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Politics & Security

Houthi

Exclusive

Houthi top diplomat cites 'common ground' with Iran amid sweeping Red Sea gains

In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, Acting Foreign Minister of the Houthi-led administration Abdulwahid Abu Ras said concerns over a potential closure of the Red Sea are being fueled by Saudi Arabia.

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

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

US Republican Representative Wesley Hunt of Texas gestures after speaking during the first day of the 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 15, 2024.

Meet Wesley Hunt, Trump's pick for ambassador to Saudi Arabia

The Texas Republican previously served for two years in the kingdom as a diplomatic liaison officer.

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman looks on upon his arrival during a welcome ceremony as part of his two-day official visit to France, at the Hotel des Invalides, Paris, France, Aug. 24, 2026.

Saudi Arabia’s MBS visits Egypt as Red Sea crisis with Houthis escalates

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman visits Egypt at a time the kingdom faces repeated Houthi attacks, while the Iranian-backed rebels close in on the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, threatening maritime security.

Mecca

In first, Saudi Arabia activates Mecca warning system amid Houthi threat

Saudi Arabia activated emergency alerts in the holy city for the first time since Yemen's Houthi group intensified its drone and missile attacks on the kingdom.

Latest News

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

Milak border crossing near the town of Zabol, Iran

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

Win McNamee/Getty Images

Why Turkey has few options to protect Black Sea shipping

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.

Analysis

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

Erik Marmor

Mazal Mualem

By Mazal Mualem

In Tel Aviv, reporting on politics

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

MAYA ALLERUZZO/AFP via Getty Images

Israel's new army chief Herzi Halevi forced to navigate multiple bosses, far-right whims

Israel's incoming IDF Chief of Staff Hezri Halevi will have to deal with the fallout from the whims of a new government run by Israel’s most right-wing, regressive and ultra-nationalist forces.

Lebanon's Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh gives an interview with AFP at his office in the capital Beirut on December 20, 2021. (Photo by JOSEPH EID/AFP via Getty Images)

European investigative team in Lebanon starts probe into Riad Salameh

French Judge Aude Buresi is leading the European delegation, and was scheduled to interview at least 15 bankers and business figures in the country tied to Salameh.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu at United Nations headquarters, New York, May 18, 2022.

Turkish FM travels to Washington seeking to seal deal for F-16 fighter jets

Mevlut Cavusoglu’s meeting with Antony Blinken comes as Washington reportedly ties warplane deal to NATO expansion.

This grab taken from AFP video footage shows a member of Ukraine's military looking away as a rocket launcher fires on the outskirts of Soledar, whose fate was uncertain after Russian Wagner group claimed it controlled the town, Ukraine, Jan. 11, 2023.

Russia to expand private militaries in broader Middle East amid staffing crisis

As it wages a full-scale war in Ukraine, Russia wants to reform its army while being chronically short of security personnel, and increasingly dependent on mercenaries

DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images

Interview

Syrian Kurdish commander wants peace with Turkey, but will 'fully' resist attack

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Syrian Democratic Forces head Mazlum Kobane said he expects a Turkish attack in February, and warned Ankara should not punish Syria’s Kurds over its own failure to resolve its own domestic issues.

Mazlum Kobane

Mazlum Kobane

SDF commander in chief

OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images

Syrian refugees in Turkey watch uneasily as Erdogan warms to Assad

Syrians in Turkey are wary of losing refuge as the Turkish President eyes dialogue with Assad

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