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

politics and security cover image

Politics & Security

military projectile are embedded in the ground

Yemen’s Houthis claim new attack on Aramco refinery in Saudi Arabia: What to know

The strike follows a deadly Houthi attack on a ship in the Red Sea as the renewed conflict take its toll on shipping.

A man inspects the damage at the site of a strike in Bartalla, in the northern Iraq's Nineveh province, after US-Saudi attacks on militias, July 29, 2026.

Iraq intel and security officials visit Saudi Arabia after drone attacks

Iraqi authorities are cracking down on drone attacks after US and Saudi airstrikes targeted Iran-backed militias in the country.

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

Latest News

Explainer

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

SPA

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

Children swimming in the Strait of Hormuz

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

Iran protest

Despite incendiary rhetoric, Iran walks tightrope to avoid direct Israel war

Three weeks into the Israel-Hamas war, Iran has adhered to a strategy of caution to avoid direct engagement, translating its threats into limited attacks on US bases through its proxies.

hammam ceiling

Turkey's 500-year-old hammam unveils Istanbul's Ottoman secrets

The 16th-century Zeyrek Cinili Hammam, commissioned by corsair-turned-admiral Barbarossa and built by imperial architect Sinan, has found second life after surviving fires, earthquakes and suspicious sultans who feared hammams could be hotbeds of rebellion.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his wife, Emine Erdogan, attend a rally in solidarity with Palestinians in Istanbul on Oct. 28, 2023.

Israel recalls diplomats from Turkey after Erdogan’s 'grave' statements

The move came after Erdogan called Israel a "war criminal" earlier Saturday, and marks a backsliding in bilateral ties that had been fully restored just last fall after more than a decadelong break.

Former US president and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump addresses the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) Annual Leadership Summmit on October 28, 2023 at the Venetian Conference Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP) (Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)

Day 22 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Saturday, Oct. 28

VILNIUS, LITHUANIA - JULY 11: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attends the opening high-level session of the 2023 NATO Summit on July 11, 2023 in Vilnius, Lithuania. The summit is bringing together NATO members and partner countries heads of state from July 11-12 to chart the alliance's future, with Sweden's application for membership and Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine as major topics on the summit agenda. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Explainer: Why Turkey's Erdogan finally initiated Sweden’s NATO ratification

Turkish officials caution that ratification of Sweden's accession to NATO is not a done deal and that the process remains littered with challenges.

Houthi soldiers stand guard on a missile carrier during an official military parade to mark the ninth anniversary of the Houthis' takeover of Sanaa, the Yemeni capital, Sept. 21, 2023.

Iran-backed Houthis emerge as threat to Israel, US amid Gaza war

The Houthis' ability to strike shipping in the Red Sea in the event of an expansion of the Israel-Hamas war makes them a factor in global geopolitics.

Yahya Sinwar (3rd R), the new Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip, and senior political leader Ismail Haniyeh (4th R) sit among other Hamas officials during a memorial for Mazen Faqha, a leader of the Islamist movement who was shot dead in Gaza by unknown gunmen, Gaza City, Gaza Strip, March 27, 2017.

Analysis

Meet Hamas' key leaders, many on Israel's target list in Gaza

Hamas has a complicated and fragmented leadership structure. The militant components of the group have become more powerful in comparison to the political ones in recent years, in part due to Iranian influence.

Ali Hashem

Adam Lucente

By Ali Hashem , Adam Lucente

Palestinian Greek Orthodox Christians pray during Sunday Mass at the Church of Saint Porphyrius in Gaza City, on May 30, 2021.

Gaza’s Christians stand their ground despite heavy bombardment

Gaza’s minority Christian population has refused to leave Gaza City, despite the recent airstrike that targeted a historic church.

Gaza rubble

Analysis

Gaza needs integration, not isolation, after Israel-Hamas war

Also, our exclusive reporting from Lebanon, Iraq and the West Bank.

Week in Review

Andrew Parasiliti

By Week in Review , Andrew Parasiliti

Israeli Merkava tanks take part in a military drill near the border with Lebanon in the upper Galilee region of northern Israel on Oct. 26, 2023, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli invasion of Gaza threatens to collapse Washington's Middle East strategy

The Biden administration thought painstaking diplomacy could contain Iran and, by extension, its proxies in Yemen, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon. But by papering over the Palestinian question, Washington handed its adversary a strategic opportunity.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is welcomed by an honor guard ahead of the opening of the Turkish Grand National Assembly in Ankara, Oct. 1, 2023.

Erdogan’s dreams of eclipsing Ataturk unfulfilled as Turkish republic turns 100

On the centennial of the Turkish Republic, its citizens are debating the country's evolution and how it measures up to the vision of modern Turkey's deeply secular founder.

People chant slogans during a protest supporting the Palestinian people following Friday Noon prayers in the Tunisian capital Tunis on October 20, 2023, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and Hamas.

Tunisia’s parliament to consider bill criminalizing relations with Israel

The draft law criminalizes economic, cultural and military ties with Israel and comes amid growing unrest in the region as Israel intensifies its military campaign in Gaza.

North Africa Pulse