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

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Politics & Security

Mandel NGAN / AFP via Getty Images

Trump insists no Hormuz tolls as Iran, US make conflicting claims

Iran has said it wants to charge "maritime service fees" in the Strait of Hormuz.

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.

Latest News

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

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

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

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

An undated image of the FSO Safer.

Analysis

World looks away as oil disaster looms off Yemen’s coast

Time is running out to prevent what Yemen envoy Tim Lenderking warns will be a "massive oil spill the likes of which the world has not seen."

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

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

This photo shows the inside of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg, eastern France, on Feb. 7, 2019.

Europe’s top court reprimands Turkey for jailing philanthropist

Today’s decision by Europe's top rights court on Osman Kavala, who has kept behind bars for four and a half years in pre-detention and sentenced to life, inches Turkey closer to suspension of its voting rights or even membership in the Council of Europe.

Israeli Regional Cooperation Minister Issawi Freij arrives for a photo at the president's residence during a ceremony for the new coalition government, Jerusalem, June 14, 2021.

Arab representation vanishes from Israeli parties

The announcement of Minister of Regional Cooperation Issawi Freij that he will not run on the Meretz party list in the upcoming election could be a devastating blow to Arab representation in Jewish/Arab mixed parties.

RAMI AL SAYED/AFP via Getty Images

Energy company touts oil-for-food scheme as Syrian aid route tightens

With Syria's sole remaining route for cross-border aid in peril, a London-based oil company is lobbying for an initiative that would see the proceeds of Syrian oil being used for aid, with the money going to the UN rather than Damascus.

Israel's former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, caretaker Prime Minister Yair Lapid and Cabinet Secretary Shalom Shlomo attend the first Cabinet meeting days after lawmakers dissolved parliament, Jerusalem, July 3, 2022.

Israeli leaders ask Palestinian president for 'calm' ahead of Biden visit

Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapids says he would not rule out a meeting with Palestnian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Abdollahian

Why IRGC issue won’t go away

Even if the US terrorist designation is not lifted, and there is agreement on the JCPOA, the IRGC will still be the power broker of Iranian domestic politics.

Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian (L) meets Josep Borell, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (R), as Deputy Secretary General of the European External Action Service (EEAS) Enrique Mora (C) looks on, at the foreign ministry headquarters in Iran's capital Tehran on June 25, 2022.

Analysis

Ahead of Biden Mideast trip, Iran nuclear deal looms large

US president to blend diplomacy and deterrence in approach to Iran, region.

Week in Review

By Week in Review

MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images

Israeli banking reforms to facilitate fintech growth

Israeli banking authorities are advance reforms to open Israel’s credit market and render it much more competitive.

Head of the Hamas Political Bureau Ismail Haniyeh (R).

Palestinian rivals Abbas, Haniyeh shake hands in Algeria

Algeria's president managed to bring together Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh for the first time in 6 years, but divisions between the two rival factions they represent may be too deep at this point.

OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images

Russia vetoes UN measure renewing aid to northwest Syria

"People will die because of this vote," US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said of the Security Council's failure to reauthorize the cross-border mechanism.

NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images

Lapid makes campaign calculations as Biden's visit to Israel approaches

Just four months ahead of general elections in Israel, US President Joe Biden's visit is sure to have an affect on Prime Minister Yair Lapid's campaign.

Iranian Army office/AFP via Getty Images

British navy reveals Iranian missiles seized in Gulf of Oman

The United States and United Kingdom touted a small win for regional security cooperation ahead of President Joe Biden's trip to Saudi Arabia next week.