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Politics & Security

Trump Netanyahu

On eighth visit, Israel’s Netanyahu seeks to repair ties with Trump

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to focus on Iran in his Tuesday meeting with President Donald Trump, while the US leader is more likely to want to discuss Lebanon and Syria.

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi speaks during a meeting with US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (not pictured) at the Pentagon on July 14, 2026 in Arlington, Virginia.

Zaidi to meet Erdogan as Turkey-Iraq ties take off, Kurds feel sidelined

The Iraqi prime minister's visits to Ankara and Riyadh underscore Baghdad's push to deepen regional ties as Turkey seeks closer cooperation on energy and security.

US President Donald Trump takes questions from the media during a bilateral meeting with President of Lebanon Joseph Aoun in the Oval Office of the White House on July 21, 2026 in Washington, DC.

Trump says Iran seeks talks after strikes halted

An Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said the two sides have communicated only through intermediaries.

Iranian security forces stand guard in front of the French Embassy in Tehran in this undated image.

Iran summons French ambassador after detaining 2 diplomats: What to know

Last week, France’s foreign minister said that two French diplomats had been detained and interrogated, and that one had been physically assaulted by Iranian security services.

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Analysis

Zaidi’s test in Tehran

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi is welcomed to the Saadabad Palace in Tehran by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, July 23, 2026.

Week in Review

By Week in Review

Analysis

Iran war puts Turkey’s inflation fight, lira under fresh pressure

Vendors sell dry food as people shop by a banner reading " No to Inflation" near the New Mosque area in Istanbul's Eminonu district on Nov. 6, 2018.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Analysis

Can Kuwait secure a Saudi-style defense pact with Pakistan?

moke rises from a high-rise building following a drone attack in Kuwait City on March 8, 2026.

Sabena Siddiqui

By Sabena Siddiqui

In Karachi, reporting on South Asia, Middle East, Iran

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

Iranian instructor Maryam Ghelich stands with student Narghes as they look at Elham (3rd R), Leila and Mona, posing on their motorbikes before their lesson at a training center in northern Tehran on Dec. 7, 2025.

Iran formally allows women to drive motorcycles: What to know

The new resolution comes amid widespread unrest in Iran, where massive nationwide protests triggered by economic hardship and a severe government crackdown have shaken cities across the country.

Rubio

Rubio says talks with Iran should address missiles, proxies

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Al-Monitor the venue and format of the upcoming talks are “still being worked through.”

Steve Witkoff Jared Kushner

Analysis

Despite US assurances, Israel fears being sidelined in partial Iran deal

Israel is rattled by Oman as the new venue for the talks and fears that President Donald Trump could go for a partial nuclear deal or for an interim agreement that would buy the Iranians more time.

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

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi gives a statement at the Ritz Hotel as he meets Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, on Jan. 30, 2026 in Istanbul, Turkey.

US-Iran talks uncertain as Tehran pushes to sideline regional countries

Iran is also pushing to move the negotiations to Oman and to exclude its missile program from the talks.

Saif al-Islam Gadhafi, son of Libyan leader Moamer Gadhafi, speaks during an interview with AFP in Tripoli on Feb. 26, 2011.

Saif Islam Gadhafi, son of late Libyan ruler, killed in gunfight: What to know

Gadhafi was a key figure in his father Moammar Gadhafi's regime, and faced legal prosecution for his alleged roles in crimes against Libyans.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki speaks during a press conference on May 11, 2011, at the green zone area in Baghdad, Iraq.

Iraq’s Maliki rejects Trump criticism, vows to stay in PM race

Maliki refused to withdraw from the race, despite mounting pressure from the US, and expressed a desire for good relations with Iraq’s neighbors and Washington.

Commuters drive along a bridge near a building bearing a landmark anti-US mural in Tehran, on June 22, 2025.

Bracing for backlash, Iran sends mixed signals on US talks

Iran's public messaging remains fragmented, with cautious openness from the presidency, rigid red lines from security officials and outright rejection from hard-liners, who see negotiations as futile.

US Department of State's senior advisor to the president for Arab and African Affairs Massad Fares Boulos attends the Sudan Humanitarian Fund event at the Institute of Peace in Washington, on Feb. 3, 2026.

US says Sudan warring parties back withdrawal plan as donors pledge $700M in aid

State Department senior adviser Massad Boulos announced Tuesday that a "comprehensive peace plan" has been approved by Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, though it still needs to be approved by Sudan's warring parties.

US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff arrives for a press conference with the US president and Israel's prime minister in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on Feb. 4, 2025.

Witkoff meets Netanyahu as Israel warns against potential Iran deal

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel’s security chiefs briefed US envoy Steve Witkoff on the country’s concerns ahead of Friday’s US-Iran talks.

YASIN AKGUL/AFP via Getty Images

Iran seeks nuclear-only US talks, to drop Turkey as host: Source

Iran’s push for a bilateral, nuclear-only format and a possible shift to Oman has frustrated mediators.

This handout photo made available by the Iranian Army Office on March 12, 2025 shows navy vessels taking part in a joint Iranian-Russian-Chinese military drill in the Gulf of Oman.

US F-35 downs Iran drone as IRGC boats target tanker near Hormuz

The US military accused Iran of "unnecessary aggression" after shooting down an Iranian drone near the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea and IRGC vessels approached a US-flagged oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz ahead of US-Iran talks later this week.

Diplomatic advisor to the United Arab Emirates President Anwar Gargash (C) react on stage with Former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (L) and Atlantic Council President and CEO Frederick Kempe (R) during the World Governments Summit in Dubai on February 3, 2026. Spain will seek to ban social media for under-16s to protect them from harmful content such as pornography and violence, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on February 3, in the latest such move by governments. Australia established a world first i

On eve of talks, UAE's Gargash throws weight behind Iran-US deal

Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the UAE president, spoke at a panel discussion at the World Governments Summit in Dubai, where he discussed the latest developments in Gaza, Iran, Sudan and Yemen.

United Arab Emirates