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

politics and security cover image

Politics & Security

Handout Photo by the US Navy via Getty Images

Explainer

What’s the status of Strait of Hormuz after US-Iran talks?

Oil tankers continued to transit the strait in both directions, but many turned off their transponders over the weekend after Iran's military declared Hormuz closed once again.

Cars drive past billboards showing Iran's new Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei (L) and his late father Ali Khamenei (R), with the slogan "Thank you, loyal Iran," erected along the highway leading to Rafik Hariri International Airport, Beirut, Lebanon, June 22, 2026.

US, Iran to form 'deconflicting cell' on Lebanon, sidelining Lebanese state

The agreement came during talks between Iran and the United States following a preliminary deal reached last week to end the war across the Middle East, including in Lebanon.

A picture taken on March 12, 2017, shows an Iranian tanker docking at the platform of the oil facility in the Kharg Island, on the shore of the Gulf.

US grants Iran oil sanctions waiver as part of deal

The waiver authorizes the production, delivery and sale of Iranian oil for two months.

Latest News

Vance says Iran to restore nuclear inspector access

US Vice President JD Vance spoke to reporters following the talks with Iranian negotiators at the Burgenstock complex

Syria’s Sharaa says he had ‘multiple discussions’ with Trump on Lebanon, favors dialogue

US President Donald Trump meets Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in the Oval Office, Washington, DC, Nov. 10, 2025.

Analysis

Why Gulf defense firms are betting on Europe in wake of Iran war

Illustration picture taken during the Eurosatory Defense and Security fair in Paris, France ,on June 15, 2026.

Francesco Schiavi

By Francesco Schiavi

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

Analysis

After US-Iran deal, can Pakistan sustain regional mediator role?

Aamir QURESHI / AFP via Getty Images

Sabena Siddiqui

By Sabena Siddiqui

In Karachi, reporting on South Asia, Middle East, Iran

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

Hadar Muchtar.

TikTok celebrity Hadar Muchtar shakes up Israeli election campaign

Unknown to most Israeli voters until just a few weeks ago, social media star Hadar Muchtar becomes a political figure to reckon with.

An exhibition calling for an end to executions in Iran on Trafalgar Square on October 10, 2020, in London, England.

Iran revokes death penalties handed to three protesters

The executions were reduced to jail terms in a controversial case that had drawn a furious public backlash.

Deputy IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi with UN Envoy Gilad Erdan at a briefing in the north of Israel, Nov. 16, 2021.

Gantz appoints new IDF chief

New IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi is not a man hiding his opinions, even when the political echelon expects other positions to be voiced.

ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images

Far-right Turkish leader likens Syrian refugees to garbage, vows expulsion

Ultranationalist Meral Aksener's plans include “isolating” migrants in “concentration camps” and forcing them to return to their countries of origin against their will under a formal policy of refoulement.

(From L-R) Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (3rd-L) and Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu (L) attend a meeting with members of Bosnia and Herzegovina's tripartite presidency Sefik Dzaferovic (3rd-R), Milorad Dodik (2nd-L) and Zeljko Komsic (2nd R) and Bosnian Security Minister Selmo Cikotic (R) in Sarajevo on Sept. 6, 2022.

Erdogan travels to Balkans as tensions rise between former Yugoslav states

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s trip to Bosnia, Serbia and Croatia comes as ethnic rivalries bristle 30 years after the war.

SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images

Israel ramps up security talks with US to stave off Iran deal

After visits by both Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz and national security adviser Eyal Hulata, Mossad Chief David Barnea is now in Washington to discuss the Iranian file.

Baquer Namazi

Baquer Namazi, American held by Iran, requires life-saving surgery

The Namazi family urged Iran to grant furlough to Siamak Namazi so that he can be by his ailing father’s side as he undergoes emergency surgery.

Western Sahara's Polisario Front independence movement leader Brahim Ghali (C).

Western Sahara dispute spills into Tunisia

A diplomatic crisis is brewing in the Maghreb region amid tension between Morocco and Tunisia after President Kais Saied received the leader of the Polisario Front.

A Syrian man walks past graves at a camp for displaced Syrians from the former rebel bastion of Douma, in al-Bil, east of the rebel-held town of Azaz, Syria, April 13, 2018.

Five bodies likely killed by IS found in mass grave in Aleppo

A mass grave was found in Azaz in the northern countryside of Aleppo, containing the remains of people who were believed to have been killed during the Islamic State control of the area in 2016.

Germany Israel

Israel, Germany to jointly probe 1972 Munich terror attack

On the 50th anniversary of the deadly terror attack against Israeli athletes in Munich, Germany agreed to reopen investigation, and the two nations settled on compensation for the relatives of the victims.

Smoke from an indoor bonfire exits from the chimney of the tent of Umm Raed at a camp for the displaced.

Fires engulf displacement camps in northern Syria during heat wave

Northern Syria is experiencing a heat wave, which is taking a heavy toll on camps for displaced persons who face chronic diseases, wildfires and water scarcity.

MAHMUD HAMS/AFP via Getty Images

Tempers flare between Hamas, Islamic Jihad

Tension has been mounting between the political leaders of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad over the Palestinian deaths caused by the latter’s rockets during the recent round of fighting with Israel.