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

politics and security cover image

Politics & Security

US President Donald Trump looks on after the "Board of Peace" meeting during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on Jan. 22, 2026.

Trump says Iran seeks deal as US aircraft carrier arrives in Middle East

Iranian officials have signaled they are open to nuclear talks but unwilling to compromise on enrichment.

Roj Camp

Feature

ISIS brides face uncertain future as Damascus clashes with Syria’s Kurds

With Syrian government forces taking over nearby al-Hol and security breaking down, families of ISIS fighters at Roj Camp live in fear and uncertainty.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Octavio JONES / AFP via Getty Images

Iran seizes on killing of Alex Pretti, accuses US of hypocrisy

AI-generated photos showing Americans asking Iran's supreme leader for help and a wave of Arabic-language commentary are circulating on social following the killing of a protester by US federal agents over the weekend.

Truck carrying aid enters Gaza through the border crossing on Oct. 12, 2025, in Rafah, Egypt.

Israel recovers final Gaza hostage, Rafah crossing set to reopen: What to know

The Rafah crossing is expected to allow Palestinians to exit and reenter the Gaza Strip, primarily for those seeking medical treatment.

Latest News

Yemen’s Houthis hint at Red Sea attacks as US-Iran tensions rise: What to know

Galaxy Leader

Turkey detains nurse over hair-braiding video in support of SDF

A woman with braided hair during a solidarity demonstration in Erbil, Iraq's Kurdistan region, on Jan. 23, 2026.

USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group reaches Middle Eastern waters

In this handout photo provided by the US Navy, the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln transits the Strait of Hormuz as an MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter from the Nightdippers of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 5 lifts off from the flight deck, Nov. 19, 2019.

Analysis

No strings attached: UAE, India deepen defense ties, balk at mutual guarantees

UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi meet in New Delhi, Jan. 19, 2026.

Francesco Schiavi

By Francesco Schiavi

In Bologna, reporting on security, defense, economy, governance

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

Eleven lions have been moved from the Sudan conflict zone to a sanctuary in South Africa.

Lions traumatized by Sudan war find safe haven in South African sanctuary

The war has not only created a devastating humanitarian crisis, but it has also impacted the welfare of wildlife in Sudan.

Turkish Ambassador to the United Nations Sedat Onal speaks during the 10th Emergency Special Session (resumed) 39th plenary meeting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at the United Nations, in New York, on October 27, 2023. Thousands of civilians, both Palestinians and Israelis, have died since October 7, 2023, after Palestinian Hamas militants based in the Gaza Strip entered southern Israel in an unprecedented attack triggering a war declared by Israel on Hamas with retaliatory bombings on Gaza. (Photo by

Meet Sedat Onal, veteran diplomat named Turkey’s new ambassador to US

Analysts argue Onal's appointment is also an indication of increasing influence for the country's top diplomat, Hakan Fidan.

Kaan

Turkey’s fifth-generation fighter jet Kaan completes maiden flight

Kaan's 13-minute flight, at an altitude of 8,000 feet and a speed of 230 knots, is being hailed as a milestone in Turkey’s efforts to maximize self-sufficiency in the defense sector.

People check the damage on a building reportedly hit in an Israeli air strike in the Kafr Sousa district of the Syrian capital Damascus on February 21, 2024. At least two people were killed on February 21 in an Israeli attack on Damascus, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and Syrian state media.

Syria says Israel behind multiple attacks in Damascus, at least 3 killed

The strikes occurred in a district close to housing state security agencies.

BERLIN, GERMANY - DECEMBER 4: Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva speaks during a press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at Chancellory on December 4, 2023 in Berlin, Germany. The German and Brazilian governments are holding consultations today in Berlin. (Photo by Carsten Koall/Getty Images)

Will Israel-Brazil row escalate as envoys recalled over Lula's Hitler comments?

Both Israel and Brazil are still recoiling after Brazilian President Luiz Ignazio Lula da Silva likened Israel's actions during the Gaza war to the Nazi regime.

Dr Richard Brennan WHO in Gaza

WHO official: 'Never seen anything like' Rafah crisis in 30-year career

Richard Brennan, regional emergency director of the World Health Organization, told Al-Monitor that only three fully functioning hospitals are serving Gaza's population of 2.3 million people.

Greg Nash/Getty Images

Sen. Coons to visit Lebanon amid Israel-Hezbollah clashes, leadership crisis

Democratic Senator Chris Coons is headed for Beirut in what some observers comment is a show of US support for Lebanon at a time of ongoing crisis.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses a meeting of provincial election officials at the headquarters of his ruling Justice and Development Party in front of giant portraits of himself and Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey, Ankara, Jan. 29, 2019.

Turkish lawyer detained over Sharia comments as Islamist-secularist debate flares

In the run-up to nationwide municipal elections, the arrest of the lawyer for her comments has provoked a fresh maelstrom over the role of religion in public life.

TOPSHOT - Muslims celebrate in front of the Dome of the Rock mosque after the morning Eid al-Fitr prayer, which marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, at the Al-Aqsa mosques compound in Old Jerusalem early on May 2, 2022. (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP) (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Can Netanyahu stop Ben-Gvir from restricting Al-Aqsa access during Ramadan?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu caved in part to the demands of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir despite warnings by the security establishment against the appearance of an attack on religion.

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

ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images

US vetoes Gaza cease-fire resolution at UN Security Council

The United States blocked a Security Council resolution demanding “an immediate cease-fire” between Israel and Hamas but offered its own draft calling for a “temporary” one.

This picture shows a general view of Lebanon's port city of Tripoli on April 26, 2023. A crushing economic crisis in Lebanon has impelled members of the security forces to take on side hustles to get by, raising concerns about security in the eastern Mediterranean country. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP) (Photo by ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images)

Nearly 1,000 buildings in Tripoli, Lebanon are at risk of collapse: Amnesty

Amnesty International has denounced the local Tripoli government’s lack of action to protect residents who have been living in unsafe buildings since last year’s earthquake.

Supporters of China's Muslim Uighur minority wave flags of East Turkestan and Turkey during a demonstration at Beyazid Square, Istanbul, Dec. 14, 2019.

Turkey detains 6 people suspected of spying on Uyghurs for China

The suspects were rounded up in simultaneous raids in Istanbul for allegedly “collecting information” about prominent members of the Uyghur diaspora and their institutions based in Turkey.