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

politics and security cover image

Politics & Security

Members of Syrian security forces at the entrance of the al-Hol camp in the desert region of Hasakah province which holds around 24,000 people, including some 6,200 women and children from around 40 nationalities on Jan. 21, 2026 in Al Hasakah, Syria.

Feature

Syrian Kurds say US ignored pleas for help as ISIS detainees turned on them in al-Hol

Chaos at al-Hol during clashes between Kurdish forces and Damascus underscored the widening security vacuum amid Kurdish claims of US abandonment.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

A Russian military Ilyushin Il-76 strategic airlift aircraft takes off from Qamishli International Airport in northeastern Syria's Hasakah province on January 27, 2026. Russia withdrew troops and equipment on January 27 from the airport in Kurdish-held northeast Syria where its forces were based, as Kurdish forces who once controlled swathes of territory in the country's north and east have withdrawn in the face of military pressure of Syrian army advance while the country's new Islamist authorities seek to

Russian delegation in Syria to preserve military bases: What to know

Russian and Syrian military officials have held a series of reciprocal exchanges and visits in recent weeks, as the Kremlin continues to view Syria as a key military vantage point.

US President Donald Trump speaks to the press about a critical minerals stockpile with $12 billion in initial funding, as Washington seeks to lower reliance on China for rare earths and other resources, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on Feb. 2, 2026.

Breaking | Last Updated: February 4, 2026, 4:09 pm

Trump says Iran's Khamenei should be 'very worried'

The comments came as planned US-Iran talks appeared in jeopardy after Tehran demanded to move the venue, narrow the agenda and exclude regional partners.

In this handout photo in an undisclosed location, US Airmen prepare to load GBU-31 munition systems onto F-15E Strike Eagles within the US Central Command area of responsibility, Dec. 18, in support of Operation Hawkeye Strike.

US launches 5 airstrikes in Syria on suspected ISIS sites: What to know

A series of five airstrikes over the past week in Syria comes as the US military increasingly relies on Damascus' forces to contain Islamic State remnants.

Latest News

Iran formally allows women to drive motorcycles: What to know

Iranian instructor Maryam Ghelich stands with student Narghes as they look at Elham (3rd R), Leila and Mona, posing on their motorbikes before their lesson at a training center in northern Tehran on Dec. 7, 2025.

Rubio says talks with Iran should address missiles, proxies

Rubio

Analysis

Despite US assurances, Israel fears being sidelined in partial Iran deal

Steve Witkoff Jared Kushner

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

US-Iran talks uncertain as Tehran pushes to sideline regional countries

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi gives a statement at the Ritz Hotel as he meets Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, on Jan. 30, 2026 in Istanbul, Turkey.

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

Israeli co-leader of the Zionist Union party and Labour Party's leader Isaac Herzog (L) meets with Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah on August 18, 2015. AFP PHOTO/ABBAS MOMANI (Photo credit should read ABBAS MOMANI/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel's Herzog calls Abbas, condemns settler violence against Palestinians

Speaking on the phone with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Israeli President Isaac Herzog slammed the violent rampage of settlers in recent days in several Palestinian villages.

Saudi-Iran-China

New Al-Monitor Newsletter: The China-Middle East Briefing

Sign up to stay on top of China's quickly growing role in the region.

Women chant slogans in front of the Istanbul courthouse in Istanbul on April 5, 2023.

Turkey denies female inmate access to tampons

Imposing a long-held taboo, Turkish authorities have denied a female inmate’s access to disposable tampons.

Arnon Milchan leaves the Old Ship Hotel, after giving testimony in Benjamin Netanyahu's corruption trial which is being transmitted via videolink to the District Court of Jerusalem, on June 25, 2023 in Brighton, England. Arnon Milchan, a film producer who prosecutors allege gave the Israeli prime minister expensive gifts in return for personal favours, was reported to be testifying remotely due to health reasons. (Photo by Chris Eades/Getty Images)

Analysis

Cigars and champagne: What's next in Netanyahu's trial as Milchan testifies?

Testifying in Brighton instead of Jerusalem, billionaire Arnon Milchan claimed he did not realize the gifts he gave to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were perhaps inappropriate.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

IAKOVOS HATZISTAVROU/AFP via Getty Images

Israel thanks Cyprus for stopping alleged Iranian plan to attack Israelis

Israel is expressing gratitude to Cypriot authorities who reportedly stopped an Iranian attack on Israelis in the country, where Iran was accused of plotting to attack Israelis back in 2021.

JAAFAR ASHTIYEH/AFP via Getty Images

Israel approves expansion of Eli settlement in West Bank despite US warnings

Plans for the construction of over 5,000 housing units in settlements across the West Bank are moving forward.

Ferries and tourist boats navigate the Bosphorus on June 22, 2023 in Istanbul, Turkey.

Turkey holds up NATO defense strategy over straits amid Sweden standoff

As the July NATO summit approaches, Turkish demands over the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits, among other issues, are reportedly holding up a defense strategy overhaul, the most ambitious since the end of the Cold War.

Israelis stand next to a poster with the portraits of Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich during a protest against the government's controversial justice reform bill in Tel Aviv on March 4, 2023. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP) (Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

In a snub, US does not invite Israel’s Ben-Gvir, Smotrich to July 4 reception

The Biden administration has made its preferences clear by excluding far-right Israeli ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich from its Independence Day reception in Jerusalem.

Smoke and fire billow during mock cross-border raids by Lebanon's Hezbollah movement, part of large-scale military exercise, in Aaramta bordering Israel on May 21, 2023 ahead of the anniversary of Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP) (Photo by ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images)

Lebanon’s Hezbollah says it downed Israeli drone on border

The Israeli army acknowledged the downing, saying the drone crashed in Lebanese territory during routine activity.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba (R) and Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen give a press conference in Kyiv, on February 16, 2023. - Eli Cohen arrived in Kyiv on February 16 for the first visit to Ukraine by an Israeli minister since the Russian invasion nearly a year ago, his office said. He was due to meet President Volodymyr Zelensky. (Photo by GLEB GARANICH / POOL / AFP) (Photo by GLEB GARANICH/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Israel-Ukraine channel opens as US pressure to drop neutrality builds

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has finally spoken on the phone with his Ukrainian counterpart Oleksii Reznikov.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

The flag of Iran is seen in front of the building of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Headquarters ahead of a press conference by Rafael Grossi, Director General of the IAEA, about the agency's monitoring of Iran's nuclear energy program on May 24, 2021 in Vienna, Austria.

Iran-US diplomacy trudges on as hopes of new nuclear understandings grow

Even if the nuclear deal is never revived, recent developments give hope that the nuclear situation will not deteriorate further.

A picture taken on Aug. 2, 2018, shows a man riding a motorcycle past destroyed buildings in the opposition-held southern city of Daraa.

South Syria increasingly unstable even as normalization proceeds with Assad

Economic turmoil and failed attempts at reconciliation over a decade after the beginning of Syria's civil war keep the country on unstable footing.