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Politics & Security

Milak border crossing near the town of Zabol, Iran

Third Sunni cleric killed in Iran’s Sistan and Baluchistan Province: What to know

Iran says it is stepping up its crackdown on armed groups in the impoverished province as Sunni clerics have been reported killed there and in the predominantly Kurdish northwest.

Win McNamee/Getty Images

CENTCOM chief meets Saudi Arabia's MBS amid Houthi gains in Yemen

The low-profile meeting between the Pentagon's commander in the Middle East and Saudi crown prince comes as Yemen's Houthis seized the high ground overlooking a vital economic waterway.

People swim next to the Russian-flagged cargo ship OMSKIY-107, which was attacked off the Black Sea coast and eventually ran aground off the shore of the Sile district, Istanbul, Sept. 3, 2026.

Why Turkey has few options to protect Black Sea shipping

The Russia-Ukraine drone war is hitting Turkish commercial interests, exposing the limits of Ankara’s ability to protect shipping while remaining outside the conflict.

Erik Marmor

Analysis

Once Netanyahu’s top challenger, Bennett loses ground to Eisenkot: What to know

Facing the popular Gadi Eisenkot, the Together party of former premiers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid is sinking in Israeli opinion polls.

Mazal Mualem

By Mazal Mualem

In Tel Aviv, reporting on politics

Latest News

Analysis

What does Houthi advance mean for Yemen’s southern separatists?

Yemeni separatists

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

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

Analysis

Houthi gains in Yemen are testing Saudi Arabia’s security strategy

boats and a container ship near the Strait of Bab al-Mandeb

Francesco Schiavi

By Francesco Schiavi

In Bologna, reporting on security, defense, economy, governance

Iran, misreading Trump’s resolve, escalates conflict in Yemen ahead of US midterms

Supporters of the Iran-backed Houthi movement, arrive with their weapons to rally in solidarity with Iran and Lebanon, in Sanaa on April 8, 2026, following the announcement of a ceasefire in the Middle East war.

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

Martin Griffiths, UN Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief, visits the affected neighbourhoods in the city of Aleppo on February 13, 2023 following a devastating 7.8-magnitude earthquake rocked Turkey and Syria. (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

Arab states, militias pour aid into Syria as earthquake death toll exceeds 5,000

The Lebanese group Hezbollah and Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces are among the militias that delivered aid to Syria.

Turkey earthquake rubble

In Turkey, fears grow of Erdogan postponing elections as earthquake toll passes 30,000

As public anger over the government's earthquake response grows, speculation about the possible postponement of Turkey’s elections in May is heating up.

OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images

US pushes UN vote on aid routes into earthquake-ravaged Syria

Six days after Syria's earthquake, the United States called on the UN Security Council to greenlight the use of additional aid corridors through a new resolution.

Syria In Crisis

A Palestinian clears debris at a petrol station following Israeli strikes in Gaza City, early on February 13, 2023. - Israel hit Gaza with air strikes in response to a rocket fired from the Palestinian enclave at the weekend, the army said, as unrest persisted in the occupied West Bank. (Photo by MOHAMMED ABED/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel strikes Gaza, as unrest grows in West Bank

A Palestinian was killed in an Israeli raid in the West Bank on Monday, hours after Israel carried out strikes in Gaza in response to rocket fire from the territory, its military said

Israelis protest

Mass protests in Israel as Knesset begins controversial judicial overhaul

Insults were heralded, shouts of "shame," and tables thrown inside the Knesset, as tens of thousands of Israelis protested outside the chamber against unpopular judicial reforms by the Netanyahu government.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein speak to the media prior to a meeting, in the Treaty Room of the US State Department in Washington, DC, on February 9, 2023. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP) (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

Iraq's FM: We are in touch with the US, Iran to reduce tensions

In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, Fuad Hussein discusses US-Iraq economic relations, regional economic integration and sanctions on Russia and Iran.

This aerial view shows collapsed buildings during the ongoing rescue operation in Hatay, southeastern Turkey, on Feb. 10, 2023.

Massive earthquake cost to deepen Turkey’s economic woes

The disaster response requires a significant increase in public spending to meet the needs of 13.5 million affected people and rebuild massive destruction, threatening to widen Ankara’s budget deficit.

Erdogan earthquake

Analysis

Earthquake could shake up Turkish election

Democracies face more pressure than dictatorships after natural disasters; Assad is content to continue rule amidst the ruins.

Week in Review

By Week in Review

A truck carries empty coffins to the cemetery on Feb. 10, 2023, in Hatay, Turkey.

US military deploys more assets to Incirlik to aid Turkey earthquake response

The US military is deploying more aid to its base in southeastern Turkey to assist after devastating dual earthquakes.

OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images

Syria to allow cross-border aid into areas outside government control

Delivering assistance to Syria after the deadly earthquakes is complicated by the government's diplomatic isolation and tight control over aid access.

Madrid Mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida.

Barcelona ends twin city agreement with Tel Aviv, citing Israeli 'apartheid'

Barcelona’s Mayor Ada Colau said that thousands of residents in her city signed a petition to sever ties with Tel Aviv so as to pressure Israel on Palestinian human rights.

JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

US pressure heightens opposition to Netanyahu's judicial overhaul

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trapped between increasingly strong far-right ministers and the US administration.

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