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Analysis

Ahead of Trump meeting, Netanyahu lays groundwork for Israel to rejoin Iran war

Reports of an Iranian espionage ring and nuclear centrifuges movement could help Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu make the case to the Israeli public and Donald Trump to rejoin the war, ahead of a critical election in October.

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

US President Donald Trump (R) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands as they arrive to speak to journalists during a joint press conference at Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, on Dec. 29, 2025.

Israel fears US deal would allow Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium

Israel fears the US-Saudi civilian nuclear deal could pave the way for uranium enrichment not only by the Saudis but also by other countries in the region.

Latest News

Explainer

Why US-Saudi nuclear deal could encounter hurdles in Congress

Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia (2nd L) is escorted by Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) through Statuary Hall as they head to a meeting at the U.S. Capitol on Nov. 19, 2025 in Washington, DC.

Explainer

How US bid prevailed over China, France, Russia in Saudi nuclear deal

Win McNamee/Getty Images

Analysis

Why Mamdani concluded he can’t arrest Israel’s PM Netanyahu

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks during a primary-night watch party for NYC Congressional candidate Claire Valdez at 99 Scott Studio on June 23, 2026 in the East Williamsburg neighborhood of the Brooklyn borough in New York City.

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

US, Saudi Arabia set to sign nuclear agreement: What to know

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

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

WILMINGTON, UNITED STATES - MARCH 12, 2020: Former Vice President Joe Biden (D) speaks about the Coronavirus and the response to it at the Hotel Du Pont in Wilmington, DE.- PHOTOGRAPH BY Michael Brochstein / Echoes Wire/ Barcroft Studios / Future Publishing (Photo credit should read Michael Brochstein / Echoes Wire/Barcroft Media via Getty Images)

Intel: Top adviser signals Biden would keep troops in Syria as leverage

Under a Joe Biden presidency, the United States would retain a military presence in northeast Syria as leverage against the regime, the presumptive Democratic nominee’s top foreign policy adviser suggests.

Iranian Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli speaks at a press conference at the Ministry during the registrations for upcoming parliamentary elections, in the capital Tehran on December 1, 2019. - Iran will hold it's parliamentary elections on February 2020. (Photo by - / AFP) (Photo by -/afp/AFP via Getty Images)

Intel: US sanctions Iran’s interior minister over deadly protests

The United States slapped fresh sanctions and visa restrictions on 12 Iranian officials and entities, most accused of serious human rights abuses, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Wednesday.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks the press at the State Department in Washington, DC, on May 20, 2020. (Photo by NICHOLAS KAMM / POOL / AFP) (Photo by NICHOLAS KAMM/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Intel: Pompeo refused interview on Saudi arms sale investigation before firing Linick

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo refused to give an interview for State Department Inspector General Steve Linick’s investigation into a massive Saudi arms sale deal before asking President Donald Trump to fire the watchdog, Al-Monitor has learned.

Co-leader of Blue and White party, Gaby Ashkenazi, speaks to supporters at his election campaign event in Tel Aviv, Israel September 15, 2019. REUTERS/Amir Cohen - RC1D28A42640

Israel’s new foreign minister has other, higher ambitions

For Gabi Ashkenazi, his appointment as Israel’s new foreign minister is just the first step in his expected political soar.

Israeli-Chinese ties scrutinized by US

Washington might soon demand that Israel pick a side in the security and trade conflict between the United States and China.

Democratic U.S. presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden speaks during the 11th Democratic candidates debate of the 2020 U.S. presidential campaign, held in CNN's Washington studios without an audience because of the global coronavirus pandemic, in Washington, U.S., March 15, 2020. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - HP1EG3G050BEO

Intel: Biden warns against West Bank annexation as Israel lobbies Trump for green light

Former Vice President Joe Biden told campaign donors today that any Israeli annexation of the West Bank would “choke off any hope for peace,” according to a transcript of the presumptive Democratic nominee’s remarks seen by Al-Monitor.

SANAA, YEMEN - MARCH 1: An Airbus 310 airplane of Mahan Air carrying Iranian health aids is seen at Sanaa International Airport after officials from the Shiite militia-controlled city signed an aviation agreement with Tehran, in Sanaa, Yemen, on March 1, 2015. Iranian Red Cross sent health aid to Sanaa. (Photo by Sinan Yiter/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

Intel: China tangled in US sanctions web for ties to Iran’s Mahan Air

The United States sanctioned a China-based company today for providing “general sales agent services” for Iran’s Mahan Air.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo poses with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu during a NATO foreign ministers meeting at the Alliance headquarters in Brussels, Belgium November 20, 2019. Francisco Seco/Pool via REUTERS - RC22FD9VMKIP

Intel: Pompeo, Cavusoglu discuss US-Turkey coronavirus cooperation

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo discussed US-Turkish COVID-19 cooperation during a phone call with Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Monday.

Blue and White party leader Benny Gantz wears a protective face mask on his way to the swearing-in ceremony of a new unity government in the Knesset (Israel's parliament) in Jerusalem May 17, 2020. Alex Kolomoisky/Pool via REUTERS - RC2DQG90APEQ

Israel’s Benny Gantz, a defense minister with expiration date

New Defense Minister Benny Gantz has a year and a half in front of him to prepare for the role of prime minister.

Israeli pharmaceutical company Teva receives Chinese approval for new Huntington's treatment

The approval to provide the tablets in China that treat the deadly neurological disease is the second in the world after the United States.

Intel: Saudi arms sale probe factored in Trump's firing of watchdog

President Donald Trump fired State Department Inspector General Steve Linick last week in part because of an investigation into an $8 billion emergency arms sales for Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, a source on Capitol Hill told Al-Monitor.

The main gate at Naval Air Station Pensacola is seen on Navy Boulevard in Pensacola, Florida, U.S. March 16, 2016. Picture taken March 16, 2016. U.S. Navy/Patrick Nichols/Handout via REUTERS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC2RPD9BC4N8

FBI finds al-Qaeda link in Pensacola naval base shooter’s iPhone

Recently unlocked phones show the man who killed three people at a Florida naval base had likely been in contact with al-Qaeda.