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

politics and security cover image

Politics & Security

US President Donald Trump arrives for the G7 Leaders' Summit at the Hotel Royal, Evian Resort on June 15, 2026 in Evian-les-Bains, France.

Feature

Trump’s Iran deal sidesteps fate of detained Americans

The White House declined to say whether the release of the six Americans would be included in a final deal.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

Latest News

How Iran stands to win major financial relief in Trump-backed deal

A shop owner counts Iranian banknotes at a store in the capital Tehran on Jan. 7, 2026.

Senate bill adds restrictions on US effort to train Lebanon army: What to know

Lebanese army forces set up a checkpoint at the entrance of the village of Ghandourieh in southern Lebanon on June 15, 2026.

Jared Szuba

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

Turkey captures alleged ISIS-K media chief near Afghanistan-Pakistan border

A Turkish police officers patrols at the scene of a motor-bike bomb explosion, next to a police station on Oct. 6, 2016, in Istanbul.

After US-Iran deal, Ghalibaf says Tehran seeks deeper ties with China

Iran's parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf speaks with Tehran's Chamber of Commerce, June 17, 2026.

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 labor

Suicide rates on rise in Iran as economic conditions grow more dire

Amid a rapidly deteriorating economic situation in Iran, news reports says that some workers are taking their own lives due to poverty.

FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images

Fledgling Turkish-Syrian dialogue faces bumpy road ahead

Ankara and Damascus need to moderate their positions to avoid a collision in their quest for normalization.

Iraq Sadr

Iraq's Sadr indicates return to politics in public prayer session

Muqtada al-Sadr organized a public prayer on Friday, making a comeback to politics after months of silence.

F-16 jet

US working with Congress towards Turkey F-16 sale

Opposition to the sale of 40 new fighter jets remains entrenched in the Senate.

AL-MONITOR Staff

By AL-MONITOR Staff

Middle East oil

Analysis

Middle East states seek to stave off global downturn

World Bank report portends trouble for fragile economies; Saudi Arabia looks to copper; Oman invests in hydrogen; Egypt floats its exchange rate; Iran’s currency crisis; Algeria expects to profit.

Week in Review

By Week in Review

JEAN-PHILIPPE KSIAZEK/AFP via Getty Images

European Parliament set to debate Iran as members push for IRGC designation

More than 100 EU Parliament members are calling on the European Commission and EU member states to add Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to their terror lists and increase sanctions on Tehran.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Judges David Re (2nd L) and Janet Nosworthy (L) are seen before the start of the session of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, where the sentence was set for Salim Jamil Ayyash, a member of the Hezbollah militant group who was convicted of involvement in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and 21 others in 2005, Leidschendam, the Netherlands, Dec. 11, 2020.

UN extends Lebanon investigation into Hariri assassination for another year

The UN approved the extension of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon for about a year, to finalize its work.

SERGIO LIMA/AFP via Getty Images

Brazil’s Lula fires Israel ambassador as part of pro-Palestine shift

Former President of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro was a strong supporter of Israel and friend of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Greek coastguard rescuers recover a body from the sea off the island of Kythira, at the southern end of the Peloponnese Peninsula on October 9, 2022. (Photo by SAVVAS KARMANIOLAS/AFP via Getty Images)

Even after the 'visa war,' the bad and the ugly lingers between EU, Global South

Continuing immigration pressures complicate relations for both aging Europe and the nations to the south and east with booming populations.

Members of the Taliban security forces arrive as Afghan women march during a demonstration they call Stop Hazara genocide a day after a suicide bomb attack at Dasht-e-Barchi learning centre, in Kabul on October 1, 2022. - (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

Afghanistan's Hazara minority increasingly fearful under Taliban

Al-Monitor spoke to members of the long-persecuted Hazara Shiite minority group in Afghanistan as restrictions on women increase and verifiable information becomes scarcer.

Shelly Kittleson

By Shelly Kittleson

In Baghdad, reporting on Iraqi politics

A man holds a sign with writing in Hebrew reading "we won't let you go back to the old days of the British Mandate" during a demonstration by lawyers against the Israeli government's controversial plans to overhaul the judicial system, outside the Tel Aviv District Court of Justice on January 12, 2023. (Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel faces internal threat in Netanyahu’s judicial reforms

After warning from Israel’s top opposition leaders, President of the Supreme Court Esther Hayut warns that the Netanyahu government judicial reform could crush Israel’s democracy.

Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Israel's president to visit Brussels, address EU parliament

The upcoming visit of President Isaac Herzog to Brussels at the end of January could help establish a dialogue between the far-right Israeli government and European leadership.