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Politics & Security

Commuters make their way past a giant billboard of slain Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at Valiasr Square in Tehran on April 19, 2026.

Two Iranians face US court in sanctions, arms trafficking cases: What to know

The cases come as the United States pairs tighter sanctions with stepped-up enforcement targeting Iran’s global networks amid the war.

US Vice President JD Vance (C) walks with Pakistan's Chief of Defense Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshall Asim Munir (L), and Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar after arriving for talks with Iranian officials on April 11, 2026, in Islamabad, Pakistan.

Trump says Iran deal could happen 'quickly' as Pakistan readies talks: What to know

A source familiar with the plans told Al-Monitor that the US delegation will travel to Islamabad soon.

Members of Iraq's security forces stand guard on the the al-Rabia border crossing with Syria on April 20, 2026.

How Syria's border opening with Iraq redefines Turkey-Kurd balance

After years of closure, the reopening of al-Yaaroubiya crossing is redrawing Kurdish economic leverage and reinforcing Turkey’s regional strategy.

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meets with Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan in Jeddah, on April 20, 2026.

MBS hosts Sudan's Burhan in Jeddah as $1.5B Saudi-backed arms deal stalls

Sudan’s army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan traveled to Jeddah Monday for a visit that could be aimed at salvaging a $1.5 billion Pakistani arms deal Riyadh has reportedly blocked.

Latest News

Bahrain orders citizenship review as Iran war-linked crackdown escalates: What to know

Vehicles move on a road in Bahrain's capital, Manama, on March 11, 2026.

Lebanon-Israel negotiations to continue even as Iran talks stall

Jewel SAMAD / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Pakistan’s quiet fighter jet deployment to Saudi Arabia signals Gulf anxiety

Pakistan Air Force J-10 fighter jets over Islamabad, March 23, 2025.

Sabena Siddiqui

By Sabena Siddiqui

In Karachi, reporting on South Asia, Middle East, Iran

Analysis

Italy’s TB3 drone deal signals turn toward Turkey amid US-NATO tensions

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni shake hands during the press conference following their meeting at Villa Doria Pamphilj, on April 29, 2025, in Rome, Italy.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

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

Men hold a sign showing the face of Ahmed Mutawasilian, a fighter in Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) who was kidnapped and killed in Lebanon in 1981, as they stand upon a podium showing a picture of a burning Israeli flag defaced with footprints during a rally marking Al-Quds Day (Jerusalem), a commemorative day held annually on the last Friday of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan by an initiative started by late Iranian revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, in Tehran on April

Israel: seizure of millions of dollars in crypto linked to Iran IRGC, Hezbollah

The news follows Hamas announcing it will not use Bitcoin anymore and more government scrutiny of cryptocurrency transactions, including by the United States.

This picture taken on July 21, 2022 shows a view of sacks of confiscated captagon pills, presented at the judicial police headquarters in the city of Zahle in Lebanon's central Bekaa valley. - A decade of appalling civil war has left Syria fragmented and in ruins but one thing crosses every frontline: the drug fenethylline, commercially known as captagon. The stimulant -- once notorious for its association with Islamic State fighters -- has spawned an illegal $10-billion industry that not only props up the

Lebanon seizes Captagon shipment bound for central Africa, Gulf

Lebanon's latest bust comes as US sanctions and other measures work to counter trafficking in the country.

A screen grab from a video of Merdan Yanardag uploaded April 14, 2023.

Turkey arrests prominent TV journalist over criticizing Ocalan's isolation

Journalist Merdan Yanardag’s arrest comes amid a post-election climate in which many journalists feel threatened, according to media watchdogs.

TOPSHOT - A member of Israeli security forces and one from settlement security walk past a burning car reportedly set on fire by settlers from the nearby Bracha settlement, in the Palestinian Burin village in the occupied West Bank on February 25, 2023. (Photo by jaafar ashtiyeh / AFP) (Photo by JAAFAR ASHTIYEH/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

US delivers 'tough talk' to Israeli officials over West Bank escalation

The Israeli government has been warned that the Biden administration won’t stand idly by while settlers attack West Bank Palestinians.

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

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.