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

Members of Syria's top jihadist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, led by al-Qaeda's former Syria affiliate, parade with their flags and those of the Taliban's declared "Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan" through the rebel-held northwestern city of Idlib, Syria, Aug. 20, 2021.

Controversy among jihadis in Idlib over killing of Islamic State leader

Jihadis in Idlib believe that former al-Qaeda affiliate Hayat Tahrir al-Sham played a role in the killing of Islamic State leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi during a US Special Forces operation in Idlib.

Egypt Foreign Affairs Minister Sameh Shoukry attends the AU Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Feb. 5, 2022.

Ethiopia’s accusations against Egypt, Sudan dispel hopes for Renaissance Dam crisis

Egypt considers recent statements made by Ethiopian officials a setback for Nile Dam talks.

Kataib Hezbollah

Kataib Hezbollah movements in Iraq and abroad spark concern

Hints of a greater presence of an IRGC-linked Iraqi armed faction with government-salaried brigades in a Sunni tribal-dominant province has sparked outcry, as the group continues to raise money for operations in other countries.

Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid attends a meeting with his Russian counterpart in Moscow on Sept. 9, 2021.

Israeli leadership caught between US, Russia over Ukraine

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid walk a fine line to avoid angering Russian President Vladimir Putin while not turning their backs on the United States and Ukraine.

Iranian Quds Force commander Esmail Ghaani speaks during a ceremony on the occasion of the first anniversary of the death of former Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani, Tehran, Iran, Jan. 1, 2021.

Iranian commander lobbies Iraq's Muqtada al-Sadr for 'inclusive' approach to Shiite parties

Iranian Quds Force commander Esmail Ghaani is seeking to maintain unity among the Shiite political ranks before the formation of the new government, including a role for parties affiliated with Iran.

ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images

Turkish opposition forms plan to oust Erdogan, restore parliament's power

At a weekend summit, six party heads charted a path to ending the executive presidential system that critics say has eroded the country’s democratic institutions.

ALEX HALADA/AFP via Getty Images

Optimism in Iran as nuclear talks inch closer to 'last station'

Iranian negotiators appear to expect an imminent conclusion to the talks on reviving the nuclear deal.

Bennett in Bahrain

Israel’s Bennett meets with Bahraini king

On his first official visit to Bahrain, Israel’s Prime Minister Naftali Bennett met Bahran's king, crown prince and prime minister at the royal palace in Manama.

Seized Islamic State weapons found in the last stronghold of the extremist group are displayed on March 22, 2019, Al Mayadin, Syria.

Islamic State collaborators received Turkish citizenship, official report shows

A leaked report has revealed details about how the jihadi group used Turkey to traffic money and obtain supplies.

Orphan Syrian children and displaced widows wait for food aid at El Ardiye orphanage, Idlib, on Nov. 26, 2021.

Women in northwest Syria take on physically demanding jobs

Many women in displaced camps in northwest Syria have been forced to find jobs, often difficult and physical ones, due to the deteriorating security conditions and the absence of the family’s breadwinner.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett delivers a speech upon his departure to Bahrain, at Ben Gurion Airport, near Tel Aviv, Feb. 14, 2022.

Israel’s Bennett in Bahrain to warn against Iran

During a first, historic visit, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett emphasizes that Israel and Bahrain share similar interests in constructing regional cooperation and in battling against Iran.

A Palestinian youth collects plastic and iron from a landfill in Beit Lahiya, Gaza Strip, Jan. 17, 2022.

Scavengers obstruct trash disposal at Gaza landfill

Waste collectors and garbage truck drivers suspended their work for a few days at the Juhr al-Dik landfill, southeast of Gaza City, claiming that scavengers on-site have been obstructing their operations.