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

politics and security cover image

Politics & Security

TOPSHOT - Smoke rises from the direction of an energy installation in the Gulf emirate of Fujairah on March 14, 2026. Smoke could be seen rising from the direction of a major UAE energy installation on March 14, in what appeared to be the latest strike targeting the Gulf's petroleum facilities hours after the US struck Iran's Kharg Island. (Photo by AFP via Getty Images) /

UAE's Barakah nuclear plant fully operational after first such strike in Gulf

Emirati officials have vowed that the country’s energy ambitions will not be impacted by the strike, which was the first on a nuclear facility in the Gulf since the war began, adding that they have the right to respond to the attack.

United Arab Emirates

AFP via Getty Images

Exclusive

Majority of attacks on Saudi Arabia carried out by pro-Iran militias in Iraq

Since Feb. 28, most attacks on the kingdom have originated in Iraq and been attributed to Iran-backed Shiite militias, according to regional officials and Iraqi sources.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

A tugboat guides the Russian oil tanker Anatoly Kolodkin as it arrives at the oil terminal in the port of Matanzas, northwestern Cuba, on March 31, 2026.

Breaking | Last Updated: May 18, 2026, 1:36 pm

US extends Russian oil sanctions waiver as Iran war squeezes supply

The waiver temporarily lifts sanctions on Russian oil for 30 days.

Somaliland’s first ambassador to a foreign country formally, Mohamed Hagi, presented his diplomatic credentials in Jerusalem to Israeli President Isaac Herzog, on May 18, 2026.

Israel accredits Somaliland's first ambassador: What to know

Israel was the first country to recognize the breakaway region on the Horn of Africa last year.

Latest News

Iran confiscates assets of 129 alleged ‘traitors’ in West Azerbaijan province

Amid FARAHI / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Why Turkey sees opportunity in Hormuz crisis to boost Middle Corridor

Ships navigate the Bosphorus Strait on May 02, 2026 in Istanbul, Turkey. Since the outbreak of the US-Israeli war against Iran, forcing the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and together with the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, global shipping routes have been severely impacted. Soaring shipping costs, lengthening delivery times and less efficient routes have seen increased pressure on energy markets and supply chains worldwide. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Analysis

Pushed out of Sahel, Macron turns to Egypt and Africa's anglophone countries

French President Emmanuel Macron and Kenyan President William Ruto during a reception at the State House ahead of the Africa Forward summit in Nairobi on May 10, 2026.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist , Rosaleen Carroll

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

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.

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

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

President Trump is doubling down on economic warfare against Iran, betting a naval blockade and sanctions can force a nuclear deal and end the war.

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.

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

Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya has been linked to a number of attacks on Jewish targets in Europe, as well as an anti-regime Iranian news outlet.

President Donald Trump gives a speech during the State Arrival Ceremony on the South Lawn on April 28, 2026, in Washington.

Trump speaks with Netanyahu, Putin as Iran pressure campaign escalates

President Donald Trump spoke by phone separately with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin, discussing the situation in Iran and the possibility of extending the ceasefire.

This aerial photograph shows Turkey's first floating natural gas production platform, "Osman Gazi," passing through the Bosphorus, in Istanbul, on May 29, 2025.

Turkey advances gas pipeline plan to northern Cyprus as East Med rivalry grows

The Turkish energy minister said the country's oil and natural gas pipeline operator, BOTAS, has started the engineering work for the pipeline.

In this handout photo provided by the U.S. Navy, Two F/A-18 Super Hornets launch from the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) in support of Operation Epic Fury on March 3, 2026 in the Mediterranean Sea.

Pentagon: Iran war has cost US estimated $25B so far

A supplemental request won’t be delivered to Congress until the Pentagon fully assesses the war’s cost, a top budget official told House lawmakers.

Displaced Palestinian people look at paintings at an open-air art exhibition at the Bureij camp for Palestinian refugees in the central Gaza Strip on April 28, 2026. The majority of Gaza's 2.4 million people have been displaced, often multiple times, by the war that began with Hamas's attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023. With displaced families living in tented camps, with serious concerns raised about their living conditions. (Photo by Eyad Baba / AFP via Getty Images) / -- IMAGE RESTRICTED TO EDI

Analysis

Why Abbas' win in Gaza remains 'symbolic,' not rejection of Hamas

Affiliates of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas performed relatively well in the municipal elections, though the vote was marred by complications relating to the war and the exclusion of Hamas.

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

The Ateela 2 oil tanker boat navigates the sea on April 28, 2026, on Qeshm Island, Iran, in the Strait of Hormuz.

Analysis

How long can Iran's economy withstand Trump's naval blockade?

Iranian authorities are denouncing US seizures of the country's oil tankers as piracy, but mounting disruptions to maritime trade are exposing economic fragility beneath Tehran's claims of control and resilience.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Prime Minister Mohammed S. al-Sudani met with Prime Minister-designate Ali Faleh al-Zaidi on April 28, 2026.

Meet Ali al-Zaidi, businessman and Iraq's new prime minister-designate

Legal sources familiar with the nominee told Al-Monitor that there are no US sanctions on Zaidi or financial institutions affiliated with him.