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

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (R) meets with exiled leader of the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement Khaled Meshaal.

Iran urges sanctions on Israel, says Hamas ready for more 'surprise' attacks

Iran's leader censured the West for supporting Israel, while the country's foreign minister warned that more militant "surprise" attacks were in the offing should Israel refuse to halt Gaza bombardments.

Iran Turkey FMs

Turkey, Iran FMs warn over Israel's expansion of Gaza war, disagree on oil boycott

As Turkey and Iran are signaling unity on joint warnings over expansion of the Israel-Hamas war, Tehran’s call for a boycott against Israel has not been echoed in Ankara.

US Air Force via Getty Images

US deploys B-1B bombers to Turkey for 'long-planned' exercise amid Gaza war

The Pentagon's show of force came as Iran's top diplomat visited Ankara amid threats by Tehran and its proxies to pile on Israel's war in the Gaza Strip.

The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says the unrelenting retaliatory Israeli bombardment has killed more than 8,000 people

Day 24 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Monday, Oct. 30

A Navy member of the Quick Acting Response Team scans the horizon as he protects the USS Whidbey Island and the USS Bataan.

Day 26 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Wednesday, Nov. 1

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia arrives at the formal welcome ceremony to mark the beginning of the G20 Summit on November 15, 2022 in Nusa Dua, Indonesia. The G20 meetings are being held in Bali from November 15-16. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images,)

Saudi's GCC-ASEAN summit: Toward an Asia minus China collective strategy

The GCC and ASEAN nations find themselves sharing more strategic commonalities amid the current era of deglobalization, geopolitical instability and economic uncertainties.

Palestinians search for survivors in the rubble of a building in the Nuseirat refugee camp, in the central Gaza Strip on October 31, 2023, amid relentless Israeli bombardment of the Palestinian enclave. Thousands of civilians, both Palestinians and Israelis, have died since October 7, 2023, after Palestinian Hamas militants based in the Gaza Strip entered southern Israel in an unprecedented attack triggering a war declared by Israel on Hamas with retaliatory bombings on Gaza. (Photo by Mahmud HAMS / AFP) (P

'Total blindness': Gaza paramedics recount horror during Israel's blackout

Gazans recount the 34 hours of internet and communications blackout during intense Israeli bombardment cutting off the enclave from the rest of the world.

Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian speaks during a joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart in Tehran on Sept. 3, 2023.

Iran’s FM heads to Turkey as Erdogan slams 'Israel's barbarity'

The Turkish Foreign Ministry has announced that Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian will pay an official visit to Turkey on Wednesday.

Israeli army soldiers gather by three tracked medical vehicles near the northern town of Kiryat Shmona close to the border with Lebanon, Oct. 31, 2023.

Analysis

Israel deepens Gaza incursion, seeks to pressure Hamas leaders Deif, Sinwar

The Israeli army is taking its time, choosing a slow-rolling ground operation instead of a massive armory entry.

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

Kharaz

West Bank death toll exceeds 120 as US warns Israel over settler violence

Over 120 Palestinians in the West Bank have been killed amid raids by the Israeli army and settler attacks since Oct. 7.

Forces loyal to Yemen's Houthi rebels hold up Palestinian flags as they march in a show of solidarity with the Palestinians, Sanaa, Yemen, Oct. 15, 2023.

Yemen’s Houthis claim attack on Israel as Gaza war rages

The Iran-backed forces said the missile and drone attack was a response to “Israeli aggression.”

This picture taken on Oct. 31, 2023 from a position along the border with the Gaza Strip in southern Israel shows smoke plumes billowing during Israeli bombardment amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement.

Day 25 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Tuesday, Oct. 31