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

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Politics & Security

ALINE DESCHAMPS/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

In Lebanon, Italy proposes robust multinational force to replace UNIFIL: What to know

Italy has produced alternative to replace the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon and preserve an international security presence there.

A merchant ship "Jabotinsky" (former "Altalena"), chartered by Jewish military group Irgun Zvaei Leumi to carry weapons for Israeli fighters, burns near Tel Aviv beach, after being shelled by the Haganah, Israel, June 27, 1948.

Wreck of ship sunk by Israeli military in Irgun clash found after 78 years

The wreck of the Irgun underground's Altalena ship, bombed by the Israeli military in 1948 and deliberately sunk in 1949, was located off Israel's coast at a depth of 1,650 feet.

ilia YEFIMOVICH / AFP via Getty Images

Israel tightens election safeguards as public distrust surges: What to know

Israelis have lost trust in the government and in its ability or willingness to conduct free and fair elections.

Latest News

Analysis

Why Turkey sees Israeli strikes in Syria as warning over its military role, Mecca Pact

A Turkish soldier from the 1st Border Regiment Command looks out over the border wall to Syria during alert drills at a military outpost on the Turkey/Syria border on March 2, 2017 in Kilis, Turkey.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Analysis

Turkey bets on US deconfliction as Israel widens Syria red lines

Turkey/Syria border

Ezgi Akin

Rina Bassist

By Ezgi Akin , Rina Bassist

Analysis

Can Trump's economic war ultimately force Iran to compromise?

People shop at a store in the Grand Reza Bazaar near the shrine of Imam Reza following the funeral of slain Iranian leader Ali Khamenei and his family members in Mashhad on July 10, 2026.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

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

This general view shows an Ethiopian national flag.

Egypt braces for third-stage filling of Nile dam

Egypt continues to implement projects for water management, although some say the third filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam will not affect Cairo’s water supply this year.

ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

Iran’s president meets with political activists

In a rare move, Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi met with a group of activists to discuss their political and economic concerns.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivers a speech.

Has Ukraine war given Erdogan free hand at home?

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan might be aiming to tighten his grip on the domestic front, taking advantage of Ankara’s rising profile amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Flags of Azerbaijan (L) and Israel.

Israel's Liberman talks wheat, strategy in visit to Azerbaijan

Officially, the visit of Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman to Azerbaijan focused on exporting wheat to Israel, but reports suggest that the minister also discussed strategic and energy issues.

OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images

Prisoner swap, assassination plot bolster Turkey's image as intrigue hotspot

Newly revealed spy rings are reinforcing Istanbul’s long reputation as playground of intelligence agents.

Israeli Minister of Defense Benny Gantz meets with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (not in frame) at the Pentagon the Pentagon in Washington, DC, on December 9, 2021. (Photo by Samuel Corum / AFP) (Photo by SAMUEL CORUM/AFP via Getty Images)

Gantz says Israel still coordinates with Russia on Syria

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz discussed Israel's delicate strategic balance between Ukraine, Russia and Iran in an exclusive podcast interview with Al-Monitor's Ben Caspit.

Gvir

Far-right legislator attacks Israel’s premier, Shin Bet chief

Knesset member Itamar Ben Gvir is taking his battle against the government up a notch, attacking personally both Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Shin Bet head Ronen Bar.

An aerial view shows a section of the new "Regional Ring Road" highway project, passing by the northern village of al-Naaminah in the fertile Nile Delta agricultural region in Sharqiyah province, Egypt, May 28, 2021.

Fatal road accidents in Egypt remain high despite infrastructure improvements

While the government’s spending of billions of dollars to develop roads and the transportation infrastructure have reduced accidents in recent years, Egypt still ranks among the top nations in the world for traffic deaths.

A man places a copy of the Tunisian Constitution atop a Tunisian national flag.

Tunisian president grants himself power to appoint election authority

The presidential decree to revise the law of the Independent High Authority for Elections in Tunisia and change its composition is facing widespread criticism from opposition parties and organizations that accuse Tunisian President Kais Saied of granting himself wide powers that may affect the course of democracy.

AFP via Getty Images

Beirut blast families fight to keep ruined silos up until justice served

Families of the victims and activists say the Lebanese government is in an undue hurry to bring down a massive symbol of the 2020 Beirut port explosion and the negligence behind it.

Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Services (CTS).

Iraqi soldiers killed in desert operation as drug busts surge

Massive amounts of drugs are being smuggled across Iraqi borders while a large anti-terrorism operation including Iran-linked forces and US-led coalition support continues.

US Special Envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking.

Analysis

US committed to UN truce and ‘better future’ for Yemen, says US envoy

In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, Tim Lenderking, US special envoy for Yemen, says the United States can be counted on to continue its strong diplomatic effort in Yemen, but the core responsibilities for peace lie with the parties themselves.

Week in Review

By Week in Review