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

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Politics & Security

US President Donald Trump (C) attends a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) multilateral meeting alongside alongside (L/R) Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, King Abdullah II of Jordan, Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York on Sept. 22, 2026.

Trump tells Middle East leaders US-Iran talks have ‘momentum’

Trump hosted top officials from the Gulf Cooperation Council states, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq on the sidelines of UN General Assembly.

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian disembarks from his plane

Analysis

As Trump confirms US-Iran meeting, can Pezeshkian find at UN path to a deal?

In New York, Pezeshkian will be seeking leverage, not reconciliation, as Iran scrambles to balance military defiance, economic crises and tentative mediation against the costs of prolonging the conflict.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Cypriot Defense Minister Vasilis Palmas, Egyptian Defense Minister Lt. Gen. Ashraf Salem Zaher, and Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias meet in Cairo, Sept. 22, 2026.

Egypt hosts Greece, Cyprus defense ministers: What to know

Egypt is looking to increase security and energy cooperation with both countries as part of a focus on the eastern Mediterranean.

OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images

Explainer

Turkey’s $18B Ponzi-like scandal likened to Madoff as arrests mount

Turkey detained 14 more people Tuesday as authorities widened a probe into one of the country's largest investment-fund scandals.

Latest News

Turkey, US sign $2M grant deal for small nuclear reactors: What to know

construction of Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant

Iran seizes assets of 394 people accused of spying for 'hostile enemy'

Iranians walk past a wall decorated with the image of assassinated Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the national flag, in central of Tehran on Sept. 14, 2026.

Analysis

Why Netanyahu is distancing himself from Trump ahead of Israeli election

ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP via 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 fleeing war-torn Ukraine.

Egypt extends stay of stranded Ukrainian, Russian tourists

Ukrainian tourists stuck in Egypt talk to Al-Monitor about the pain they feel to watch their loved ones and families suffering back home as a result of the Russian war.

Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.

Turkish public support for NATO declines

As Turkey scrambles in response to events in Ukraine, anti-NATO sentiment is spreading in large segments of Turkish society.

Pedestrians cross a street in front of a billboard displaying the symbol "Z."

Pentagon: Russia recruiting Syrians to fight in Ukraine

The Kremlin appears to be shifting tactics as it meets stiff Western-backed resistance in Ukraine.

A picture taken July 9, 2017, shows workers at Syria's Arak gas field.

Biden administration to announce sanctions waivers for Syrian Kurds, Sunni opposition-held areas

Sanctions exemptions are aimed at expediting humanitarian aid and diminishing the economic damage in certain areas.

Israeli Arab passengers arriving from Ukraine.

Arab-Israeli party rallies to get students out of Ukraine

Shortly after the Russian invasion, Israeli Muslim party Ra’am launched an operation to help all Israeli Arab students stuck in Ukraine to come home.

Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas walks to welcome Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko at the Palestinian Authority leadership compound, Ramallah, West Bank, Nov. 15, 2007.

Palestinian Authority remains neutral on Ukraine

The Palestinian Authority adheres to the principle of neutrality in the Russian war on Ukraine, but Palestinians do not hold back in criticizing the double standards of the West, imposing sanctions on Russia, while turning a blind eye to Israel’s war against them for 74 years.

KHALIL MAZRAAWI/AFP via Getty Images

Lawmakers urge US action on Syria's crisis-hit Rukban camp

The Biden administration faces congressional pressure to help desperate civilians stranded in the Syrian camp near Jordan.

JOE KLAMAR/AFP via Getty Images

Iran says Ukraine war will not impede nuclear talks

Iran is seeking details on comments made by Russia about sanctions and the nuclear talks.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett gives a joint press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who said a new Iran nuclear agreement "cannot be postponed any longer," at the King David Hotel, Jerusalem, March 2, 2022.

Israel calculates Ukraine war's influence on Iran nuclear talks

Israel follows closely on Russian warnings against US-Ukraine sanctions affecting the emerging Iran-nuclear deal.

Ukraine resistance

As West rallies around Ukraine, Palestinians see double standard

While Palestinians have lauded Ukrainian efforts to resist Russia's invasion, they lament a double standard in the West toward their own efforts to resist occupation.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) speaks with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett during their meeting, in Sochi, Russia, Oct. 22, 2021.

Israel’s Bennett undertakes diplomatic blitz on Ukraine

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett spent the weekend in Moscow and Berlin, and talking either in person or on the phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Palestinian Khader Adnan, who staged a 56-day hunger strike while being detained for a year without charge by Israeli authorities and who Israel says is a member of Islamic Jihad, lies on a bed as he is treated at the Makassed hospital in East Jerusalem, July 15, 2015.

Assassination attempt on Islamic Jihad leader escalates tensions with Palestinian Authority

Islamic Jihad leader in the West Bank Khader Adnan was subjected to an assassination attempt in Nablus, raising speculation about the possible role of the Palestinian Authority’s security forces.