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

An Egyptian policeman stands guard outside the Supreme Constitutional Court, Cairo, Egypt, Feb. 25, 2015.

Historic decision to appoint Christian judge as head of Egypt’s Supreme Constitutional Court

In a move described as “historic,” the Egyptian president issued a decision appointing a Christian judge as head of the Supreme Constitutional Court for the first time in history.

A displaced Syrian girl rides in the back of a truck on the way to Deir al-Ballut camp in Afrin's countryside on Feb. 19, 2020.

Killing of woman by Syrian jihadi group sparks protests in camps

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham shot a woman in the head for smuggling fuel from the opposition areas into Idlib, prompting protests and clashes in the camps for the displaced.

Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf speaks during a parliament session, Tehran on Dec. 1, 2021.

Iran's IRGC confirms leaked audio of former head discussing corruption

The IRGC has confirmed the audio of the former commander speaking about corruption.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is received by Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Feb. 14, 2022, in the UAE.

Erdogan on UAE visit to end isolation, secure funding

The Turkish president seeks to bolster Turkey's ties to the Arab world.

KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images

US F-22 squadron arrives to help UAE ward off Houthi attacks

France is also lending military support while it remains unclear how proactively US fighter pilots will allowed to engage Houthi targets.

ALEX HALADA/AFP via Getty Images

Iran in 'hurry' to reach nuclear agreement, says foreign minister

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian called on the West to stop "playing with time" in Vienna.

AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images

Tensions escalate in Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood

Clashes have broken out again between Palestinian residents, Jewish settlers and security forces in Sheikh Jarrah.

SERGEI SUPINSKY/AFP via Getty Images

Israel promises support for Ukrainian Jews

Foreign Minister Yair Lapid has made it clear that if Jews in Ukraine find themselves in need of rescue, Israel will be there for them.

(R to L) Libya's Foreign Minister Najla al-Mangoush and Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu give a joint press conference in the capital Tripoli on May 3, 2021.

Turkey rethinks Libya policy

Libya’s rekindled power struggle has left Turkey in an ambivalent position and might force it to review its alliances.

ice sculptures melt on beach

Egypt lays groundwork to host COP27

Cairo is already busy solidifying international support for this year's UN climate conference to be held in Sharm el-Sheikh.

Iraqi soldiers secure buses transporting displaced families from the displaced persons camp in Habbaniyah in Iraq's Anbar province on Nov. 10, 2020.

Islamic State kills Iraqi forces in sparsely populated Anbar desert

Attacks and unexploded ordnance continue to reap victims in Iraq’s vast western desert as security officials deny increased risks associated with a massive recent jailbreak across the border.

Syrian (front) and Russian soldiers stand at the Russian naval base in the Syrian Mediterranean port of Tartus on Sept. 26, 2019.

Russia's experience in Syria informs approach to Ukraine, NATO

The opportunity to field-test its next-generation weapons systems in recent years has emboldened the Kremlin to raise the stakes in Ukraine, and so has experience in brinkmanship with Turkey over Syria.