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Politics & Security

Olmert

Interview

Olmert: Only Israeli-Lebanon deal can curb Hezbollah, occupation 'unviable'

Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told Al-Monitor that Israel will only be able to defang Hezbollah if it reaches an agreement with the Lebanese government.

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.

Latest News

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

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

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

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

An aerial picture shows Syrian refugees living in Turkey waiting to take a bus through the northern Bab al-Hawa border crossing, on February 17, 2023, as they return to Syria in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake. - Turkey this week allowed Syrians under its protection who hold ID cards from one of the quake-hit provinces to leave for between three and six months, a rule change designed to reunite families on both sides of the border hit by the February 6 disaster, which has killed more than 41,000 people

In first for Turkey, National Security Council addresses Syrian refugee return

Turkey’s National Security Council has openly expressed the need for international support for Syrian refugees to return home.

Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan (R) escorts US Secretary of State Antony Blinken as they arrive for a meeting with GCC Ministers at the GCC Secretariat in Riyadh on June 7, 2023.

Blinken urges coalition partners to repatriate Islamic State fighters in Syria

At a gathering in Riyadh of the global alliance to defeat IS, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken asked partners to repatriate their detained citizens and announced new funding for stabilization work in Iraq and Syria.

`French police officers stand next to an emergency truck in Annecy following a mass stabbing in the French Alpine town, June 8, 2023.

France arrests 'Syrian asylum seeker' in Annecy stabbing attack

French authorities are still investigating whether the attack this morning at a park in the southeastern French town was a terror act or not.

Turkey Fidan

Turkey’s FM Hakan Fidan in call with Sweden as NATO bid progresses

Ankara presses for additional steps from Stockholm ahead of next week’s NATO talks between Turkish and Swedish officials for the Nordic state’s accession to the alliance.

Hannibal Gadhafi

Why is Libya’s Hannibal Gadhafi on hunger strike in Lebanon?

Hannibal Gadhafi’s health began to deteriorate after he began a hunger strike to protest his detention without trial in 2015. Meanwhile, an Amnesty International report warns of poor conditions in Lebanese prisons.

Alex Babenko/Getty Images

Turkey’s Erdogan calls Putin, Zelenskyy, offers mediation in Ukraine dam crisis

In his first international phone contacts after inauguration, Erdogan sought to expand his country’s mediation role between Moscow and Kyiv.

Anti-Judicial overhaul demonstrators protest against the arrival of Israel's Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, outside the OECD headquarters, June 7 2023

Israel’s Smotrich met with protests in France, vows to continue judicial reform

At the OECD ministerial meeting in Paris, Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich dismissed warnings in the organization's economic report that the judicial overhaul will hurt Israel’s economy.

Israel Morocco

Israeli parliament speaker Amir Ohana pays first visit to Morocco

As the son of Moroccan-born parents, Knesset speaker Amir Ohana is especially moved to visit his family's homeland.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on June 6, 2023

Blinken meets with Saudi Arabia's MBS, US cites 'convergence' on issues

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Al-Monitor that he and the crown prince discussed "a lot" during their meeting.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (C) and members of his new cabinet pose for a photo during a visit to Anitkabir, the mausoleum of Turkish Republic's founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, before their first cabinet meeting in Ankara, on June 6, 2023.

Deciphering Turkey’s new cabinet: Real reform or window dressing?

President Erdogan's new Cabinet so far reflects a shift to his reformist days — whether that plays out as such remains to be seen.

The Canadian Military in an armoured personel carrier drive away from a house that is flooding after dropping off people to sandbag because of high water levels on the Red River in Winnipeg, Manitoba 30 April. The water on the Red River continues to rise and over 20,000 people have been evacuated from their homes. AFP PHOTO/Carlo ALLEGRI (Photo credit should read CARLO ALLEGRI/AFP via Getty Images)

Canada’s arms exports boom to Saudi Arabia, Israel, Qatar

Some 92% of Saudi Arabia's purchases were armored combat vehicles with most of the shipments coming from a $15 billion contract reached in 2014 but only approved for export by Canada’s current government.

Photo of Fattah hypersonic missile as it was unveiled on Iran's Press TV on June 6, 2023

Iran unveils first hypersonic missile 'Fattah,' says no system can intercept it

Boastfully adding to its already massive stockpile of long-range projectiles, Tehran appeared headed for a fresh collision course with Israel and its Western adversaries, which remain unnerved by Iran's missile program.