United States - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

White House, Washington DC, United States of America

United States

September 18, 2026

District of Columbia 10:29 am

28°C

Mario Tama/Getty Images

Former Assad official sentenced to 60 years in US for torture

Samir Ousman Alsheikh was convicted by a jury in March of three counts of torture, one count of conspiracy to commit torture, visa fraud and attempted naturalization fraud.

A US Air Force F-35 fifth-generation jet fighter takes off during the NATO's Ramsteign Flag 2025 exercise at Leeuwarden Air Base on April 8, 2025.

Trump administration approves $24B sale of F-35 jets to Saudi Arabia

Trump first announced the planned sale in November 2025, ahead of hosting Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House.

UN peacekeepers stand next to an armored vehicle during a patrol in southern Lebanon, Feb. 22, 2026.

Explainer

Why France is pushing to keep UNIFIL in Lebanon beyond 2026

Showing its support for Lebanon, Paris is backing Beirut’s request at the UN for a short-term extension of UNIFIL’s mandate, although French sources acknowledge that the chances of the request being approved are slim.

Fighters loyal to the Houthi authorities, brandish their weapons during a rally to recruit more fighters, in Sanaa on September 10, 2026. The country relapsed into war in July after years of calm, drawn into the regional conflict triggered by the US-Israeli offensive against Iran that began at the end of February. (Photo by Mohammed HUWAIS / AFP via Getty Images)

Exclusive

Lacking deterrence, Israel’s security establishment opposes attacks on Houthis

Senior Israeli intelligence sources told Al-Monitor that Israel seeks to avoid involvement in the conflict between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia, despite concerns that Yemen could further unravel and that Iran is backing the group.

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

Latest News

Meet Wesley Hunt, Trump's pick for ambassador to Saudi Arabia

US Republican Representative Wesley Hunt of Texas gestures after speaking during the first day of the 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 15, 2024.

US hits major Russian bank VTB with Iran-linked sanctions

VTB Bank in Moscow

CENTCOM chief meets Saudi Arabia's MBS amid Houthi gains in Yemen

Win McNamee/Getty Images

Analysis

Why Trump is in no rush to join Yemen war as Houthis seize Bab al-Mandeb

US President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman

Jared Szuba

In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military

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

Jared Szuba

Defense and Security Correspondent

In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military

Joyce Karam

Editor-in-Chief

Rosaleen Carroll

News Reporter and Supporting Editor

In Washington, DC, US, reporting on the Middle East

Paul J. Saunders

In Washington, DC, reporting on Russia in the Middle East

Intel: US says there’s no ‘winning side’ in Libya

The US is amplifying calls to restore oil sharing in Libya in hopes of stabilizing the conflict and likely reducing Hifter's dependence on Russia

State Department remains concerned by Turkey’s proxy fighters in northern Syria

Turkey-allied fighters have faced widespread accusations of arbitrary detentions, extrajudicial killings and other abuses in northern Syria.

Kurdish Peshmerga militiamen carry their weapons as other fighters play volleyball at one of their camps in the Qandil Mountains located along the Iraq-Iran border, 05 May 2006. A top Kurdish guerilla threatened 06 May to launch hit-and-run attacks on Iran, saying the Shiite country planned to bomb his group's positions inside Iraq to gain Turkey's support against the US. AFP PHOTO/ALI AL-SAADI (Photo credit should read ALI AL-SAADI/AFP via Getty Images)

KRG seeks US help to rein in Turkish attacks

While the United States has denied rumors that a US military delegation met with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party in the Qandil mountains, sources tell Al-Monitor that a team of US special operations forces went to inspect sites damaged in Turkish airstrikes.

Iraqi-Kurdistan

Rouhani: Iran’s economy handled pandemic better than US

Iran’s president said his country’s economy is in a comparatively better shape than the US and European states' ones when it comes to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Parents of detained journalist Austin Tice urge Trump to talk directly with Syrian regime

The new plea from Marc and Debra Tice comes on the heels of John Bolton's allegations that he and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo thought it was a bad idea for President Trump to engage with his Syrian counterpart.

Iraqi soldiers take position as they disembark from an MI171 helicopter during a joint land and air training with US soldiers from 1st Air Cavalry Brigade at Camp Taji, 25kms north of Baghdad, on March 29, 2010. AFP PHOTO/AHMAD AL-RUBAYE (Photo credit should read AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images)

Pro-Iran militias continue hitting military bases in Iraq

Hitting military bases in Baghdad and other areas, armed groups linked to Iran continues to call for revenge for the January killing of their former leaders Qasem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.

US expands sanctions on Iran metals trade, citing ballistic missile program

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo expands metals-related sanctions on Iran, naming 22 materials used in connection with Iran’s nuclear, military or ballistic missile programs.

Iranian supermarket opens in Venezuelan capital

Iran and Venezuela maintain strong economic ties despite US sanctions on both countries.

TOPSHOT - Russian Sukhoi Su-35 and Su-34 military aircrafts fly over the Russian national flag on the Kremlin palace in Moscow on May 7, 2019, during a rehearsal for the Victory Day military parade. - Russia will celebrate the 74th anniversary of the 1945 victory over Nazi Germany on May 9. (Photo by Yuri KADOBNOV / AFP) (Photo credit should read YURI KADOBNOV/AFP via Getty Images)

Egypt acquires Russian fighter jets despite US warning

Russian media outlets reported that a first batch of the Su-35 fighter jets are en route to Egypt as part of a 2018 deal over which Washington threatened Cairo with sanctions.

Yazidi activist Nadia Murad to appear on 'The Daily Show'

Murad's appearance on the popular US talk and news satire show could showcase her efforts to combat sexual violence and trafficking to a new and big audience.

Rouhani slams US ‘aerial terrorism’ after Iran plane interception

The US interception of an Iranian civilian aircraft over Syrian skies has set off yet another escalatory episode in the rivalry between Tehran and Washington over influence in the Middle East.

Russian soldiers sit in their vehicle next to a portrait of late Syrian president Hafez al-Assad in Khan Sheikhun in the southern countryside of the Idlib province on September 25, 2019. - With military backing from Russia, President Bashar al-Assad's forces have retaken large parts of Syria from rebels and jihadists since 2015, and now control around 60 percent of the country. Russia often refers to troops it deployed in Syria as military "advisers" even though its forces and warplanes are also directly in

Intel: US ramps up Syria pressure campaign with sanctions targeting Assad’s teen son