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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

Arab Israeli Karim Younes is carried by friends and relatives following his release after 40 years in an Israeli prison for kidnapping and murdering an Israeli soldier, Ara, Israel, Jan. 5, 2023.

Analysis

Explainer: What is behind Israel’s Ben-Gvir's ban on Palestinian flags in public spaces?

Considering the Palestinian flag as incitement to terror, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir seeks to prevent its waving wherever he can.

Mazal Mualem

By Mazal Mualem

In Tel Aviv, reporting on politics

Libya migrants

Explainer: Interpol nabs alleged Libya-based trafficker

The UAE assisted in the task force to arrest Kidane Zekarias Habtemariam, who allegedly extorted migrants through a camp in Libya. The North African country is a major embarking point for irregular sea voyages to Europe.

Erdogan Putin

Analysis

Will Erdogan and Assad soon meet to bury the hatchet?

Erdogan’s opportunism, Putin’s weakness, Iran’s distraction, Israel’s vigilance all complicate Syrian endgame.

Week in Review

By Week in Review

ATEF SAFADI/AFP via Getty Images

After UN vote on ICJ, Israel preps sanctions for Palestinian Authority

The Israeli cabinet's new sanctions on the Palestinian Authority and its leadership are putting Jerusalem on a collision course with Washington and the international community.

YASIN AKGUL/AFP via Getty Images

Fury in Turkey as convicted wife killer murders third victim

The story of a two-time wife killer who killed a third woman after his conditional release from prison speaks volumes about why femicide remains rampant in Turkey.

A young woman from Syria (seated) reacts to a mild electric current in the gloves she is wearing that is meant to simulate the effect of Parkinson's disease at a jobs fair for refugees that promotes training programs and jobs in the caregiving and health care industries on January 14, 2019 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

'I do...I'm done': Divorce spikes among Syrian refugee women in Germany

The transition to their new lives in Germany has led some Syrian women to end their marriages away from the prying eyes of their home communities.

Iranian missile Sevom-Khordad on display during the annual military parade marking the anniversary of the outbreak of the devastating 1980-1988 war with Saddam Hussein's Iraq, in the capital Tehran on Sept. 22, 2022.

US sanctions Iran drone suppliers for arming Russia in Ukraine

The Treasury Department announced designations on six executives and board members with Qods Aviation Industries.

Former and designated Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at the Knesset, Jerusalem, Dec. 29, 2022.

Netanyahu’s judicial reform threatens Israeli democracy

With Justice Minister Yariv levin promoting a reform to erode the courts’ responsibility, and with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promoting a law for convicted Aryeh Deri to serve as minister, Israel’s democracy is facing an existential danger.

Vehicles of forces loyal to Tripoli-based Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah are parked along the waterfront, hours after forces of the rival Tobruk-based government withdrew following heavy fighting between opposing militiasTripoli, Libya, May 17, 2022.

Libya rivals agree to pursue 'constitutional base' for settlement

Ben and Andrew Webinar

Webinar recap: What to expect from Israel’s new government

If you missed it, watch the full event now.

Men ride scooters past a billboard depicting (L to R) the late commander of the Popular Mobilization Units Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Qassem Soleimani, Baghdad, Iraq, June 13, 2021.

Iraqi PM condemns former US administration for killing Soleimani

At a ceremony marking the anniversary of the assassination of Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani condemned the former US administration for carrying out the strikes.

Erdogan xi

Turkey spars with China over Uyghurs, but is it real?

Turkey’s opposition and some Uyghur activists remain doubtful on how committed Ankara is to defending the rights of the Uyghurs despite its recent spat with Beijing.