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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

Latest News

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

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.

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.

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

Palestinians take part in a demonstration demanding the release of Nasser Abu Hamid, a Palestinian prisoner held by Israel who has cancer, Ramallah, West Bank, Sept. 21, 2022.

Cancer-stricken Palestinian detainee dies in Israeli custody

Nasser Abu Hamid, jailed by Israel since 2002, died on Tuesday morning following a battle with cancer. Palestinian rights groups accuse Israel of negligence.

Bulent Kenes

Turkey blasts Swedish extradition refusal as 'very unfavorable'

Turkey has lashed out at Sweden over a court ruling against the extradition of a journalist sought by Ankara.

Libyan security forces affiliated with Tripoli-based interim Prime Minister Abdelhamid Dbeibah take part in a parade marking the 6th anniversary of the liberation of Sirte from Islamic State (IS) group, in the northwestern city of Misrata, on December 17, 2022. (Photo by MAHMUD TURKIA/AFP via Getty Images)

Libya court sentences 17 Islamic State members to death

The Tripoli court found them guilty of joining the group and killing 53 people.

Governor Rakan al-Jabouri (C) attends the repatriation ceremony for members of Iraq's federal police members who were killed in suspected IS attack, at Kirkuk airport in northern Iraq on December 18, 2022. (Photo by MARWAN IBRAHIM/AFP via Getty Images)

Latest Islamic State attack highlights security challenges facing Iraq

The Islamic State continues to carry out attacks in northern Iraq, creating serious security challenges for the country.

A Tweet about the execution announced by Iranian authorities of Majidreza Rahnavard.

Iran judiciary urges swift carrying out of sentences

Despite backlash, Iran judiciary urges carrying out sentences “without delay.”

Turkish exiled journalist Bulent Kenes poses for a photographer in Stockholm, Sweden on Dec. 19, 2022.

Sweden’s top court blocks extradition of journalist sought by Turkey

Though Ankara has an ever-growing list of extradition demands for Sweden, journalist Bulent Kenes was the only one explicitly named as a condition for Turkey’s ratification of the NATO’s Nordic expansion.

A Yazidi girl catches a scarf in a religious ritual at the Lalish temple in Dahuk, Nov. 17, 2022.

Yazidis in Iraqi Kurdistan face 'extinction,' community leaders say

As Yazidis struggle to survive in displacement camps in Iraq, one community leader continues to help women survivors of the Islamic State genocide to resettle in Europe.

ABBAS MOMANI/AFP via Getty Images

Expulsion of French-Palestinian detainee 'clouds' relations with Israel, diplomats say

The French Foreign Ministry criticized Israel for deporting French-Palestinian lawyer Salah Hamouri, shortly after ending his nine-months’ administrative detention, and without letting him appeal the expulsion.

Protesters hold placards during a rally against Iranian regime outside the House of Representatives in The Hague on September 23, 2022, following the death of an Iranian woman after her arrest by the country's morality police in Tehran. (Photo by LEX VAN LIESHOUT/ANP/AFP via Getty Images)

Bipartisan bill targets US visas for children of Iranian officials

New legislation aims to bring pressure on Iranian officials and their family members by denying them entry to the United States.

Jordanian security forces deploy their armoured vehicles in the southern city of Maan, some 220 kms south of the capital Amman, on December 16, 2022 hours after a senior police officer was shot dead in riots during a strike against rising fuel prices in the area. (Photo by KHALIL MAZRAAWI/AFP via Getty Images)

Jordan says 3 police officers killed amid unrest over fuel prices

Three officers were killed and five others injured as police forces hunted a man suspected of killing a police colonel last week.

Tunisian demonstrators take part in a rally against President Kais Saied, called for by the opposition "National Salvation Front" coalition, in the capital Tunis, on December 10, 2022. (Photo by FETHI BELAID/AFP via Getty Images)

Tunisia’s opposition calls on president to quit after low turnout election

Saturday elections were marked by voter apathy, official numbers showed turnout standing at a slim 8.8%, in the first vote since President Kais Saied's power grab in 2021.

A displaced Syrian child carries a jug of water.

Water crisis worsens in Syria's Idlib as support dries up

The "Goal" organization, which has been active in Syria since 2012, has stopped pumping water in villages and towns as support for it ends