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

politics and security cover image

Politics & Security

Ahmed al-Alwani in an undated photo

Ex-Iraqi MP Ahmed Alwani found dead in Lebanon: What to know

Ahmed al-Alwani was a prominent leader of anti-government protests by Iraqi Sunnis in 2013, and was released from prison last year.

Iranian-made Zolfaghar missiles

Iran unveils new underground 'missile city': What to know

Iran has moved much of its missile stockpile underground as the threat of a new war looms.

OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images

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.

Latest News

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

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Jared Szuba

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

Explainer

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

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

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

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

A physician treats a premature born baby lying in an incubator at the neonatal intensive care unit at Ibn Sina (Avicenna) Hospital that is part of the Syrian American Medical Society, Idlib, Syria, Feb. 1, 2022.

Despite unrest, northwest Syria shows baby boom

Births are rising in northwest Syria, including in the displacement camps despite conditions often not being suitable for babies and mothers.

An Ukrainian flag waves in front of smoke rising from a bombed warehouse in the town of Stoyanka, west of Kyiv, on March 4, 2022.

Analysis

Bennett, Erdogan seek to fill diplomatic vacuum over Ukraine

Qatar’s role in Iran diplomacy even more vital with pause in Vienna nuclear talks.

Week in Review

By Week in Review

JOHANNA GERON/AFP via Getty Images

Egypt seeks middle ground between US, Russia as Ukraine fighting rages

Cairo remains torn in its position on the Ukraine crisis for compelling financial and other reasons.

MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images

Israel needs long-term plans to absorb Ukrainian immigration wave

Israel’s government has made short-term housing plans for the thousands of Ukrainian and Russian Jews expected to immigrate to Israel, but absorption will be a long and difficult road.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett welcomes a group of orphans from the Alumim orphanage in the Ukrainian city of Zhytomyr, on arrival at Ben Gurion Airport, Israel, March 6, 2022.

Germany’s Scholz behind Israel’s Bennett shuttle diplomacy on Ukraine

Associates of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett emphasize that his traveling to Moscow and Berlin and his contacts with all the parties were conducted with the US administration in the picture and with its blessing.

Libyan interim Prime Minister Fathi Bashagha.

Libya turns on Russia over Ukraine war, but does it matter?

Libya’s incoming prime minister initially avoided commenting on Russia’s war in Ukraine. But after Russia welcomed his new government, he turned against Moscow.

The Nile River flows from the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, Guba, Ethiopia, Feb. 19, 2022.

Ethiopia tries to divide Sudan, Egypt in talks over Nile Dam

Ethiopian and Sudanese officials have met separately over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, but Cairo and Khartoum are still mostly united in their concerns.

Church of All Nations and Mary Magdalene Convent on the Mount of Olives, Jerusalem, Israel.

Jerusalem churches fight new settlement plan

Church heads and officials in Jerusalem are fighting an Israeli plan to expand a national park on the Mount of Olives in east Jerusalem, where dozens of churches and Christian sites are located.

Qurashi

Islamic State names new leader after prior chief's death

An audio statement from IS confirmed previous reports that Abu al-Hassan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi is its new leader, but his real identity and background is not clear.

Khamenei

Khamenei defends Iran's regional strategic influence

In defiance of western criticism over Iran's controversial regional activities, the country's leader defended its interventions in the wider Middle East as a tool that deepens strategic influence.

Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid meets with Jordanian King Abdullah II, Amman, Jordan, March 10, 2022.

Bennett government shakes off Netanyahu’s shadow on foreign policy

The coalition government's foreign policy on Russia, Iran, the United States, Turkey and the Palestinians differs significantly from that of former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images

Ukraine, Russia make no progress in cease-fire talks in Turkey

The discussions fail to achieve a cease-fire or a humanitarian corridor for the port city of Mariupol, but Cavusoglu says Turkey’s diplomatic efforts would continue as Erdogan braces for top level meetings with Azerbaijan, Greece and Germany.