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Politics & Security

Masrour Barzani, Prime Minister of the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government, gives a press conference in the autonomous region's capital Arbil on June 25, 2025.

Interview

Barzani calls for enhanced air defense for Kurdistan Region to counter drone attacks

Iraqi Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani backs US-led regional economic integration efforts and lauds US partnership in an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor.

Masrour Barzani

Masrour Barzani

KRG Prime Minister

Saddam Hifter meets with Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin

Russia’s Putin hosts Saddam Hifter amid instability in Libya: What to know

Moscow has built a strong relationship with Libya’s eastern camp, as Washington and Ankara pursue efforts to reunify the country’s political and military institutions.

AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images

Exclusive

Saudi Arabia wants Iran-backed militia 'heads to roll' in Iraq amid talks with Tehran

Riyadh is pressing Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi to act against the groups behind attacks on the kingdom as Baghdad struggles to balance ties with Tehran and Washington.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf speaks during a press conference at the site where Qasem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was killed by a US airstrike in 2020 near the airport upon his arrival in Baghdad, on Aug. 19, 2026.

Iran’s Ghalibaf makes high-level visit to Iraq ahead of disarmament deadline

The Iraqi parliament speaker is calling on his Iranian counterpart to help Iraq export oil through Hormuz amid the regional conflict.

Latest News

With talks stalled, Iran ups threats against Gulf, Europe: What to know

Pedestrians walk past a billboard depicting Iran's late Supreme Leaders Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Tehran, Iran, June 15, 2026.

In first, Lebanon to hand over former Syrian general to Sharaa government

This handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency on Aug. 18, 2026, shows Judge Fakhr al-Din al-Aryan (C) during the sentencing of Wassim al-Assad.

Analysis

How failing US-Iran diplomacy is giving way to fresh confrontation

Vessels in the Strait of Hormuz

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

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

Judges David Re (2nd L) and Janet Nosworthy (L) are seen before the start of the session of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, where the sentence was set for Salim Jamil Ayyash, a member of the Hezbollah militant group who was convicted of involvement in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and 21 others in 2005, Leidschendam, the Netherlands, Dec. 11, 2020.

UN extends Lebanon investigation into Hariri assassination for another year

The UN approved the extension of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon for about a year, to finalize its work.

SERGIO LIMA/AFP via Getty Images

Brazil’s Lula fires Israel ambassador as part of pro-Palestine shift

Former President of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro was a strong supporter of Israel and friend of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Greek coastguard rescuers recover a body from the sea off the island of Kythira, at the southern end of the Peloponnese Peninsula on October 9, 2022. (Photo by SAVVAS KARMANIOLAS/AFP via Getty Images)

Even after the 'visa war,' the bad and the ugly lingers between EU, Global South

Continuing immigration pressures complicate relations for both aging Europe and the nations to the south and east with booming populations.

Members of the Taliban security forces arrive as Afghan women march during a demonstration they call Stop Hazara genocide a day after a suicide bomb attack at Dasht-e-Barchi learning centre, in Kabul on October 1, 2022. - (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

Afghanistan's Hazara minority increasingly fearful under Taliban

Al-Monitor spoke to members of the long-persecuted Hazara Shiite minority group in Afghanistan as restrictions on women increase and verifiable information becomes scarcer.

Shelly Kittleson

By Shelly Kittleson

In Baghdad, reporting on Iraqi politics

A man holds a sign with writing in Hebrew reading "we won't let you go back to the old days of the British Mandate" during a demonstration by lawyers against the Israeli government's controversial plans to overhaul the judicial system, outside the Tel Aviv District Court of Justice on January 12, 2023. (Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel faces internal threat in Netanyahu’s judicial reforms

After warning from Israel’s top opposition leaders, President of the Supreme Court Esther Hayut warns that the Netanyahu government judicial reform could crush Israel’s democracy.

Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Israel's president to visit Brussels, address EU parliament

The upcoming visit of President Isaac Herzog to Brussels at the end of January could help establish a dialogue between the far-right Israeli government and European leadership.

A banner depicting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Russian President Vladimir Putin reading "Justice Prevails" is displayed along a highway, Damascus, Syria, March 8, 2022.

Syria's Assad hosts Russian envoy, discusses rapprochement with Turkey

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad met with Russian special envoy Alexander Lavrentiev to discuss ending the occupation of Syrian land, highlighting the potential rapprochement with Turkey.

cav

Iran's top diplomat to visit Turkey amid Erdogan-Assad thaw

The foreign ministers of the two nations will hold talks next week amid ongoing Ankara-Damascus rapprochement.

ANDERS WIKLUND/TT News Agency/AFP via Getty Images

Iran releases taped 'confessions' by dual British citizen sentenced to death

Iran's state media outlets have released a video of Alireza Akbari allegedly confessing to his crimes a day after his death sentence was upheld by the country's Supreme Court.

The Tunisian Court of First Instance is shown with barriers erected, Tunis, Tunisia, Feb. 20, 2022.

Tunisia jails all-women jihadist group

Tunisian authorities jailed a group of women believed to have plotted to assassinate a former minister.

Stock Market Exchange on a skyscraper in dubai background - Getty / stock photo

UAE announces new guidance to control money laundering

The United Arab Emirates has been working to counter money laundering since being added to the Financial Action Task Force’s “grey list” in 2022.

Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar attends a ceremony to honor fallen soldiers at the Brother's Cemetery in Riga city, on July 28, 2022 in Riga, Latvia. (Photo by GINTS IVUSKANS/AFP via Getty Images)

Middle East military rankings: Turkey highest, Lebanon lowest per global index

Turkey stands out as the most powerful country in terms of its military capacities in its region while Lebanon is the weakest, a global military strength index finds.