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Paratroopers assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division walk to a C-17 Globemaster III before an airborne operation at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, March 13, 2025.

US readies 3,000 additional troops for Iran war: What to know

The deployment of US Army paratroopers would give the Trump administration additional options to escalate the war against Iran, including the potential seizure of strategically important terrain.

Iran

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Iranian missile intercepted over Lebanon after Beirut expels Tehran ambassador

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Lebanese soldiers stand at the site where, according to Lebanese authorities, fragments from a missile interception fell in the town of Sahel Alma, north of Beirut, on March 24, 2026. Explosions rocked several areas north of Beirut that have so far been spared in the ongoing Israel-Hezbollah war, according to residents and local media, with a military official saying the blasts likely came from an intercepted Iranian missile. (Photo by FADEL itani / AFP via Getty Images)

Breaking | Last Updated: March 24, 2026, 1:13 pm

Iranian ballistic missile intercepted over Lebanon, US Embassy feared as target

Tensions in Lebanon remain high amid Hezbollah rocket fire toward Israel and intensified Israeli strikes across the country.

Lebanon

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the eastern outskirts of the southern Lebanese coastal city of Tyre on March 24, 2026. Lebanon was pulled into the Middle East war when Iran-backed Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel on March 2 to avenge the killing of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Israel has since launched strikes across Lebanon, killing at least 1,039 people and displacing more than a million others, and sent ground troops into the country's south. (Ph

Analysis

Israel hedges, intensifies Iran and Lebanon strikes ahead of Trump talks

Israel believes that US President Trump might soon opt to end the war, leading to a surge in Israeli strikes ahead of a potential ceasefire.

By Ben Caspit

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

Iran’s ambassador to Beirut, Mohammad Reza Sheibani (L), shakes hands with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in an undated photo.

Lebanon expels Iranian ambassador as war tensions mount

Lebanon has withdrawn the accreditation of Iran’s ambassador to Beirut amid mounting tensions over Hezbollah's involvement in the Iran war.

Lebanon

Latest News

Iran oil shock hits global economy as early data signal stagflation risks

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 18: Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during morning trading on March 18, 2026 in New York City. Stocks continued to slide at opening amid an interest rate decision by the Federal Reserve and a release of producer price index that showed wholesale prices rose more than expected in February. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Iran

Lebanon scrambles to contain tensions over displacement as Israel ups threats

Lebanon

US proposes Vance-Ghalibaf talks with Turkey as one intermediary: Source

Iran

Meet Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, IRGC-vetted figure at center of US talks

Iran

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U.S. President Donald Trump speaks as he attends Markwayne Mullin's swearing-in as Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary, at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 24, 2026. REUTERS/Evan Vucci

Trump: US is talking to the right people in Iran, says Tehran badly wants deal

Reuters

A map showing the Strait of Hormuz and a 3D-printed miniature model depicting U.S. President Donald Trump are seen in this illustration taken March 23, 2026. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

Analysis-Gulf warnings and fears of miscalculation preceded Trump’s pause in Iran showdown

Reuters

France urges Israel 'to refrain' from seizing south Lebanon zone

Agence France-Presse

US expected to send thousands of soldiers to Middle East, sources say

Reuters

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Is Israel achieving its goals in Iran and Lebanon?

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20 March, 8:30 AM ET

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On the Middle East with Amberin Zaman

Friends with some benefits: Why Russia cannot overtly support Iran

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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.

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

Ex-Israeli security official: Netanyahu pushed US, Israel into Iran war without imminent threat

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Stay a step ahead of your colleagues.

Analysis

Iran war drives Turkey-Gulf defense alignment, but not alliance

United Arab Emirates army helicopters fly from the Burj al Arab hotel (R) toward Burj Khalifa, Dubai, Jan. 16, 2026.

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Analysis

Iran’s longest-ever internet blackout leaves 99% offline: What to know

Traffic rolls along a main throughfare under a banner with images of past and present leaders that reads in Farsi, "Domino fall", as daily life returns to the streets following nationwide protests, in the Iranian capital Tehran on January 19, 2026. Demonstrations sparked in late December by anger over economic hardship exploded into protests widely seen as the biggest challenge to the Iranian leadership in years. Limited internet access briefly returned in Iran before dropping again, a monitor said January

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Analysis

Unclear chains of command in Iran complicate Russia’s diplomatic play

In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia's Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian arrive for a documents signing ceremony following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow on January 17, 2025. (Photo by Vyacheslav PROKOFYEV / POOL / AFP) (Photo by VYACHESLAV PROKOFYEV/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

By Anton Mardasov

Analysis

Israel hedges, intensifies Iran and Lebanon strikes ahead of Trump talks

By Ben Caspit

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

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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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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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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