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

politics and security cover image

Politics & Security

Ebrahim HAMID / AFP via Getty Images

Sudan’s RSF attacks Khartoum, seizes border town: What to know

Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have escalated attacks after suffering setbacks more than three years into the civil war.

Servicemen of Yavuz class, TCG Turgutreis (F-241), warship stand at attention on the deck as they participate in the live-fire phase of the "Blue Homeland-2026" (Mavi Vatan) tactical military exercises in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, in Antalya on April 9, 2026.

Exclusive

Turkey set to sign charter for Saudi-led Red Sea coalition on Friday

Ankara pledged support for the proposed multinational alliance last month, but Friday’s expected signing will mark its formal entry into the Saudi-led grouping.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

SPA

Explainer

Three ways China benefits from Saudi-Turkey-Pakistan pact: What to know

The pact points to a more multipolar Middle Eastern security order, one in which Washington is no longer the unquestioned center of Gulf security.

Latest News

Iran’s Hormuz authority denies Trump claims of control over strait: What to know

Children swimming in the Strait of Hormuz

Explainer

Who benefits from Lebanon’s amnesty law and why it is controversial

FADEL itani / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Fidan heads to Egypt amid questions over Saudi Arabia-Turkey-Pakistan pact

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan attends a press conference in Moscow on June 16, 2026.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

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 soldiers restrain Jewish settlers after they stormed the Palestinian West Bank village of Dayr Sharaf, located about four miles from the Jewish Einav settlement, following the death of an Israeli man on Nov. 2, 2023, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

At least 163 Palestinians killed in West Bank since Gaza war as Smotrich calls for ‘sterilized’ zones

While Gaza is still burning, the situation in the West Bank and issues concerning the Palestinian leadership in Ramallah continue to be relevant.

A general view taken on Aug. 13, 2017 shows an Islamic State (IS) group poster in the central Syrian town of Al-Sukhnah as pro-government fighters clear the area after taking control of the city situated in the county's large desert area called the Badiya.

At least 34 Syrian soldiers killed in suspected ISIS attack as threat surges

A war monitor said at least 34 Syrian soldiers and pro-government fighters were killed in an Islamic State attack in the central desert in one of the deadliest assaults by the group this year.

Nescafe

Boycotts in Turkey over Israel’s war in Gaza spread to Coca-Cola, Nescafe

While the Turkish Parliament stopped the sale of certain multinational brands in its cafeterias, several universities have said they will no longer collaborate with Israeli academia until a cease-fire is reached.

US copter

Day 33 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Wednesday, Nov. 8

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani meets with Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei in Tehran on Nov. 6, 2023.

Iran's Khamenei urges Iraq PM to pressure US over Gaza

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani's Tehran visit came only one day after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Baghdad, amid an uptick in Iran-backed militia attacks on US bases in the region in response to Israel's war on Hamas.

MOHAMMAD ZANOUN/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

One month into Israel-Hamas war, more than 10,000 killed in Gaza, almost 1.5 million displaced

The war in Gaza has killed more than 10,000 people and injured more than 25,000 since Oct. 7 as prospects of cease-fire appear remote.

A woman walks along a building whose facade is covered with Stars of David painted during the night, in the Alesia district of Paris, France, Oct. 31, 2023.

France investigates suspected Russian role in Star of David graffiti in Paris

French police are investigating whether Stars of David spray-painted on Parisian buildings in late October were directed by Russian actors.

SOUTHERN ISRAEL - NOVEMBER 01: Tanks move across a field on November 01, 2023 in Southern Israel. As Israel's response to Hamas's Oct 7 attacks entered its fourth week, the Israeli PM said the current war would be a long one and would amount to a "second war of independence." In the wake Hamas's attacks that left 1,400 dead and 230 kidnapped, Israel launched a sustained bombardment of the Gaza Strip and began a ground invasion to vanquish the militant group that governs the Palestinian territory. (Photo by

Analysis

Israel advances rapidly in Gaza, but eliminating Hamas leaders to take time

While the Israeli army advances rather rapidly toward Hamas headquarters in the heart of Gaza City, eliminating the group's leadership would require more time than what Israel can afford.

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

Yahya Sinwar.

Day 32 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Tuesday, Nov. 7

A picture taken on Jan. 13, 2020, during a press tour organized by the US-led coalition fighting the remnants of the Islamic State group, shows a view inside Ain al-Asad military air base

New attacks hit US bases in Iraq, Syria as Iran ups threats over Gaza

White House and Pentagon officials have said they will hold Iran accountable for attacks on US bases by Iranian proxies.

AT SEA - JANUARY 22: The USS Florida sails during "Giant Shadow," a Naval Sea Systems Command/Naval Submarine Forces exercise to test the capabilities of the Navy's future guided missile submarines January 22, 2003 off the coast of the Bahamas. The Florida is one of four Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines to be converted to guided missile submarines. (Photo by David Nagle/U.S. Navy/Getty Images)

US sends in submarine as Iran-backed attacks continue in Syria, Iraq

The Ohio-class submarine is the latest in the Pentagon's strike arsenal to arrive in the region amid a massive buildup of capabilities as Washington warns Iran and its proxies not to launch opportunistic attacks on Israel.

ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images

Blinken ends Middle East tour in Turkey, no Gaza 'humanitarian pause' in sight

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken completed his Middle East tour in Turkey as anti-US protests ramped up in the country.