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

politics and security cover image

Politics & Security

People ride motorcycles past a large billboard showing portraits of Iran's late supreme leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (L), and slain supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (R) in central Tehran on June 8, 2026.

Analysis

From Beirut to Bab el Mandeb, Iran tests new deterrence strategy

Tehran views its latest clash with Israel as a watershed moment and proof that any attack on its regional allies can trigger direct and immediate retaliation.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Aamir QURESHI / AFP via Getty Images

Explainer

Turkey names new envoys to Iran, Oman, Qatar in regional reshuffle

Turkey’s latest ambassadorial changes mark a partial return to career diplomacy in Tehran and the Gulf as Ankara maintains a balancing act amid the Iran war.

Motorcyclists ride past a billboard featuring Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif (C) and Army Chief and Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir (L) in Islamabad on April 20, 2026, ahead of anticipated US-Iran peace talks.

What Lebanon army chief’s visit to Pakistan means

Lebanon’s armed forces commander, Gen. Rodolphe Haykal, met with his Pakistani counterpart, Field Marshal Asim Munir, during his visit to Pakistan that coincided with ongoing negotiations between Iran and the US despite exchanges of fire.

Rahmi Koc

Analysis

Turkey's probe into pro-secular tycoon goes beyond crude Kurdish joke

Rahmi Koc is under investigation after a widely condemned joke about Kurdish women, but critics say the case reflects deeper tensions over free expression and selective justice in Turkey.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Latest News

Hezbollah calls on Lebanon to 'correct' relations with Iran

KAWNAT HAJU / AFP via Getty Images

Breaking

Last Updated: June 9, 2026, 5:51 pm

US military strikes Iran after Apache helicopter downed off Oman

Jalaa MAREY / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

'We are already hearing the bus': Israeli insiders fear Netanyahu is losing Trump’s backing on Iran

US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrive to speak to journalists during a joint press conference at Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, on December 29, 2025. US President Donald Trump hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Florida on December 29 for crucial talks on moving to the next stage of the fragile Gaza truce plan.The two leaders also discussed Iran, with Trump saying that if Tehran rebuilt its nuclear facilities the United States wo

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

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

Anastasia Yemelyanova

Who is Anastasia Yemelyanova, Russian activist reportedly killed in Turkey?

Turkey-based Russian feminist and antiwar activist Anastasia Yemelyanova, 32, was reportedly killed by her boyfriend.

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev held a one-on-one meeting with President of the Republic of Türkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Turkey’s Erdogan meets Azerbaijan’s Aliyev as Armenians flee Nagorno-Karabakh

Ankara is backing the oil-rich Turkic nation’s current drive to seize all of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NY) leaves after speaking during a press conference at Hudson County Community College’s North Hudson Campus on September 25, 2023 in Union City, New Jersey. Menendez spoke during a press conference where he stated that he would not resign as senator and would serve out his term. The three-term senator and his wife are accused of taking bribes of gold bars, a luxury car, and cash in exchange for using his position to help the government of Egypt and other corrupt acts according to an in

Menendez ignores calls to resign as alleged Egypt bribery ties get exposed

The US Senate’s top foreign relations lawmaker struck a humbler note on Monday but remained defiant after federal prosecutors alleged he took bribes in exchange for facilitating US foreign arms sales and passed sensitive US government information to Egypt.

Evin Prison

Iranian-American dies in Tehran’s Evin Prison due to 'lack of medical care'

Faramarz Javidzad, 60, was taken to hospital after he suffered stomach bleeding, but he was later returned to the prison in the Iranian capital where he later died, according to reports.

From the official reception for President Bashar al-Assad and Mrs. Asma in Hangzhou International Airport on September 21, 2023

In China, Syria's Assad gets political fanfare, but no funding commitments

Since Syria joined China's Belt and Road Initiative in January 2022, there have been no projects to show for it in the war-torn country.

This picture taken from the Mount of Olives shows a view of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and its Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem's Old City on August 25, 2023. (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP) (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images)

Saudi Arabia, Jordan condemn Israeli settler provocations at Al-Aqsa Mosque

Saudi Arabia's new ambassador to the West Bank has spoken out over the clashes that broke out over the weekend as hundreds of Jewish settlers stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

Netanyahu

Analysis

New York trip gave Netanyahu no escape from Israel's reality

The Israeli prime minister’s coalition partners were careful to remind him, even when he visited the United Nations, that his political fate is in their hands, and that they won’t allow any concessions to the Palestinians.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Jordanian King Abdullah II at the Middle East Global Summit on Sept. 20, 2023. (Al-Monitor/Yvonne Tnt)

Analysis

Jordan's King Abdullah: You can’t parachute over Palestine to make peace with Israel

At the inaugural Al-Monitor/Semafor Middle East Global Summit, King Abdullah II emphasizes the centrality of the Palestinian issue; Iraqi PM Mohammed Shia al-Sudani describes vision for natural gas; and more excerpts and coverage of summit.

Week in Review

Andrew Parasiliti

By Week in Review , Andrew Parasiliti

Hochstein

Middle East can supply world's clean energy, says Biden's energy envoy

Amos J. Hochstein said the key lies in the effective transport of the region’s abundance of wind, sun and minerals to maintain its energy leadership.

People watch a water curtain fountain at the Boulevard entertainment city in Riyadh on August 29, 2023. (Photo by Fayez Nureldine / AFP) (Photo by FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images)

China builds reach by backing Middle East water projects

In its latest financial deal, China has agreed to provide a new credit facility to expand Saudi Arabia's water generation and power portfolio.

.S. Sen. Robert Menendez spoke during the rally to commemorate the 1915 Turkish massacre of Armenians in Times Square April 26, 2015 in New York City. The rally marks 100 years since the Ottoman government began its systematic extermination of Armenian peoples from their homeland in what is present-day Turkey. (Photo by Kevin Hagen/Getty Images)

Turkey gloats at Menendez indictment but will it get F-16 jets?

Sen. Bob Menendez, a strong critic of Turkey who heads the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has been charged for allegedly receiving bribes via a scheme involving Egypt.

Iran drone parade

Iran parades lines of drones, calls for US Gulf pullout

Iran showed off at least 16 drone types, one of which it said was the world's longest range, as President Ebrahim Raisi urged regional cooperation against the American military presence in the Persian Gulf.