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

politics and security cover image

Politics & Security

This photo obtained by AFP from the Iranian news agency Tasnim shows an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) boat allegedly taking part in an operation to seize ships attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz, on April 21, 2026.

Trump faces three paths ahead in Iran war as Hormuz standoff intensifies

As the Hormuz standoff intensifies, Trump must choose between military escalation, a limited diplomatic deal, or continuing a pressure campaign against Iran.

AFP via Getty Images

In defiant message, Iran’s Khamenei threatens US but appeals to Gulf

The address was Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei’s third since coming to power and included a pledge to rid the Gulf of the US.

Members of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), from the British Army's 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards, No. 2 Company, patrol along the buffer zone separating the internationally recognized Republic of Cyprus and the breakaway Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in the divided capital Nicosia on Feb. 17, 2026.

Turkey warns France over Cyprus troop deployment: What to know

A potential French deployment to Greek Cyprus comes amid Turkey’s growing concerns of strategic encirclement in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Latest News

US blockade tests Iran's limits, but will global pain force Trump’s hand?

QESHM ISLAND, IRAN - APRIL 28: Boats navigate the sea on April 28, 2026 on Qeshm Island, Iran in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's latest proposal for ending its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz calls on the United States to end its naval blockade of Iran's ports, and sets aside questions about what to do with Iran's nuclear program. The United States has not formally responded to the latest proposal, which was delivered by Iran's foreign minister to Pakistan two days ago. (Photo by Asghar Besharati/Getty Images

Iran-linked group claims stabbing in Jewish area in London: What to know

Local residents look on from outside a cordoned off area in the Golders Green neighborhood of north London on April 29, 2026, following the stabbing to two people nearby.

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

Queen Elizabeth II with (L-R) Crown Prince Hussein of Jordan, Queen Rania of Jordan, King Abdullah II of Jordan and Princess Anne.

Breaking | Last Updated: September 9, 2022, 7:15 am

UAE, Jordan, Israel mourn passing of Queen Elizabeth of England

Elizabeth II ruled the United Kingdom for more than eight decades.

United Arab Emirates

Netanyahu campaigns behind glass

Netanyahu's armored stage raises eyebrows along campaign trail

With polls giving him 59-60 Knesset seats, opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu is busily campaigning in neighborhoods where his party has lost influence.

Israel's head of the mainly Arab Joint List Ayman Odeh casts his ballot accompanied by his family during the parliamentary election at a polling station, Haifa, Israel, March 2, 2020.

Polls predict new lows in Arab-Israeli voter turnout

Ahead of the Nov. 1 elections, most Israeli-Arab voters do not believe that their representatives in the Knesset are capable of bringing real change.

Libyans gather at Martyrs Square to protest against the political situation and dire living conditions, Tripoli, Libya, July 1, 2022.

Power struggle continues in Libya

Recent deadly clashes have alarmed regional and international powers, as civilians fear displacement and a shortage of medicine and food.

A picture shows a newspaper stall with a view of Etemad newspaper's front page bearing a title reading in Farsi "The night of the end of the JCPOA ", and cover photos of Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian his deputy and chief nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani, in the capital Tehran on August 16, 2022.

Analysis

The Takeaway: Hopes dim for Iran deal before US midterms

Hamas, Islamic Jihad tensions escalate; Netanyahu-Liberman square off ahead of elections; Egypt expands green initiatives ahead of COP27; Qatar’s neighbors benefit from World Cup; Syria’s Christians hold service in Idlib.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

Andrew Parasiliti

By Elizabeth Hagedorn , Andrew Parasiliti

A man walks past a mural depicting slain Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, on a street in the Arab town of Umm Al-Fahm in northern Israel, on Sept. 5, 2022.

Israeli report whitewashes Abu Akleh's killing, little hope for US intervention

The Israeli army investigation into the killing of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh stirred outrage among her family and rights organizations.

Co-leader of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Pervin Buldan delivers a speech during the party's meeting at the Turkish Grand National Assembly in Ankara on April 26, 2022.

Cracks in Turkey’s opposition alliance emerge over ties to HDP Kurds

Infighting within the major alliance of six Turkish opposition parties over the role of the country’s largest pro-Kurdish group has the ruling party palpably gleeful.

This picture taken on Aug. 30, 2022 shows a view of the remaining encampments of supporters of Shiite Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr before their dismantlement in the capital Baghdad's high-security Green Zone.

Iraq's top court rejects calls to dissolve parliament

Iraq's federal court ruled today that it cannot dissolve parliament and only parliament can dissolve itself.

Heads of States of the Gulf Cooperation Council sit at a round table in Bayan Palace for the opening session of the 34th GCC Summit hosted by Kuwait December 10, 2013. REUTERS/Stringer (KUWAIT - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX16CHR

Gulf states exercise fiscal restraint despite oil windfall

Robert Mogielnicki

Robert Mogielnicki

GENT SHKULLAKU/AFP via Getty Images

Iran condemns Albania for severing relations

Albania accused Iran of conducting a cyberattack against its government. The eastern European country hosts an Iranian dissident group, which has harmed bilateral relations.

DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images

Syrian authorities seize Captagon disguised as pottery

The Syrian government has also been accused of facilitating the Captagon trade.

A handout picture provided by the Iranian Army official website on September 11, 2020, shows an Iranian navy warship during the second day of a military exercise in the Gulf, near the strategic strait of Hormuz in southern Iran.

Cameras missing from US Navy drones briefly seized by Iran, Pentagon says

It remains unclear whether Iran's navy took the cameras or whether they became dislodged when hauled onto the deck of the frigate IRIN Jamaran in the Red Sea last week.