AL-Monitor: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

US pulls non-essential embassy staff from Lebanon as Iran tensions rise

The US State Department has ordered most US government personnel and their family members to leave the embassy in Lebanon.

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

Women and children seen inside al-Hol camp, amongst them some 6,200 women and children from around 40 nationalities, and including relatives of suspected Islamic State jihadists in the desert region of Hasakah province on Jan. 25, 2026 in Al Hasakah, Syria.

Turkey to repatriate its ISIS fighters from Iraq as jihadis escalate Syria attacks

Ankara will repatriate its nationals from among thousands of fighters transferred from Syria, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said.

Turkey

US envoy Barrack oversees Chevron deal in Iraq amid Iran influence row

The Trump administration is maintaining pressure on Iraq over the nomination of former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and the influence of Iran-backed militias in the country.

Iraq

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi meets with Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi in Muscat, Oman, February 6, 2026. Omani Ministry of Foreign Affairs/ Handout via REUTERS

Oman confirms US-Iran talks in Geneva on Thursday

Reuters

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Iraq, Baghdad, Iraq.

Here is what to know about Kuwait-Iraq maritime dispute

Arab Gulf countries expressed support for Kuwait’s sovereignty after Iraq sent a revised map of its maritime borders that reignited a decades-old dispute over sea boundaries between the two neighbors.

Kuwait

Latest News

Iranian students protest for third day as US pressure mounts

FILE PHOTO: An anti-U.S. mural on a building in Tehran, Iran, January 24, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS/File Photo

US military begins withdrawing from main base in northeast Syria, Syrian sources say

An armoured U.S. military vehicle with a U.S. flag on it moves towards the Iraqi Kurdistan region, withdrawing from Qasrak military base in northeastern Syria, in Qamishli, Syria, February 23, 2026. REUTERS/Orhan Qereman

Analysis

Why Turkey’s exclusion from Gaza force may be a strategic blessing

ANKARA, TURKEY - JANUARY 21: Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks to MPs at his party's group meeting in the Turkish parliament on January 21, 2026 in Ankara, Turkey. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is among world leaders that have been invited by United States President Donald Trump, to join the Gaza Board of Peace, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan was also included as an appointed member. (Photo by Serdar Ozsoy/Getty Images)

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Analysis

Oil, gas and Iran nuclear impasse: Can business deals sway Trump’s calculus?

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

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Washington and Tehran have continued to trade threats during the race to cut a deal over Iran's nuclear programme

Iran would react 'ferociously' to any US attack, warns of regional conflict

Agence France-Presse

US pulling non-essential staff from embassy in Beirut amid Iran tensions

Reuters

Iran's deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi spoke in Geneva at the Conference on Disarmament

Risk of 'escalation' if Iran attacked: deputy foreign minister

Agence France-Presse

Iraq's candidate for the premiership, Nouri al-Maliki, says he will not withdraw his candidacy after US threats

Iraq's Maliki defends PM candidacy, seeks to reassure US

Agence France-Presse

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Is US-Iran energy cooperation possible as nuclear talks, potential strikes loom?

Sam Wendel joins Adam Lucente

10:37

On the Middle East with Amberin Zaman

Iran’s clerical regime can reform itself — provided Khamenei goes, says Iranian historian Arash Azizi

Arash Azizi joins Amberin Zaman

28:36

The Al-Monitor Brief

Turkey’s Erdogan in Ethiopia as Horn of Africa diplomacy heats up

Ezgi Akin joins Adam Lucente

9:17

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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

YPG spokesman: Syrian forces' strategy is to isolate Kurdish towns and cities

Siyamend Ali

YPG spokesman

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.

Analysis

Stay a step ahead of your colleagues.

Analysis

Iran scrambles to shape endgame amid growing US military pressure

(EDITOR'S NOTE: This Handout image was provided by a third-party organization and may not adhere to Getty Images' editorial policy.) In this handout photo obtained from the U.S. Defence Department, Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) sails alongside Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. (DDG 121) and Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo ship USNS Carl Brashear (T-AKE 7) in the Arabian Sea, Feb. 6, 2026. According to the U.S. government, the Abraham Lincoln

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Analysis

Oil, gas and Iran nuclear impasse: Can business deals sway Trump’s calculus?

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Analysis

Despite warnings from Israel's defense elite, Netanyahu pushes for Iran strike

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stands amid debris outside the Soroka Hospital in the southern city of Beersheba, after it was hit by a missile fired from Iran on June 19, 2025. Israel's defence minister warned that Iran's supreme leader "can no longer be allowed to exist" after a hospital was hit in an Iranian missile strike on June 19, spiking tensions in the week-old war. (Photo by Marc Israel SELLEM / POOL / AFP) (Photo by MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

By Ben Caspit

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

Analysis

Why Turkey’s exclusion from Gaza force may be a strategic blessing

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

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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Iraqi Christian man in dark blue sweater sitting in an office

After years abroad, Iraq’s Christians weigh returning home

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Elizabeth Hagdeorn asking Rubio a question about negotiations with the Iranian government after its killing of protesters

Rubio tells Al-Monitor talks with Iran must address ballistic missiles, proxies

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Al-Monitor's Amberin Zaman inside an abandoned Russian military base in Qamishli, Syria

Inside Russia's abandoned military base in Northeast Syria

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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 Live Journalism

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 Live Journalism

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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