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

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Politics & Security

Iranian ambassador Mohammad Reza Sheibani

In shift, Lebanon grants Iranian ambassador residency extension

Mohammad Reza Sheibani’s visa was set to expire early Tuesday morning and he was first ordered to leave in March.

Chengdu J-10 Vigorous Dragon fighter aircraft

China holds second air drill with Egypt: What to know

China is seeking to strengthen ties with Egypt and Gulf states, including via joint air drills.

Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) commander-in-chief Mazloum Kobane speaks during a press conference in Syria's northeastern city of Hasakeh on Dec. 6, 2024.

Explainer

SDF chief Kobane’s Damascus visit a high wire act for Syria’s Kurds

The SDF says its integration with Damascus is complete, but major questions remain over its fighters, weapons and the future of Kurdish self-rule.

Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent addresses the audience during opening remarks at the Ministerial on the Resurgence of Political Terrorism at the State Department on July 16, 2026 in Washington, DC. Bessent spoke alongside U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller as they discussed the rise of far-left political terrorism as a transnational threat. (Photo by Finn Gomez/Getty Images)

In 'warning shot,' US threatens sanctions on Iran’s trading partners

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said countries were given "defined timelines" to halt business with Iran or face US sanctions.

Latest News

Houthis claim strike on Saudi oil tanker off Yanbu: What to know

Supporters of Yemen's Houthi rebel movement carry a mock rocket as they demonstrate in the capital, Sanaa, to denounce a reported air strike by the Saudi-led coalition on a prison in the country's rebel-held north, on Jan. 21, 2022.

Ex-defense minister: Israel in ‘worst possible’ Gaza situation as Hamas gains strength

Palestinian militant group Hamas police officers stand guard as people attend the opening of the Fatah party's eighth general conference at Al-Azhar University in Gaza City on May 14, 2026.

US lifts Syria's terror designation after 47 years

ANKARA, TURKEY - JULY 08: U.S. President Donald Trump (R) meets with Ahmed al-Sharaa, President of Syria (L) for bilateral talks at Beştepe Presidential Compound during the NATO Summit on July 08, 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 Win McNamee/Getty Images)

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

ALINE DESCHAMPS/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

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

JOHANNA GERON/AFP via Getty Images

Egypt seeks middle ground between US, Russia as Ukraine fighting rages

Cairo remains torn in its position on the Ukraine crisis for compelling financial and other reasons.

MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images

Israel needs long-term plans to absorb Ukrainian immigration wave

Israel’s government has made short-term housing plans for the thousands of Ukrainian and Russian Jews expected to immigrate to Israel, but absorption will be a long and difficult road.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett welcomes a group of orphans from the Alumim orphanage in the Ukrainian city of Zhytomyr, on arrival at Ben Gurion Airport, Israel, March 6, 2022.

Germany’s Scholz behind Israel’s Bennett shuttle diplomacy on Ukraine

Associates of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett emphasize that his traveling to Moscow and Berlin and his contacts with all the parties were conducted with the US administration in the picture and with its blessing.

Libyan interim Prime Minister Fathi Bashagha.

Libya turns on Russia over Ukraine war, but does it matter?

Libya’s incoming prime minister initially avoided commenting on Russia’s war in Ukraine. But after Russia welcomed his new government, he turned against Moscow.

The Nile River flows from the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, Guba, Ethiopia, Feb. 19, 2022.

Ethiopia tries to divide Sudan, Egypt in talks over Nile Dam

Ethiopian and Sudanese officials have met separately over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, but Cairo and Khartoum are still mostly united in their concerns.

Church of All Nations and Mary Magdalene Convent on the Mount of Olives, Jerusalem, Israel.

Jerusalem churches fight new settlement plan

Church heads and officials in Jerusalem are fighting an Israeli plan to expand a national park on the Mount of Olives in east Jerusalem, where dozens of churches and Christian sites are located.

Qurashi

Islamic State names new leader after prior chief's death

An audio statement from IS confirmed previous reports that Abu al-Hassan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi is its new leader, but his real identity and background is not clear.

Khamenei

Khamenei defends Iran's regional strategic influence

In defiance of western criticism over Iran's controversial regional activities, the country's leader defended its interventions in the wider Middle East as a tool that deepens strategic influence.

Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid meets with Jordanian King Abdullah II, Amman, Jordan, March 10, 2022.

Bennett government shakes off Netanyahu’s shadow on foreign policy

The coalition government's foreign policy on Russia, Iran, the United States, Turkey and the Palestinians differs significantly from that of former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images

Ukraine, Russia make no progress in cease-fire talks in Turkey

The discussions fail to achieve a cease-fire or a humanitarian corridor for the port city of Mariupol, but Cavusoglu says Turkey’s diplomatic efforts would continue as Erdogan braces for top level meetings with Azerbaijan, Greece and Germany.

Israeli Minister of Immigration and Absorption Pnina Tamano-Shata (3rd-R) and Yaakov Hagoel (2nd-R), head of the World Zionist Organization, hand out Israeli flags to immigrants from Ukraine disembarking from their aircraft at Ben Gurion Airport in Lod, Israel, Feb. 20, 2022.

Israel seeks to contain flood of Ukrainian refugees

Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked announced yesterday a framework plan for welcoming 5,000 Ukrainian refugees and for temporarily regularizing some 20,000 Ukrainian nationals residing in Israel mostly illegally.

AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images

Israeli court cancels eviction of Palestinian families in Sheikh Jarrah

The Israeli Supreme Court has cancelled an eviction order, siding with the residents of the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah.