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Politics & Security

Zaidi

Iraq’s Zaidi doubles down on militia disarmament, boosting oil exports

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi made the comments amid Hormuz-related export struggles and a nearing deadline for armed groups to disarm.

ANKARA, TURKEY - JULY 7: U.S. President Donald Trump (L)shakes hands with with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) during a formal arrival at the Bestepe Presidential Palace during the NATO summit on July 7, 2026 in Ankara, Turkey. Leaders from NATO's 32 countries, plus NATO allies like Ukraine, gathered in the Turkish capital to discuss a range of issues involving spending targets, defense industrial production, and support for Ukraine, among other topics. (Photo by Emrah Gurel - Pool/Getty Images)

Analysis

Israel fears Turkey’s Syria ambitions and doubts Trump will stop them

Israeli officials remain skeptical of Turkish and Syrian denials over Ankara’s military ambitions in Syria, warning that a deeper Turkish foothold could threaten Israel’s security and strain its ties with Washington.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP via Getty Images

Saudi crown prince heads to France as ties deepen: What to expect

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will start a visit to Paris this weekend, his fourth to France since his appointment in 2017.

Latest News

Caught in the middle, Oman shrugs off Trump's latest Iran threat

Win McNamee/Getty Images

Houthis claim new strikes on Saudi Arabia after IRGC warning: What to know

MOHAMMED HUWAIS/AFP via Getty Images)

Turkey signals restraint as war of words with Israel escalates over Syria

Burhaanettin Duran

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

Islamabad

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

Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian listens during a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart at the foreign ministry headquarters in Iran's capital Tehran on June 23, 2022.

Interview

Iran ‘ready to provide answers’ on nuclear probes, FM says

In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian discusses the nuclear talks, the prospects for a prisoner exchange and the protests following the death of Mahsa Amini.

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian

Foreign Minister of Iran

Tanzanian High Commissioners and foreign ambassadors visit the construction site of the Julius Nyerere Hydro Power Project, in Rufiji, Aug. 14, 2022.

Egypt, Tanzania push ahead on Julius Nyerere dam project

Egypt is working to consolidate its influence in Central and East Africa amid the stalled negotiations over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.

Fighters loyal to the Government of National Unity are pictured in a street in Tripoli, following clashes between rival Libyan groups, Libya, Aug. 27, 2022.

Political battle in Libya reaches Supreme Court

The eastern-based House of Representatives has launched an offensive on the judiciary that threatens to politicize one of the sectors of the country that had been able to remain to some extent outside the national rifts and that could turn the conflict very legal in nature.

LOUAI BESHARA/AFP via Getty Images

Gazans, Syrians both torn as Hamas restores ties with Syrian regime

Hamas has announced the restoration of relations with the Syrian government, but Hamas circles are not in agreement on the news.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry participates in a panel talk at the 2018 Munich Security Conference on Feb. 17, 2018 in Munich, Germany.

Not enough to declare intentions on two state solution, says Egypt’s foreign minister

Sameh Shoukry, in an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, says Egypt “will do everything possible to protect our interests” in the Nile Dam dispute with Ethiopia.

UN Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, holds a news conference on the creation of a constitutional committee for the country, at the United Nations offices in Geneva, on Oct. 2, 2019.

Syria still risks economic collapse, says UN envoy

Geir Pedersen, the UN special envoy for Syria, says that the country faces a ‘crisis of epic proportions for the Syrian people.’

Iran protest

US lets firms expand internet services in Iran amid blackout

The American move to support internet freedom in Iran comes as protests continue over the death of Mahsa Amini.

A picture obtained by AFP outside Iran shows demonstrators gathering around a burning barricade during a protest for Mahsa Amini, a woman who died after being arrested by the Islamic republic's "morality police", in Tehran on Sept. 19, 2022.

Iran intensifies crackdown on protests amid internet outage

Videos trickled in of Iranian police opening fire on protesters, who appeared to be standing their ground despite a nationwide internet blackout.

French President Emmanuel Macron (R) and Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi shake hands during a meeting in New York.

Iraqi prime minister emphasizes Iraq's role in regional stability at UN

The Iraqi prime minister highlighted Iraq's main issues and the country's regional and international significance at the UN General Assembly.

Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid gives a speech during the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters, New York, Sept. 22, 2022.

Seeking US support, Lapid backs two-state solution at UN

Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid's address to the United Nations backed the two-state solution.

Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid gives a speech during the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters, New York, Sept. 22, 2022.

Israel's Lapid praised by left, lambasted by right, over backing two-state solution

Prime Minister Yair Lapid took quite a lot of fire Sept. 22, after expressing his support for the two-state solution in his UN General Assembly speech.

Mourners take part in a funeral of people killed in reported artillery fire by Syrian government forces, in the opposition-held city of al-Bab, on the border with Turkey in the northern Aleppo province, Syria, Aug. 19, 2022.

Tensions high between narcotics division, FSA factions in Syria's al-Bab

An armed group affiliated with the Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army stormed a house in the city of al-Bab belonging to a police officer after one of their drug shipments was confiscated.