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September 20, 2026

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Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman looks on as he attends a trade agreement signature ceremony at the Elysee Palace in Paris on August 24, 2026. (Photo by LOU BENOIST / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

How Netanyahu is leveraging Houthi threat in secret Saudi normalization push

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to capitalize on Riyadh's need for intelligence assistance to make normalization headway ahead of the October elections.

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

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.

Latest News

Exclusive

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

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)

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

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

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

A general view picture shows the Israeli barrier running along the East Jerusalem refugee camp of Shuafat, in an area Israel annexed to Jerusalem after capturing it in the 1967 Middle East war, January 24, 2020. REUTERS/Ammar Awad - RC2GME9FFFI3

The electoral politics of Trump's peace and propaganda in Israel

The Trump administration peace plan ignores the Arab Peace Initiative, the Quartet, the road map for peace, and foremost a true quest for peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr protest against what they say is U.S. presence and violations in Iraq, during a demonstration in Baghdad, Iraq January 24, 2020. REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani - RC28ME988GRG

As Iraq's protests continue, is political solution on the horizon?

As the Iraqi government feels the pressure of protests, political leaders are moving toward forming a national front to resolve the Iraqi crisis.

Palestinian demonstrators burn a crossed-out poster depicting U.S. President Donald Trump and reading: "no for Deal of the Century" during a protest against Bahrain's workshop for U.S. Middle East peace plan, in the southern Gaza Strip, June 26, 2019. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa - RC1478E53560

Trump 'deal of the century' still no deal for Palestinians

With the unveiling of the Donald Trump administration's peace plan, Palestinian leaders have reiterate their categorical rejection of it, certain that it fulfills none of their demands toward statehood.

Gantz caught in Trump and Netanyahu's peace plan ambush

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue and White leader Benny Gantz have been invited to the White House on the same day the Knesset is set to discuss Netanyahu’s request for immunity involving corruption charges.

U.S. special envoy for Syria and the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS Jim Jeffrey speaks during a news conference at the State Department in Washington, U.S., November 14, 2019. REUTERS/Yara Nardi - RC28BD9QFAZ9

US Syria envoy: Any talks on troop withdrawal from Iraq must include all aid

US envoy James Jeffrey says the United States wants to see its operations against the Islamic State in Iraq — which have been paused as US and coalition troops focus on protecting themselves in the wake of an escalation between US forces and Iranian-backed groups — resume as soon as possible.

U.S. Speaker of the House Pelosi during the Fifth World Holocaust Forum at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial museum in Jerusalem, January 23, 2020. Abir Sultan/Pool via REUTERS - RC2RLE9UGDN3

Intel: Pelosi seeks to reassure Israel as Democrats debate military aid

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is leading a congressional delegation to Israel this week amid an intraparty debate over conditioning military aid to the close US ally and Democratic efforts to limit President Donald Trump’s ability to attack Iran.

General view of the debris of the Ukraine International Airlines, flight PS752, Boeing 737-800 plane that crashed after take-off from Iran's Imam Khomeini airport, on the outskirts of Tehran, Iran January 8, 2020 is seen in this screen grab obtained from a social media video via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. - RC26DE9L2K1A

Iran says plane crash investigation will be made public

Iran’s defense minister said the investigation into the Ukraine plane shooting is ongoing but will be made public.

Salwa Karoui, wife of detained Tunisian media mogul and presidential candidate Nabil Karoui, speaks during an election campaign rally in Tunis, Tunisia, September 13, 2019. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi - RC1981714B10

Defeated Tunisian presidential candidate paid ex-Israeli intelligence official $250,000

Lobbyist Ari Ben-Menashe reported being paid $250,000 by Nabil Karoui's wife and a friend.

Interview

SDF commander says Kurds ready for dialogue if Ankara is sincere

In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor in northeast Syria, Gen. Mazlum Kobane speaks on a range of issues including prospects for reviving dialogue with Turkey, US President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw US troops from Syria and the impact of Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani's killing in Iraq.

Mazlum Kobane

Mazlum Kobane

SDF commander in chief

U.S. Army soldiers from 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, Task Force-Iraq, man a defensive position at Forward Operating Base Union III in Baghdad, Iraq, December 31, 2019. U.S. Army/Staff Sgt. Desmond Cassell/Task Force-Iraq Public Affairs/Handout via REUTERS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC2P6E96MAPN

Pentagon steers away from brain trauma diagnoses after Iranian strike

Donald Trump downplayed the injuries of US troops stemming from an Iranian missile strike.

A general view of Abadan oil refinery in southwest Iran, is pictured from Iraqi side of Shatt al-Arab in Al-Faw south of Basra, Iraq September 21, 2019. REUTERS/Essam Al-Sudani - RC156ACB6840

Intel: Iraq bank set to halt Iran gas transfers as US sanctions waiver expires

The Trade Bank of Iraq is expected to stop processing payments to Iran if US sanction exemptions expire next month.

U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Iraq's President Barham Salih during the 50th World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, January 22, 2020. The Presidency of the Republic of Iraq Office/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC20LE9BTG35

Iraq president calls for restraint after meeting Trump in Davos

Stressing the need for reforms to address youth unemployment and security, Iraqi President Barham Salih said "this is not time for another conflict" after meeting with his US counterpart in Davos.