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

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Politics & Security

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Former Assad official sentenced to 60 years in US for torture

Samir Ousman Alsheikh was convicted by a jury in March of three counts of torture, one count of conspiracy to commit torture, visa fraud and attempted naturalization fraud.

Yemenis gather during a rally to show their support for the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) in the coastal port city of Aden, on December 14, 2025. (Saleh Al-OBEIDI / AFP via Getty Images)

Interview

Yemen separatists urge US not to let Saudi Arabia ‘call the shots’

As Houthi fighters steamroll Yemen’s Red Sea coast, the country's southern separatists say an independent South Yemen is the best check on the group’s expansion.

A US Air Force F-35 fifth-generation jet fighter takes off during the NATO's Ramsteign Flag 2025 exercise at Leeuwarden Air Base on April 8, 2025.

Trump administration approves $24B sale of F-35 jets to Saudi Arabia

Trump first announced the planned sale in November 2025, ahead of hosting Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House.

A pedestrian passes by the Treasury Building in Washington, DC on Jan. 18, 2023.

US sanctions Iranian crypto exchange BitBank over Hormuz payments

The US government says the exchange was used to channel payments from an Iranian maritime-insurance scheme to the regime.

Latest News

Turkey's Erdogan to run for 'final' third term in 2028, adviser says

Vyacheslav PROKOFYEV / AFP via Getty Images

Israel, Morocco agree to exchange ambassadors, open embassies

Royal Air Maroc Boeing 787-9 'Dreamliner' aircraft

China presses Iran, US to reopen Hormuz as disruptions threaten oil supply

AFP via Getty Images

Explainer

Why France is pushing to keep UNIFIL in Lebanon beyond 2026

UN peacekeepers stand next to an armored vehicle during a patrol in southern Lebanon, Feb. 22, 2026.

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

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.

DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images

Christians in Syria's Idlib hold major Mass

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham has allowed the reopening of a church in Idlib countryside months after HTS leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani met with the Christian community in the area — in what many see as a bid to brand himself a moderate and gain outside support.

Libya clash

Turkey supports Libya's Tripoli forces amid deadly battles

Turkey hosted two rival Libyan premiers in Istanbul in bid to strike a conciliation between the clashing parties.

Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs and upcoming COP27 Chairman Sameh Shoukry (L) and Mexico's Patricia Espinosa Cantellano, current executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, hold a press conference after the May Ministerial - World Climate Leaders Meeting, Copenhagen, Denmark, May 13, 2022.

Egypt represents Africa in COP27

Cairo insists it will speak for African countries during the COP27, which it will host in November.

French President Emmanuel Macron (L) and Algeria's President Abdelmadjid Tebboune (R) attend a signing ceremony in the pavilion of honor at Algiers airport, in Algiers, on Aug. 27, 2022.

Things to remember from Macron’s Algeria visit

drone

Iran navy attempts to capture US drones in Red Sea

A US military official rejected Iran's claims that the unmanned sea drones pose a hazard to commercial shipping in the region.

An aerial view of Al Thumama stadium at sunset on June 22, 2022, in Doha, Qatar.

FIFA World Cup's economic impact will extend beyond Qatar

GCC states look to take advantage of "fresh opportunities" and Qatar hopes the World Cup will boost its "soft power and add political influence."

ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

US calls Iran’s latest nuclear deal offer 'not constructive'

Iran insisted it put forward “a constructive approach aimed at finalizing the negotiations.”