to know

Increasing defense cooperation between Ankara and Cairo comes as Turkey seeks to offset the expanding Greek-Cypriot-Israeli alignment in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Mohammed HUWAIS / AFP via Getty Images

Yemen’s Houthis accuse Saudi Arabia of striking Sanaa airport: What to know

The Yemeni government claimed that its armed forces struck the Sanaa International Airport to prevent an Iranian plane from landing, while the Houthis accused the government's ally, Saudi Arabia, of carrying out the strikes.

Latest News

Analysis

On first foreign trip, Iraqi PM Zaidi woos Trump but Iran casts long shadow

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi at a Council of Ministers meeting in Baghdad on July 11, 2026.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Trump says US to resume naval blockade of Iran's ports

U.S. President Donald Trump returns to Joint Base Andrews on July 09, 2026 in Washington, DC. Trump, switched from the old Air Force One to the new Air Force One while stopping in the U.K. at RAF Mildenhall Air Force Base was returning from his visit to Ankara, Turkey where he attended the NATO summit. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Analysis

From S-400s to SAMP/T: Turkey’s defense pivot gathers pace after NATO summit

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer (L) and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pose after signing a defense partnership agreement on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, Wednesday, July 8, 2026.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

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

Israeli soldiers scuffle with Jewish settlers from the nearby Einav settlement, trying to storm the town of Deir Sharaf in the Nablus governorate of the occupied West Bank on Nov. 2, 2023, after an Israeli was killed when his car came under fire.

Blinken presses Israeli leaders on West Bank settler attacks

The top US diplomat said he received a "clear commitment" from Israel's leaders that they would condemn the extremist violence in the West Bank.

People gather in the Imam Hussein square in Tehran, during the televised speech of Lebanese Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah November 3, 2023. Nasrallah told the United States on November 3, that his Iran-backed group was ready to face its warships and the way to prevent a regional war was to halt the attacks in Gaza. (Photo by AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

Hezbollah's Nasrallah refrains from entering Israel-Hamas war, praises Iraq, Yemen proxies

In his first public speech since Hamas’ attack on Israel, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said the operation was purely Palestinian, that his movement had no hand in it, and accused the US of direct involvement in the Gaza war.

Hatab funeral

Israel-Hamas war sees highest death toll for journalists in 31 years

Palestine TV said its its correspondent Mohammad Abu Hatab was killed in an Israeli airstrike, the latest of dozens of Palestinian, Israeli and Lebanese journalists to be killed since the war began.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at a war cabinet meetting attended by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, 2nd from left, in Tel Aviv, Nov. 3, 2023.

Blinken returns to Israel in bid to secure 'humanitarian pause' in Gaza

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv on Friday in an effort to secure a "humanitarian pause" in the Gaza Strip.

Nasrallah

Day 28 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Friday, Nov. 3

Israeli soldiers are seen in the Palestinian village of Dayr Sharaf, in the West Bank located about seven kilometres (four miles) from the Jewish Einav settlement after an Israeli man was killed leading to dozens of Jewish settlers storming the village on November 2, 2023, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Three Palestinians were killed on November 2, 2023, by Israeli fire in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said, and an Israeli

Breaking | Last Updated: November 2, 2023, 7:03 pm

Israel approves transfer of tax revenues to Palestinian Authority

The Israeli cabinet approved the transfer to pay the Palestinian security apparatus, despite objection by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

Palestinian Hamas supporters raise flags as they rally in support of the occupied West Bank and the Nablus-based Lion's Den armed group (Areen Al-Asood), following the Friday noon prayers in Gaza City, on Nov. 25, 2022.

After Israel attack, US follows Hamas trail of money

As Israel fights Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the United States is waging its own battle against the militant group’s finances.

People check the rubble of buildings destroyed in an Israeli strike on the Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on Nov. 2, 2023.

Day 27 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Thursday, Nov. 2

Rafah crossing

First group of US citizens evacuates to Egypt from Gaza

The United States is working to get some 400 of its citizens and their family members out of the Gaza Strip via the Rafah gate on Egypt's border.

People demonstrate in support of Palestinians in Cali, Colombia, on Oct. 19, 2023.

Chile, Colombia, Jordan recall Israel ambassadors after Bolivia cuts ties

Bolivia became the first country to end its diplomatic ties with Israel over the war in Gaza.

Jabalia

Global outcry grows after Israeli strikes on Gaza's Jabalia refugee camp

Continued attacks with disproportionate toll on civilians draw international condemnation of Israel's war effort.

An undated image of Patrick Dai.

Who is Cornell University student Patrick Dai, accused of threatening Jews

Patrick Dai, whose parents say he suffers from depression, was arrested for allegedly threatening to kill Jews at the school in New York state as antisemitic incidents rise amid the Israel-Hamas war.

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

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