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

politics and security cover image

Politics & Security

Islamabad

Syria’s FM pays Pakistan first visit in 19 years amid new regional alignments

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani is paying his office's first visit to Pakistan in nearly two decades after Islamabad, Ankara and Riyadh signed a joint defense pact.

Zomi Frankcom

Australia summons Israeli ambassador over World Central Kitchen strike: What to know

Australia has summoned Israeli Ambassador Hillel Newman after the Israeli military decided not to open a criminal investigation into the killing of one Australian and six other World Central Kitchen aid workers in Gaza in 2024.

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

Latest News

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

Saddam Hifter meets with Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin

Exclusive

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

AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

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.

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

A man walks past a French-language daily newspaper stand displaying the final issue of Algerian French-language daily newspaper "Liberté" in Algeria's capital Algiers on April 14, 2022. (Photo by RYAD KRAMDI/AFP via Getty Images)

In press freedom index, Middle Eastern countries go from bad to worse

Press freedom and journalist safety remain “very bad” in the majority of the Middle East and North Africa nations, Reporters Without Borders' 2022 index shows.

JAAFAR ASHTIYEH/AFP via Getty Images

Israeli army to investigate death of 16-year-old Palestinian girl

Defense Minister Benny Gantz has shot down accusations that Israeli troops intentionally killed teenager Jana Majdi Assam Zakarna during a raid in the West Bank town of Jenin, but the military investigation is ongoing.

A photograph of Majid Reza Rahnavard, 23, stands on a table among candles during a demonstration by supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran outside the German Foreign Ministry on December 12, 2022 in Berlin, Germany. (Sean Gallup/Getty)

Iran publicly executes another 23-year-old in connection to protests

Iran hanged on Monday protestor Majid Rahnavard, on charges of killing two members of the Basij force.

Iran protest

Group of Iranian artists defies hijab in taboo-breaking video

More Iranian women are beginning to post videos of themselves without the mandatory headscarves as part of the ongoing protests in the country.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (R) attends a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Feb. 22, 2019.

As US watches, China and Saudi Arabia shy away from defense deals during Xi's visit

Pentagon officials are closely watching what deals result from the Chinese president's meetings with Arab leaders.

A picture taken during a tour organized by the Syrian Ministry of Information shows a Syrian national flag and cars in the district of Daraa al-Balad, Daraa, Syria, Sept. 12, 2021.

Jihadists accuse HTS of conspiring with Syrian government to kill IS leader

Jihadis opposed to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham in northern Syria accuse it of sending fighters from Idlib to Daraa, in the south of the country, to aid the Russians and government forces in eradicating Islamic State cells and their leader in the province.

Ahmed Read Jamus

By Ahmed Read Jamus

Mohsen Shekari

Raging backlash as Iran executes protester

Iranians expressed horror, disbelief and anger at the ruling establishment and its judiciary, which hanged a 23-year-old protester over his participation in an anti-government demonstration.

Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad Shia al-Sudani meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Riyadh, Dec. 9, 2022.

Iraqi PM calls for closer ties with China

During the Arab-China Summit in Riyadh, Muhammad Shia al-Sudani expressed Iraq's willingness to join the Belt and Road Initiative and expand ties and relationship with China.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani addresses Middle East Research Institute Workshop on ‘Iraq’s Immediate Priorities’ in Baghdad, Dec. 7, 2022.

Analysis

Iran looms large over Iraqi PM’s reform agenda

Mohammed Shia al-Sudani’s government is seeking a fast start amid uncertainty in Iran.

Week in Review

By Week in Review

HOW HWEE YOUNG/AFP via Getty Images

Saudi Arabia, China sign over 40 deals during Xi's visit

The deals encompassed tech, energy and climate sectors as Chinese President Xi Jinping held meetings with numerous Arab and Gulf leaders on Friday.

ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

Iranian dissident who disappeared in Turkey resurfaces in Evin prison

Mohammad Bagher Moradi who took refuge in Turkey has ended up in Iran's notorious Evin prison, five months after he went missing in Ankara, his lawyer told Al-Monitor.

A woman holds a placard as protesters march in solidarity with protesters in Iran in front of the White House in Washington, DC, on October 22, 2022. - Iran has been rocked by protests since 22-year-old Mahsa Amini's death on September 16, three days after she was arrested by morality police in Tehran for allegedly violating the Islamic republic's strict dress code for women. (Photo by OLIVIER DOULIERY / AFP) (Photo by OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images)

US issues new Iran sanctions over protest crackdown

The latest sanctions target two law enforcement commanders and the warden of an Iranian prison housing political prisoners.