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Politics & Security

In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia's Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian arrive for a documents signing ceremony following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow on January 17, 2025. (Photo by Vyacheslav PROKOFYEV / POOL / AFP) (Photo by VYACHESLAV PROKOFYEV/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Unclear chains of command in Iran complicate Russia’s diplomatic play

Multiple power centers in Tehran and the rising influence of the IRGC could complicate Moscow’s ties with Iran and its hopes of playing a mediating role in the conflict.

Anton Mardasov

By Anton Mardasov

Saeed Jalili, the radical presidential candidate of Iran, among supporters at Shahada airport on July 2, 2024.

Analysis

Meet the hard-liner who could replace Larijani as Iran’s wartime security chief

As Iran weighs a successor to its slain security chief, Ali Larijani, the choice may determine whether the Islamic Republic deepens confrontation or preserves its narrowing pathways to easing tensions.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Soldiers board a US Marines CH-53 Super Stallion during an airfield seizure exercise as part of the US-Philippines Balikatan joint military exercise at San Vicente Airport in Palawan on May 1, 2024.

How deployment of 4,000+ US Marines could change war in Iran

Two flotillas bearing thousands of US Marines will give Trump more options to open the Strait of Hormuz, but deploying them to the Gulf will necessitate expanding a war that's already widely unpopular at home.

Latest News

Wartime closures at Jerusalem holy sites raise fears of lasting shift among Palestinians

Muslim worshippers break their fast outside the old city walls of Jerusalem on March 17, 2026, as the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound remains closed.

Why a Kharg Island blockade could be Iran’s greatest economic threat

A picture taken on March 12, 2017, shows an Iranian tanker docking at the platform of the oil facility in the Khark Island, on the shore of the Gulf.

Qatar-based Al Jazeera commentators go dark on social media: What to know

This picture taken on August 11, 2025, shows the headquarters of the Qatari state-funded news television network Al Jazeera in the capital Doha. (Photo by Karim JAAFAR / AFP) (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Narrow opening: Can Lebanon’s push for talks shift Israel’s war calculus?

France's President Emmanuel Macron (L) wearing sunglasses shakes hands with Lebanon's Prime Minister Nawaf Salam prior to their meeting at the Elysee presidential palace in Paris, on January 23, 2026. (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / 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

AFP via Getty Images

Israel strikes Beirut for first time since Hezbollah-Israel ceasefire: What to know

Hezbollah denied involvement in rocket fire targeting Israel as the strikes threaten the already fragile ceasefire between the two.

Karim Souaid

Meet Karim Souaid, Lebanon’s new central bank chief with daunting mission

The appointment of a new central bank governor comes nearly two years after the term of embattled governor Riad Salameh ended in July 2023.

Rep. Elise Stefanik speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center on Feb. 22, 2025, in Oxon Hill, Maryland.

Trump withdraws Elise Stefanik’s nomination for UN ambassador: What to know

Stefanik is a strong supporter of the president and has been highly critical of the United Nations on Israel-related issues.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth participates in a TV interview outside of the White House on March 21, 2025 in Washington, DC. Hegseth visited the White House to join U.S. President Donald Trump in announcing the Next Generation of Air Dominance (NGDA) program, the F-47, the sixth-generation high-tech Air Force fighter to succeed the F-22 Raptor. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

What the Signal chat leak reveals about Trump’s Middle East policy

Washington is reeling from an unprecedented leak of the military’s operational plans to strike Yemen’s Houthis, which were shared on a Signal group chat that included a high-profile journalist.

A US Air Force B-2 Spirit stealth bomber refuels from a KC-135 Stratotanker 06 April 1999 during an air strike mission in support of NATO Operation Allied Force in an undisclosed location.

US B-2 bombers deployed to Indian Ocean amid Trump-Iran escalation

The stealth bombers are some of the only warplanes in the US arsenal capable of delivering the massive conventional bombs thought to be needed to effectively damage Iran's underground nuclear facilities.

Ballot papers are counted after members of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipal Council cast their votes to elect an interim deputy mayor.

Turkey deports BBC reporter as detentions near 1,880 amid protest crackdown

A BBC journalist was deported as Turkish authorities widened their media crackdown, with around 250 people having been detained pending trial during protests.

A composite image shows Lebanese Minister of Defense Michel Menassa (L) and Syrian Minister of Defense Murhaf Abu Qasra.

Saudi Arabia hosts defense chiefs of Syria, Lebanon as border heats up: What to know

The Syrian and Lebanese defense ministers will meet soon as the border between the two countries remains volatile following clashes between Lebanese tribal members and Syrian security forces.

An MQ-9 Reaper drone with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) awaits a mission over the U.S.-Mexico border on Nov. 4, 2022, at Fort Huachuca, Arizona.

US plans to sell $1.96 billion of MQ-9 drones to Qatar

Qatar could become the first Gulf state to receive the drones, the sale of which the Pentagon has supported for years despite concerns within the State Department during the Biden administration.

Sudan’s army commander in chief, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, arrives with his supporters to the presidential palace in Khartoum on March 26, 2025.

'Khartoum is free,' Sudan's Burhan declares from presidential palace as RSF retreats

On Wednesday, the chief of Sudan’s army and the country’s de facto leader arrived at the presidential palace, by way of Khartoum International Airport, for the first time in nearly two years.

Newly elected interim mayor of Istanbul, Nuri Aslan of CHP, waits to speak to the media on March 26, 2025, in Istanbul, Turkey.

Turkey's opposition elects acting mayor as Imamoglu remains detained, protests persist

The Turkish president accuses opposition of sabotaging the economy amid ongoing detentions against protestors over the arrest of the Istanbul mayor.

A pickup truck is carrying two Iranian missile mockups during a rally that marks the 46th anniversary of Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution in Tehran, Iran, on Feb. 10, 2025.

Iran's IRGC unveils underground facility housing thousands of ballistic missiles

As it navigates crises at home and abroad, Iran has released video footage of an underground “missile city” in an attempt to flex its military might.

Fidan and Rubio

US, Turkey to begin technical talks on CAATSA sanctions, F-35 acquisition

The Turkish and US sides aim to initiate interagency talks on sanctions removal as soon as possible, a Turkish official told Al-Monitor.