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

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Politics & Security

WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 23: U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) speaks at a press conference on China AI export controls at the U.S. Capitol on September 23, 2026 in Washington, DC. Slotkin, joined by fellow Senate Democrats, urged Senate Republican's and the Trump administration to enact stronger export controls on AI technology and computer chips to China. The Democrats also call for a vote on bipartisan export control legislation, including the AI OVERWATCH Act, the MATCH Act, and the Chip Security Act. (

Slotkin, Van Hollen emerge as potential challengers to Schumer’s Senate leadership

A growing number of Democrats are calling for new leadership in the Senate to replace Schumer, arguing that the party needs a leader who better reflects its generational and ideological shift to the left.

SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images

Massie introduces impeachment articles against Hegseth over Iran war

House Democrats are on board with voting to impeach the Pentagon chief, but it's not clear how many Republicans will break with the White House's public messaging.

This photograph shows empty fresh-food refrigerators at an Intermarche supermarket in Nevez, France, on Oct. 12, 2026, following a cyberattack that caused its refrigerators to defrost.

France blames Iran for supermarket fridge hack, seeks EU sanctions

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot on Monday blamed Iran for the October cyberattack that disabled refrigeration at supermarkets across France.

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi speaks during a joint press conference with Germans chachellor at the Chancellery on September 15, 2026 in Berlin, Germany. High on the meeting's agenda is the expansion of economic cooperation between Germany and Iraq. (Photo by Michele Tantussi/Getty Images)

Explainer

Iraqi PM cancels Mosul airport contracts, citing Iran militia links: What to know

Kataib Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc is questioning the sources of Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi’s wealth after he moved to curb militia influence in the country.

Latest News

Trump meets Qatar PM as mediators push Iran deal

President Donald Trump (R) attends a bilateral meeting with Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani during the G7 summit, in Evian, France, on June 16, 2026.

Lebanon replaces Detroit consul expelled over 1983 Marines attack posts

Marines barracks

Iran claims IAEA held 'recent' inspection at Bushehr plant: What to know

A picture taken on Nov. 10, 2019, shows an Iranian flag at Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant.

Analysis

Trump officials look past Netanyahu, push Eisenkot to form government quickly

Amir Levy/Getty Images

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

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

People wave Turkish flags in an immigrant-heavy district.

Public outcry as EU increasingly rejects Turkish visas

The Turkish public’s outcry over the growing number of EU visa rejections has prompted the Turkish government to threaten the EU with countermeasures, but the matter will unlikely be resolved until underlying structural problems are addressed.

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.