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

politics and security cover image

Politics & Security

President Donald Trump walks toward reporters before answering questions before boarding Air Force One on April 10, 2026, at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland.

Trump extends ceasefire with Iran ‘until discussions concluded’

Trump also said he directed the US Navy to continue its blockade of Iranian ports.

US Ambassador to Turkey Thomas Barrack attends a meeting with President Donald Trump and President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the Oval Office at the White House on Sept. 25, 2025, in Washington, DC.

Trump envoy Barrack’s embrace of 'strong leaders' sparks fury in Turkey

Turkish opposition members say envoy Tom Barrack’s remarks praising “strong leaders” and monarchies undermine Turkey’s democratic tradition and embolden President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

ATTA KENARE / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Israel sees chance of US-Iran deal as almost 'non-existent,' readies for war

As US President Trump makes contradictory statements regarding his intentions toward Iran and the ongoing negotiations, Israel is preparing for the possibility of resuming military operations.

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

Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrives ahead of a meeting with Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer at 10 Downing Street in central London on March 31, 2026.

Syria’s Sharaa makes fourth visit to Saudi Arabia, first since Iran war: What to know

The visit comes in light of the deepening economic relations between Syria and Saudi Arabia post-Assad.

Latest News

US boards Iran-linked tanker in Indian Ocean, vows pursuit of 'ghost fleet'

TOWNSVILLE, AUSTRALIA - JULY 14: A US Navy Seahawk helicopter takes off from the deck of the USS Ronald Reagan on July 14, 2017 in Townsville, Australia. USS Ronald Reagan is a 1,092- foot aircraft carrier which carries a crew of 4,539 around 60 aircraft. Exercise Talisman Sabre is the largest combined military exercise undertaken in Australia. The biennial exercise is the principal Australian and U.S. military training activity. (Photo by Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images)

Interview

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

Olmert

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

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.

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

Syrian refugees living in the earthquake-affected areas of southeastern Turkey cross the Turkey-Syria border at the Cilvegozu border crossing, Turkey, February 19, 2023. A 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck the country's south-east in the early hours of February 6, followed by another 7.5-magnitude tremor just after midday. The quakes caused widespread destruction in southern Turkey and northern Syria, leaving behind more than 46,000 dead. (Photo by Konstantinos Tsakalidis / SOOC / SOOC via AFP) (Photo by KONS

Turkey Elections: Runoff becomes tug of war over Syrian refugees

As Turkey heads for its presidential runoff, the opposition and the government are in a race to send Syrians and other refugees back home in an effort to woo nationalist voters.

Russia's Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev arrives to attend an expanded meeting of the Russian Defence Ministry Board at the National Defence Control Centre in Moscow, on December 21, 2022. - Russian President described today the conflict in Ukraine as a "shared tragedy" but placed blame for the outbreak of hostilities on Ukraine and its allies, not Moscow. (Photo by Sergey Fadeichev / Sputnik / AFP) (Photo by SERGEY FADEICHEV/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images)

Russian interior minister visits Saudi Arabia in Zelenskyy's wake

The Ukrainian president criticized the Russian invasion during his surprise trip to Saudi Arabia to attend the Arab League summit.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu receives Emirati ambassador to Israel Mohamed Al Khaja, Jerusalem, May 22 2023 Credit: Amos Ben-Gershom/GPO

At last, Israel’s Netanyahu invited to UAE for COP28

The Israeli leader may have to wait until November, for the COP28 climate summit in Dubai, for his first public visit to the Emirates.

An Israeli border guard intervenes as participants of an Israeli annual far-right, flag-waving rally, beat Palestinian men during the event in the Old City of Jerusalem, on May 18, 2023. Jerusalem police and residents were bracing for extremist ministers and their supporters to rally today in an annual flag-waving march commemorating Israel's capture of the Old City. Following the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel annexed east Jerusalem and its Old City in a move never recognised by the international community. (Pho

Israel-Saudi normalization requires concessions for Palestinians

Diplomatic sources estimate that the chances of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accepting Saudi normalization conditions, such as a settlement freeze or more Muslim autonomy on the Temple Mount, are close to nil.

Sinan Ogam and Recep Tayyip Erodgan

Turkey Elections: Ogan’s endorsement boosts Erdogan in Sunday’s runoff

The endorsement from Sinan Ogan, who received more than 5% in first round of vote, bolsters the president’s chances of winning Sunday's poll.

Israeli soldiers guard the road leading to the Homesh Yeshiva (religious school), located at the former settlement of Homesh, west of the West Bank city of Nablus, on December 30, 2021.

US 'deeply troubled' by Israel's Homesh settlement order

The State Department also expressed alarm over the visit by right-wing minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to Israel's flashpoint holy site.

Lebanese Hezbollah fighters take part in cross-border raids, 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 stages war games, unveils drone weapon against Israel

The exercises elicited condemnation from local parties in Lebanon.

People protest against executions and detentions in Iran, in front of the Iranian Permanent Mission to the UN in New York City on December 17, 2022. (Photo by Kena Betancur / AFP) (Photo by KENA BETANCUR/AFP via Getty Images)

New EU sanctions on Iran target Basij, judiciary after executions

The foreign ministers of the European Union have adopted an eighth round of sanctions against Iranian individuals and entities responsible for serious breaches of human rights.

Sinan Ogan, Turkish academician and presidential candidate of the ATA (Ataturk) nationalist alliance speaks during an interview with AFP, in his office in Ankara, on May 16, 2023. Turkey's election officials confirmed that there would be a second round because the remaining uncounted votes would not swing the outcome. Erdogan secured 49.5 percent of the vote and Kilicdaroglu picked up 44.9 percent. Nationalist candidate Sinan Ogan -- a former member of a far-right party now allied with the government -- won

Breaking | Last Updated: May 22, 2023, 12:05 pm

Turkey Elections: Far-right Sinan Ogan throws support behind Erdogan

It remains unclear how the far-right politician's endorsement will impact the outcome of the consequential presidential runoff as his electoral partners rejected to toe his line.

Ali Shamkhani (R), the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran extends his hand to Emmanuel Bonne (L), diplomatic advisor to the French president, in the Iranian capital Tehran on July 10, 2019. - Iran has breached a uranium enrichment cap set by a troubled 2015 nuclear deal and warned Europe against taking retaliatory measures, as France decided to send an envoy to Tehran to try to calm tensions. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran replaces security chief Shamkhani with IRGC official

Ali Shamkhani was heavily involved in Iranian foreign policy and will be replaced by a senior member of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner talks with Elon Musk in the Paddock prior to final practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Miami at Miami International Autodrome on May 06, 2023 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

Antisemitism skyrockets on Twitter as Israel's requests go ignored

With the number of antisemitic posts on social media on the rise, Israel’s Foreign Ministry focuses on tracing such dangerous trends and battling them on the platforms they are published on.

Passengers, who were stranded following the border closure due to the coronavirus pandemic, wait to cross into Iraqi Kurdistan from the Syrian side of the Semalka border crossing in northeast Syria, July 29, 2020.

Intra-Kurdish tensions paralyze northeast Syria’s main border crossing

Northeast Syria’s only external border crossing closed abruptly May 17 for an unknown period, disrupting trade, medical corridors and humanitarian access to the area.