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

politics and security cover image

Politics & Security

An Iranian man rides his motorbike past a billboard on May 28, 2026.

Analysis

Why Iran's generals are intensifying anti-US rhetoric amid negotiations

Leading figures within Iran's military and security establishment have framed the memorandum with Washington not as an end point but as a conditional arrangement tied to battlefield realities.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Demonstrators take part in a rally against the upcoming NATO Summit early July in Ankara, on June 13, 2026.

Turkey detains 233 ahead of NATO summit, including LGBTQ+ activist Yildiz Tar

The operation included alleged militant suspects as well as LGBTQ+ and leftist activists, raising concerns over the scope of the crackdown.

Speaker of the parliament of Iran, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf (R), arrives at the Burgenstock resort in Obbuergen, near Lucerne, Switzerland, on June 21, 2026.

Iran's Ghalibaf holds talks in Oman on Strait of Hormuz: What to know

The US-Iran memorandum of understanding signed last week calls for Iran and Oman to hold talks on the future administration of the strait.

Krikor Der-Hagopian at the 9th Sulaimani Forum, in Sulaimaniyah, Iraq, on April 16, 2025.

Iraq taps Krikor Der-Hagopian as first Armenian Christian ambassador to US

Baghdad’s pick of a US-educated Armenian Christian adviser as envoy to Washington underscores a bid to reset US-Iraq ties and broaden the country’s diplomatic profile.

Latest News

Analysis

Pilot zones at center of Israel-Lebanon talks as Trump pressures Netanyahu

Lebanese army forces deploy in the village of Bir al-Salasel in southern Lebanon on June 15, 2026. Iran's foreign ministry on June 15 said the US must ensure that Israel commits to stopping the war in Lebanon under a deal agreed upon with the US to end the Middle East war. Lebanon was pulled into the conflict in early March when Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah launched rocket attacks on Israel in retaliation for the killing of Iran's supreme leader, prompting Israeli strikes and a ground invasion. (Pho

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

Analysis

As US reshapes Lebanon strategy, Israel finds itself sidelined

Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in Tyre, Lebanon, on June 9, 2026.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Explainer

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

Handout Photo by the US Navy via Getty Images

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

sketch of Iranian official Hamid Noury's trial in Sweden

Iran threatens Sweden as ex-official sentenced to life

A Swedish-Iranian row is deepening after a Swedish court sentenced an ex-Iranian official to life in prison and Tehran accused Stockholm of harboring "terrorist groups."

JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images

Israeli settlers, security forces clash over West Bank outposts

Despite their dismantling by Israeli security forces, hundreds of Jewish settlers are determined to stay at seven makeshift outposts across the West Bank.

The Assyrian Church of the Virgin Mary, which was previously destroyed in 2015 by the Islamic State, in the village of Tal Nasri, south of the town of Tal Tamr, Hasakah province, Syria, Nov. 15, 2019.

Assyrian family properties in Syria threatened by illegal seizures

The numerous parties to the Syrian war are ignoring the theft and forgeries of properties of minorities in the country, including the properties of Syriac Assyrians who have fled the war.

Bidan Salman

Analysis

The Takeaway: Biden visit launches new chapter in US-Saudi ties

Egypt braces for Nile Dam filling; Can Israel help Morocco with Western Sahara?; Palestinians blocked at airport; Erdogan cancels student loan interest; Islamic State menaces Iraq-Syria border.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

Andrew Parasiliti

By Elizabeth Hagedorn , Andrew Parasiliti

Austin Milley

Pentagon warns Iran not to aid Russia's war against Ukraine

Rare rebuke comes after White House declassified intelligence revealing Moscow's interest in Iran's fleet of armed drones.

Gen. Mohammed al-Bayati, secretary of the Iraqi prime minister, visits those injured by Turkish shelling at a hospital in the city of Zakho.

Iraq says Turkey killed Arab tourists in artillery attack on Kurdistan resort

The attack, which Turkey denied in a statement, came a day after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran to win Tehran's backing for a further invasion into northeastern Syria.

Amir-Abdollahian

Iran: We will negotiate on nuclear deal until sanctions are removed

Iran’s Foreign Ministry says they are ready to negotiate, but other officials are signaling that Iran must prepare for no deal with the US.

JALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images

Hezbollah, Israel tensions heat up over border

US-led mediation over Israel's maritime borders with Lebanon complicated by border tensions with Israel.

Turkey-backed Syrian fighters take part in a parade in the rebel-controlled town of Tell Abyad in Raqqa province, Syria, Oct. 13, 2020.

Syrian Kurds seek support amid Turkish threats of military action

Syrian government forces have deployed in north Syria in anticipation of a Turkish military operation.

Turkey military

Erdogan vows to move forward with Syria operation despite objections from Iran, Russia

Turkey’s president remains adamant despite opposition from US, Russia, Iran, Syria.

Maliki

Following tape leak, Sadr demands Maliki quit Iraqi politics

The escalating conflict between Muqtada al-Sadr and Nouri al-Maliki has raised further barriers to the formation of a new government.

Aviv Kochavi in Morocco

Israeli army chief in Morocco for first visit

The Rabat visit of IDF chief Aviv Kochavi reflects rapprochement between the countries on regional security cooperation.