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

politics and security cover image

Politics & Security

Children and women, relatives of suspected Islamic State jihadists, walk inside al-Hol camp in the desert region of Syria's northeastern Hasakah province, on Jan. 21, 2026.

Iraq to prosecute ISIS detainees transferred from Syria: What to know

The repatriation of Iraqis accused of Islamic State ties from Syria has reignited security concerns in Iraq.

Ramil Sitdikov / AFP via Getty Images

Putin offers $1B in frozen assets for Gaza Board of Peace — will US unfreeze them?

It remains unclear how such an arrangement could be implemented, since any contribution from frozen assets would require formal unblocking by the US government.

Israel's President Isaac Herzog gestures as he speaks during the World Economic Forum annual meeting, Davos, Switzerland, Jan. 22, 2026.

Herzog: Saudi normalization talks could resume as Gaza ceasefire enters next phase

The Israeli president said the rapprochement between Israel and Saudi Arabia “should be the future vision of the Middle East.”

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Trump launches Board of Peace: We can do 'whatever we want'

President Donald Trump pledged Gaza will be "beautifully rebuilt” as his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, laid out a multi-year redevelopment and demilitarization plan.

Latest News

What Israel stands to lose in Syria-SDF agreement

Jalaa MAREY / AFP via Getty Images

US military airlifts Syria ISIS prisoners to Iraq after SDF retreat: What to know

RAQQA, SYRIA - JANUARY 19: Syrian government forces are deployed near Al-Aqtan prison on January 19, 2026 in Raqqa, Syria. Yesterday, the Syrian government announced that a nationwide ceasefire deal had been reached with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), who had been clashing with government forces in recent weeks. The Kurdish-led force, a long-time ally of the United States in the fight against ISIS, had controlled large swaths of northwest Syria during the years of the country's civil war. T

Jared Szuba

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

Rifaat al-Assad, perpetrator of Syria's 1982 Hama massacre, dies at 88

A member of the Alawite community pastes on a wall, in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli , on December 6, 2007, pictures of Syrian opposition leader Rifaat al-Assad (R) and his son Ribal.

Russia to host PA’s Abbas as Putin mulls joining Trump's Gaza Board of Peace

Russia's President Vladimir Putin (L) and Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas (R) arrive for their talks in Moscow on May 10, 2025.

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

OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey: UK issues sex-crime warning for travelers, reports 42 cases in 2023

British nationals were the third-largest group of tourists who visited Turkey last year.

Israeli police disperse Ultra-Orthodox Jews blocking a highway during a protest against possible changes regarding the laws on the military draft from which the Ultra-Orthodox community has traditionally been exempt, in the central Israeli city of Bnei Brak, on June 20, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas militant group. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP) (Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

What Israel's Supreme Court ruling to draft ultra-Orthodox means for Netanyahu

Israel's Supreme Court ruled unanimously that there is no justification for the state to exempt young ultra-Orthodox men from military service.

NATO Deputy Secretary General, Mircea Geoana, chairs a session of North Atlantic Council (NAC) with Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in Sarajevo, on February 1, 2024. (Photo by Elvis BARUKCIC / AFP) (Photo by ELVIS BARUKCIC/AFP via Getty Images)

Interview

NATO's deputy chief says Iran helping Russian 'threat to European security'

NATO Deputy Secretary-General Mircea Geoana warned of Iran's destabilizing influence reaching as far as Venezuela and Cuba while also sounding the alarm on Wagner's widespread presence in Sahel.

Mircea Geoana

Mircea Geoana

NATO Deputy Secretary-General

Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan.

After Hezbollah, Turkey’s Fidan warns Cyprus to 'stay away' from Israel's wars

The top Turkish diplomat’s warning on Monday came less than a week after Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah’s threats toward Cyprus.

Protesters gather as a man holds up a sign demanding that soldiers from the United States Army leave Niger without negotiation during a demonstration in Niamey, on April 13, 2024.

US seeks new military basing in West Africa amid withdrawal from Niger

US troops are "on pace" to leave Niger by Sept. 15 deadline, according to the Pentagon's top commander of forces in Africa.

Jared Szuba

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

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a ceremony marking Holocaust Remembrance Day for the six million Jews killed during World War II, at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem on May 5, 2024.

Netanyahu 'committed' to US cease-fire plan despite 'partial' deal offer

The State Department characterized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's comment that he would accept only a partial cease-fire deal as a slip of the tongue.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas shakes hands with China’s President Xi Jinping after a signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on June 14, 2023.

Palestinian talks in China postponed as Hamas, Fatah trade blame

Hamas and Fatah were due to meet in Beijing this month, following talks in the Chinese capital in April aimed at unifying the rivals amid the war with Israel.

AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images

'A security risk': Israeli commission warns Netanyahu on submarine affair

While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not been charged in the submarine affair trial, a state inquiry commission has warned that its conclusions could harm him.

A man walks past the flowers laying in front of the representative office of Dagestan in Moscow on June 24, 2024, following terrorist attacks in Dagestan.

Attacks on churches, synagogues in Russia’s Dagestan: What we know

The incident follows a major ISIS attack in Moscow in March.

Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant (L) meets with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin at the Pentagon, Washington, March 26, 2024.

Israel’s Gallant in US as Netanyahu hints at moving Gaza troops to Lebanon border

Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant is in Washington to ensure arms are delivered as war looms on the border with Lebanon.

Turkish security forces carry out a raid against ISIS suspects.

Turkey detains over 30 ISIS suspects as raids continue

The detentions come amid a series of attacks by the Islamic State's Khorasan branch in the region.

ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images

Lebanon holds airport tours to dispel weapons report amid Israel-Hezbollah tension

Lebanon has responded to a report that Hezbollah is moving weapons through its international airport with a tour for foreign diplomats and journalists.