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January 16, 2026

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Retired Israeli General and Executive Director of Tel Aviv University's Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) Amos Yadlin attends a session at the Manama Dialogue security conference in the Bahraini capital, on Dec. 5, 2020.

Interview

Yadlin: Israel’s regime-change goal in Iran remote without US 'boots on the ground'

The former head of Israel's military intelligence directorate told Al-Monitor that Israel must prepare itself for a possible Iranian response if the US follows through on its threat to hit the Islamic Republic.

Amos Yadlin

Amos Yadlin

Former head of Israel's Military Intelligence Directorate

Members of the Petroleum Oils and Lubricants squadron at the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing take a break from replacing a 50,000-gallon fuel bladder in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, on Dec. 30, 2002, in Al Udeid, Qatar.

US evacuates some personnel from Qatar air base amid Trump threat to strike Iran

Iran's Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh warned Tuesday that Tehran will retaliate for any attacks on the country.

A Patriot missile battery is seen near Prince Sultan air base at al-Kharj on Feb. 20, 2020.

CENTCOM opens air defense cell at Qatar's Al Udeid base: What to know

Bringing together military officers from regional countries to coordinate air and missile defense marks a nascent step in CENTCOM’s decades-long push to diplomatically facilitate air defense cooperation between Gulf states against Iran.

Latest News

US designates Muslim Brotherhood chapters as terrorist organizations: What to know

Egyptians hold a plaque of the Muslim Brotherhood emblem which was removed from the party's burnt headquarters in the Moqattam district of Cairo on July 1, 2013 after it was set ablaze by opposition demonstrators overnight. Egypt's opposition gave Islamist Mohamed Morsi a day to quit or face civil disobedience after deadly protests demanded the country's first democratically elected president step down after just a year in office. AFP PHOTO / KHALED DESOUKI (Photo credit should read KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via G

Analysis

Israel assesses Trump may opt for Iran strike despite protest crackdown

TEHRAN, IRAN - JANUARY 10: The heavily damaged Tax Affairs building is pictured on January 10, 2026 in Tehran, Iran. Some areas of Tehran sustained heavy damage during ongoing protests that came to a head on January 8, amid a growing economic and political crisis sweeping the country. (Photo by Stringer/Getty Images)

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

Israel holds drills, prepares missile defenses for possible Iran attack: What to know

This picture shows a battery of Israel's Iron Dome air defence system in the southern city of Ashdod on May 12, 2023, as Israel's army and Gaza militants traded heavy cross-border fire. Israel and Gaza militants traded heavy fire today as hopes faded of securing a truce to end days of fighting that have killed dozens, all but one of them Palestinian. (Photo by Jack Guez / AFP) (Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

As Iran protests swell, Trump's messages mixed on US intervention

US President Donald Trump addresses a House Republican retreat at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Jan. 6, 2026 in Washington, DC.

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

Andrew Parasiliti

President and Chief Content Officer

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, national security

Megan Mineiro

In Washington, DC, reporting on US Congress

PMU react angrily to US attack on Kataib Hezbollah facilities near Syrian border

US strikes on Kataib Hezbollah near the Syrian border have sparked debate over whether the attack infringed on Iraq's sovereignty. Al-Monitor spoke to the PMU commander for western Anbar, where dozens of fighters officially under his command were killed.

Critics say Assad unlikely to suffer under Caesar sanctions

The Syrian opposition backs the Caesar Act, recently approved by the United States, but questions whether the US administration is serious about implementing it and how it might affect the Syrian government and its allies.

Iraq on brink of abyss: What happens next?

The steadily increasing crisis in Iraq is getting deeper over time, opening the space for a total political collapse.

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif walks with Iranian professor Massoud Soleimani as he arrives at Mehrabad airport, in Tehran, Iran December 7, 2019. West Asia News Agency (WANA) via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY - RC2JQD93R47U

Will Iran take up Trump’s offer to ‘make a deal together’?

President Donald Trump may be ready for another deal with Iran, and if so, Tehran’s leaders should take him up on it.

Military forces are seen in North Sinai, Egypt, December 1, 2017. Picture taken December 1, 2017. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany - RC1333348CD0

US re-ups support for Sinai mission

The United States will continue to fund peacekeeping efforts in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula despite concerns over Russia's influence in the region.

Could Congress' latest Syria sanctions bill backfire?

The congressional bill will exacerbate the economic situation in Syria and ultimately increase Syria’s dependency on Iran.

Tehran convenes allies against threats that include US

Iran outlined many concerns it shares with other participants at its recent security conference, especially about Afghanistan and the US presence there.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani meets Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (not pictured) in Tokyo, Japan, December 20, 2019. Charly Triballeau/Pool via REUTERS - RC2YYD9DLX7A

Rouhani claims US sanctions will pass

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani told Japanese and Indian officials he believes that the United States will soon have no choice but to end its pressure campaign against Iran.

The Committee to Protect Journalists and other press freedom activists hold a candlelight vigil in front of the Saudi Embassy to mark the anniversary of the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul, Wednesday evening in Washington, U.S., October 2, 2019. REUTERS/Sarah Silbiger. - RC16BA3B3F60

Intel: Saudi court hands out death sentences in Khashoggi killing

A Saudi court handed down death sentences today to five people linked to the 2018 slaying of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, while others will serve long jail sentences or be acquitted.

A Palestinian woman sits in a motorised vehicle loaded with aid, outside a distribution center run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip September 4, 2018. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa - RC1A87FA4580

Congress forces Trump to restore Palestinian aid

Congress has a plan to restore some of the Palestinian aid that President Donald Trump eliminated.

U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper holds a press briefing at Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, U.S., December 20, 2019. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas - RC23ZD94I24B

Intel: Pentagon refuses to put timeline on Syria mission

Defense Secretary Mark Esper refused to put a timeline on the Pentagon’s scaled-down mission to defeat the Islamic State and guard Syrian oil fields at the agency’s last press briefing of the year.

ISTANBUL, TURKEY - OCTOBER 17: Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the United Arab Emirates Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan (L) meets Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) in Istanbul, Turkey on October 17, 2016. (Photo by Turkish Presidency / Yasin Bulbul/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

UAE insists it’s not lobbying for sanctions against Turkey after all

Lobbyists for the UAE embassy in Washington have clarified their talking points to Congress.

United Arab Emirates