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

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Politics & Security

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Turkey bars MP’s wife from travel after his fund scandal criticism: What to know

Opposition politicians and rights advocates described Yonca Verdioglu Sik’s brief detention as an attempt to intimidate her husband, opposition lawmaker Ahmet Sik, over his criticism of the government.

ANDY BUCHANAN / AFP via Getty Images

GCC to build military command center in Kuwait as region simmers: What to know

GCC countries have stepped up their joint defense efforts with the announcement of a new forward command center to be headquartered in Kuwait, as tensions between Iran and the US continue to escalate.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Hegseth strikes defiant tone, calls House impeachment process 'farce'

Pentagon's top official called Rep. Thomas Massie's charges a 'farce,' arguing other defense secretaries trespassed on the War Powers Act without being impeached.

Jared Szuba

In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) casts his ballot, next to his wife Sara

Explainer

From Oct. 7 inquiry to blocking Netanyahu: Eisenkot's bloc maps out Knesset agenda

Israel's opposition to advance anti-Netanyahu government measures as soon as Knesset convenes Tuesday, without waiting for a new cabinet to take shape.

Latest News

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

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. (

Massie introduces impeachment articles against Hegseth over Iran war

SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images

France blames Iran for supermarket fridge hack, seeks EU sanctions

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.

Explainer

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

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)

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

Ben Gvir

Israeli police block right-wing activists from Jerusalem’s Damascus Gate

Jerusalem police halted some 20 right-wing activists who tried approaching the flashpoint Damascus Gate despite interdiction by law-enforcement agencies.

An Iraqi Kurdish supporter of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) waves a flag bearing the portrait of Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan.

Intra-Syrian Kurdish tensions rise amid Turkey's new anti-PKK offensive

The latest flare-up further hampers US efforts to resume peace talks between the two major parties.

Israeli police officers stand on a rooftop near Al-Aqsa Mosque following clashes with Muslim prayers.

Temple Mount clashes threaten Israeli coalition

After losing his Knesset majority April 6 when legislator Idit Silman ditched the coalition, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is now confronted with the Ra’am party freezing its coalition membership over Temple Mount incidents.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh speaks to the media.

Iran nuclear negotiations at stalemate over IRGC terror listing

Iran and the United States seemingly do not want to budge over the designation of the IRGC in reviving the nuclear deal.

OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images

Bus bombing brings trauma of past terror back to Turkish cities

Today's bus bombing in Bursa bears the hallmarks of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) more than five years after the group's last deadly attack in major city.

Palestinian demonstrators clash with Israeli police at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on April 15, 2022.

Temple Mount violence puts Arab coalition party on the spot

With pictures of violence on Temple Mount flooding social media, the Islamic Ra’am party in the coalition had no other choice but to temporarily suspend its membership in the coalition.

A general view taken on Aug. 13, 2017, shows an Islamic State poster in the central Syrian town of Al-Sukhnah.

Islamic State escalates attacks in Syrian desert

The Islamic State has recently intensified its attacks against regime forces and their allied militias in the Syrian desert, in what seems to be revenge for the killing of their leader in northeast Syria in February.

People wave flags and chant slogans during a gathering to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Arab Spring in Martyrs Square, Tripoli, Libya, Feb. 17, 2021.

Human rights, dissenters face uphill struggle in Libya

In a rare case brought against human rights activists, Libya’s Internal Security Agency accused seven activists of apostasy and contempt of Islam, resulting in condemnation by the United Nations and Amnesty International.

A Palestinian man prays in front of the Dome of Rock mosque at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City on April 17, 2022.

Temple Mount tensions lead to diplomatic crisis between Jordan, Israel

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said yesterday he views with utmost severity comments by Jordan's prime minister blaming Israel for violence on Temple Mount compound.

Faezeh Hashemi Rafsanjani, the daughter of the late former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, greets people attending the funeral of her father in Tehran, on Jan. 10, 2017.

Iranian Reformist faces backlash from hard-liners for criticizing IRGC

Outspoken Reformist Faezeh Hashemi has invited furious attacks from hard-liners after suggesting that the United States should keep the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on its terror list.

AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images

Turkish, Israeli leaders speak on Al-Aqsa Mosque tensions

Blaming Israeli radicals and security forces for the attacks against the Palestinians, Erdogan expressed concern over the spreading of unrest to Gaza.

Sudanese Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour speaks to the press in Khartoum, on March 10, 2018.

Coup generals bring back party of Sudan's ousted dictator

Members of deposed dictator Omar al-Bashir's party have been appointed to high state positions and reinstated throughout the government.