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

DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images

Drones strike US base in Syria

Coalition forces "successfully engaged" one of the drones targeting al-Tanf and no one was hurt in the incident.

Israel's former army Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot, Defense Minister and Blue and White party chief Benny Gantz, and Justice Minister and New Hope party chief Gideon Saar pose for pictures during a joint press conference, Ramat Gan, Israel, Aug. 14, 2022.

Former army chief shakes up Israeli political balance

Prime Minister Yair Lapid and opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu are both worried over the decision of former Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot to join the new party of Defense Minister Benny Gantz.

SALEH AL-OBEIDI/AFP via Getty Images

Infighting in southern Yemen exposes fragility of leadership council

Despite the existence of Yemen’s new leadership in Aden, fierce combat has wreaked havoc in Shabwa province in southern Yemen.

AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images

Understanding Iraq's Coordination Framework

The Coordination Framework is an umbrella bloc of Iraqi Shiite parties united mostly by their opposition to the Sadrist movement.

OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images

Since UN vote, aid still sparse in northwest Syria

Since the UN approved six more months of cross-border humanitarian aid to northwest Syria, deliveries remain minimal and millions of people are in need.

ABDULAZIZ KETAZ/AFP via Getty Images

Risks of fire, heat stroke soar as heat wave cooks northwest Syria

Displacement camps in northwest Syria are sweltering as a heat wave sweeps the area.

Hamas

Analysis

Did Hamas win Israel-Islamic Jihad war in Gaza?

Hamas, PIJ stir resistance in West Bank; Egypt steps up, again, as mediator.

Week in Review

By Week in Review

Palestinians hold candles during a rally amid the ruins of houses allegedly destroyed by Israeli airstrikes, Beit Lahia, Gaza City, Gaza Strip, May 25, 2021.

Relatives remember Gaza women, children killed in Israel-Islamic Jihad war

The recent war waged by Israel against Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip claimed the lives of 15 children and four women, in what the international community condemned.

Supporters of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr gather outside the parliament building on the seventh day of protests against the nomination of a rival Shiite faction for the position of prime minister, Green Zone, Baghdad, Iraq, Aug. 5, 2022.

What Iraq's rival Shiite forces want

The Shiite political parties are split into two rival camps, the Sadrists and the Coordination Framework, which is far less than unified.

A school girl walks past the Al-Nkhba School.

Israel revokes licenses of six schools in East Jerusalem

Israel has canceled the permanent licenses of six Palestinian schools in East Jerusalem, alleging that their textbooks contain "incitement" against it and its army.

Russia's governor to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Mikhail Ulyanov.

Restoring Iran deal may see trade-off between past, present knowledge

Sticking points to kickstarting the Iran nuclear deal include Iran’s "demand that the IAEA end its investigation of uranium particles found at three sites in 2019."

The Star of David sits atop the choral synagogue in Moscow, Russia, July 28, 2022.

How Moscow's campaign against Israel's Jewish Agency could backfire

Moscow’s recent campaign against a Jewish nonprofit closely affiliated with the Israeli government is likely part of a broader strategy to gain concessions from Israel in ongoing bilateral disputes — yet the plan could backfire.