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Politics & Security

President Donald Trump waves as he boards Air Force One at Morristown Municipal Airport on Aug. 2, 2026 in Morristown, New Jersey.

Trump’s strategy on Iran may pay off as deal appears imminent

Through far-sighted diplomacy and a durable new regional architecture, Trump has cornered Iran between alignment and atrophy — and a deal may now be imminent.

Two brothers watch oil tankers, general cargo ships, bulk carriers, and fishing boats anchored in the waters off Muscat near the Strait of Hormuz on June 18, 2026 in Muscat, Oman.

Analysis

Why Iran is fighting to keep Hormuz at center of US negotiations

As Washington seeks a broader deal with Iran, Tehran says the Strait of Hormuz is the only issue on the table, reflecting a wider struggle over maritime security and regional power.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

People attend a mass funeral for members of the Abu Sharia and Al-Hasayna families, whose remains were recently recovered from the rubble of their homes after an attack earlier in the war, on Aug. 4, 2026 in the Sabra neighborhood of Gaza City, Gaza.

Gaza family buries 112 recovered from war rubble after Israeli strike

In early July, Gaza’s Government Media Office said that more than 2,700 families have been erased from the civil registry after all their members were killed by Israeli military action.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi (2nd L), Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf (2nd R) and Omani Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad Al-Busaidi (R) walk inside a building in Muscat, Oman, on June 22, 2026.

Explainer

The emerging Iran-Oman Hormuz deal: What's at stake?

A framework that gives Tehran a formal role in determining how ships move through the waterway could strengthen its hand in future negotiations with the US.

Latest News

Turkey’s defense exports reach record $5.79B in first 7 months of 2026

People look at a drone on display at the Baykar exhibit at the SAHA International Defense and Aerospace Expo on May 6, 2026 in Istanbul, Turkey.

Analysis

Netanyahu’s Gaza double game: Back Trump, reassure Israel’s right

Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP via Getty Images

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Russia names Dmitry Dogadkin new ambassador to Syria amid thaw: What to know

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday appointed veteran diplomat Dmitry Dogadkin, pictured here, as Russia's Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Syria, succeeding Alexander Yefimov.

What to know about Lebanon-Israel 7th round of talks held in Rome

Tiziana FABI / 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 Hezbollah supporter holds up the yellow flag of the Lebanese militant group in front destruction in Beirut's southern suburbs as people rushed back to check their homes on November 27, 2024, after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect.

Displaced Lebanese return to southern villages as ceasefire holds

The year-long war has left thousands of dead, displaced more than 1 million people and caused severe damage to Lebanon's infrastructure.

OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey scales back $23 billion F-16 deal with US

Turkey scrapped plans to acquire F-16 modernization kits for domestic industry to take over, the Turkish defense minister said.

Israel Lebanon

US military to monitor Israel-Lebanon ceasefire alongside UN, France

The Lebanese Army emerges as the lynchpin of a fragile ceasefire as Biden vows no US troops on the ground in south Lebanon.

A picture taken on Nov. 10, 2019, shows an Iranian flag in Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant, during an official ceremony to kick-start works on a second reactor at the facility.

Iran, Europe gamble on fresh talks in Geneva to resolve nuclear deal deadlock

The upcoming negotiations in Geneva follow a two-year hiatus in Iran's nuclear diplomacy, reviving cautious optimism regarding potential economic relief while also highlighting the pressure Tehran is facing in the wake of Donald Trump's new tenure.

One of the two top political leaders of the Syrian Kurdish alliance and co-chair of the Syrian Democratic Council Ilham Ahmed attends a press conference, in Paris, on Dec. 21, 2018.

Interview

Syrian Kurd FM Ilham Ahmed says PKK leader Ocalan's words of 'vital importance'

Ilham Ahmed, the de facto foreign minister of the Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, spoke to Al-Monitor about the latest developments in the region, including Turkey's new initiative to end its conflict with the outlawed PKK.

Ilham Ahmed

Ilham Ahmed

Co-President of the Executive Council of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria

KEMAL ASLAN/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey detains more than 230 as pressure on opposition ramps up

The detentions include pro-Kurdish politicians, rights activists and journalists.

SIMON WOHLFAHRT/AFP via Getty Images

Sudan clears path for 17,500 tons of food aid as war rages

Some of the aid has reached the Zamzam camp in Darfur, where famine has been confirmed, while the opening of a key border crossing was extended earlier this month.

Smoke billows from the site of an Israeli airstrike in Marjayoun, near the Lebanon-Israel border, on Sept. 23, 2024.

Israel security cabinet approves ceasefire deal with Hezbollah to end Lebanon war

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his security cabinet approved the US-mediated deal with Hezbollah for stopping the conflict in Lebanon.

Majid Saeedi/Getty Images

Iran promises response 'beyond imagination' to Israeli strikes even as deal looms

A month after Israel's Oct. 26 strikes on Iran, Iranian officials are ramping up discussions of a response to the attack.

Smoke billows above Beirut's southern suburbs following an Israeli airstrike on Nov. 26, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah.

Cautious optimism in Lebanon as Israel inches toward cease-fire deal

Lebanon is awaiting Israel’s decision on a US-brokered cease-fire deal even as Israeli strikes continue across the country.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives at the District Court to follow Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan by video conference from Brighton, testifying at a trial involving Netanyahu, Jerusalem, June 25, 2023.

Netanyahu gets partial delay for testimony; cease-fire decision expected in hours

As the Jerusalem District Court decided to delay Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's trial by one week only, reports say a deal with Lebanon is imminent.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps special forces fire a short-range missile during a military drill in the Gulf of Oman near Iranian southern port town of Bandar-e-Jask on Tuesday, April 4, 2006.

Iran and Azerbaijan hold joint military drills in sign of easing tensions

Iran and Azerbaijan are at odds over the planned Zangezur Corridor through Armenia, as well as Baku’s relations with Israel.