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An Iraqi oil tanker waits at the Khawr Abd Allah canal leading up to Al-Faw port in southern Iraq, on June 6, 2024.

Desperate to sell its oil, Iraq turns to Turkey amid standoff with Kurds

As Iraq looks to reroute oil to Turkey, Baghdad is also using the plan to push the Iraqi Kurds to greenlight exports through their territory.

Iraq

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EU balks at Trump call to join Hormuz mission, Lebanese displacement tops 1M

All updates are in your local time zone

An Israeli self-propelled howitzer artillery gun fires rounds toward southern Lebanon from a position in the upper Galilee in northern Israel near the border on March 15, 2026.

Is Israel planning a buffer zone in Lebanon or will it go beyond Litani?

A primary Israeli concern, per reports, is that Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force commando units could infiltrate the border to attack northern Israeli communities.

Israel

Funerals are held for members of Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and other military figures at Enghelab Square on March 11, 2026 in Tehran, Iran.

Iran detains over 500 accused of spying for Israel, US: What to know

Iranian authorities have arrested more than 500 people accused of helping facilitate strikes against Iran by sharing information with foreign intelligence agencies and media outlets.

Iran

Aluminum ingots in the Aluminium Dunkerque plant of the American Industrial Partner group on Jan. 13, 2022, in Loon-Plage, near Dunkirk, France.

Iran war hits Gulf aluminum exports, risking nearly 10% of global supplies

The Gulf region is a critical hub for aluminum production, supplying roughly 8% to 9% of global output, with disruptions linked to the war now set to ripple through industrial supply chains.

Bahrain

Latest News

Iran defiant as strikes hit Gulf transport, Trump to speak

A plane comes into land as smoke rises near Dubai International Airport

Agence France-Presse

IEA's Asian members begin deploying emergency oil reserves

A fuel pump is seen while refuelling a car at a gas station on March 13, 2026 in Kobe, Japan. Japan will release oil reserves to address the rise in gasoline and other petroleum products prices starting next Monday, said Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae. The International Energy Agency (IEA) stated that its member countries agreed to release the largest volume of emergency oil reserves in its history, responding to the disruption in energy markets caused by the Middle East War. (Photo by Buddhika Weerasinghe/G

Iran

Analysis

How Russia stands to win, lose as Iran war squeezes Gulf oil exports

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Could Israel-US war on Iran save Netanyahu’s political future?

Israel

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Pakistan strikes hit drug rehabilitation hospital in Kabul, Taliban says

Reuters

Iran and US have been in direct contact in recent days, Axios reports

Reuters

Asian labourers working in the United Arab Emirates have been caufght up in the Middle East war triggered by the US-Israeli assault on Iran

Migrant workers bear brunt of Iran attacks in Gulf

Agence France-Presse

Suad Jallad's son Shadi was killed earlier this week by an Israeli airstrike in the southern Lebanese border village of Ain Ebel, and was comforted by the Apostolic Nuncio to Lebanon Paolo Borgia

South Lebanon's Christian towns insist they are not part of Israel-Hezbollah war

Agence France-Presse

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Iranians flee into Turkey as war, protest crackdown take toll: Dispatch from the border

Ezgi Akin joins Adam Lucente

12:08

On the Middle East with Amberin Zaman

Partnership between Trump, Iran's Kurds still on agenda, says KDPI's Asso Hassan Zadeh

Asso Hassan Zadeh joins Amberin Zaman

19:17

The Al-Monitor Brief

Syria slams Iran, edges toward Gulf and US as war rages

12:56

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Interview

Huckabee confirms US-Israel alignment on Iran, says Hamas will disarm 'sooner or later'

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, US President Donald Trump's nominee to be ambassador to Israel, testifies during his Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing at the Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, March 25, 2025.

Interview

AI, cybersecurity high on Mideast priorities amid global tech rivalry: Tech Mahindra

A man and woman walk along a promenade overlooking the Burj al-Arab and Dubai skyline on January 4, 2025. (Photo by Giuseppe CACACE / AFP) (Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images)

Interview

Treated as 'enemies’: Ahmad Tibi accuses Netanyahu government of indifference to Arab Israeli lives

Ahmad Tibi

Knesset member and Ta'al Party leader

Interview

Yadlin: Israel's war goal to weaken Iran, not immediate regime change

Retired Israeli general and executive director of Tel Aviv University's Institute for National Security Studies Amos Yadlin attends a session at the Manama Dialogue security conference in the Bahraini capital, on Dec. 5, 2020.

Analysis

Stay a step ahead of your colleagues.

Analysis

No strangers to turmoil, Turkey-Iran to maintain ties under Mojtaba Khamenei

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Analysis

How Iran's IRGC is charting war course beyond Khamenei's heir

A billboard shows a graphic depicting Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei with military commanders, as people attend the annual anti-Israeli Quds Day on March 13, 2026, in Tehran, Iran.

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Analysis

Hamas sits out Iran war as Gaza, Gulf interests take priority

Displaced Palestinians gather for a fast-breaking Iftar meal amid the rubble of destroyed buildings at the Jabalia refugee camp, in the northern Gaza Strip, during the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, Feb. 23, 2026.

By Abeer Ayyoub

In Istanbul, reporting on Palestine

Analysis

How Russia stands to win, lose as Iran war squeezes Gulf oil exports

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Ezgi Akin at Turkey's Kapikoy border crossing

Al-Monitor's Ezgi Akin at Turkey-Iran Border Crossing

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Rebecca Anne Proctor in Dubai offering an update on US-Israel-Iran war

Dubai: Day 7 of US-Israel-Iran War

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Joyce Karam, Elizabeth Hagedorn, Holly Dagres, and Ali Hashem

Are the US and Iran closer to war or a deal?

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0:59

Saudi Arabia's former and new investment ministers side by side

Saudi Arabia names new investment minister as Vision 2030 funding lags

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Past

AL-Monitor Global Institute hosts food security forum with Dr. Conrad Rein

On October 16, 2025, the AL-Monitor Global Institute hosted Dr. Conrad Rein, Secretary of the Global Flagship Initiative for Food Security, alongside representatives from multilateral development banks and the private sector for a discussion on food security in the Middle East and Africa.

Washington, DC

October 16, 2025 11:00 EDT

Past

AL-Monitor Global Institute hosts Digital Cooperation Organization Secretary-General Deemah AlYahya

On Sept. 21, 2025, the AL-Monitor Global Institute hosted Deemah AlYahya, Secretary-General of the Digital Cooperation Organization, for a discussion on digital inclusion and economic empowerment in the Middle East, Africa, and Europe.

New York, NY

September 21, 2025 17:00 EDT

Past

Iraqi Kurdistan Prime Minister Masrour Barzani at AL-Monitor Global Institute

AL-Monitor Global Institute hosts Iraqi Kurdistan Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and US Energy Secretary Chris Wright

On May 22, 2025, the AL-Monitor Global Institute hosted Prime Minister Masrour Barzani of the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq and US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright in Washington DC to discuss the future of power and energy in Iraq’s Kurdistan region.

Washington, DC

May 22, 2025 10:30 EDT

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