Armed Militias and Extremist Groups

Ben Gurion International Airport is seen mostly empty after flights were canceled following Israel's early morning attack on Iran on June 13, 2025, in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Iran's barrages hit at least 10 Israeli cities, towns: What to know

Iran’s latest wave of strikes on Israel reflects an escalation in strategy since its 2024 strikes, targeting urban centers and involving a broader range of missiles and drones.

Stacks of Iraqi dinars are seen at currency exchange shop in Baghdad on February 14, 2023. - Iraq nudged up the value of its local currency against the dollar in an effort to stabilise the dinar after tougher foreign transfer regulations sent its value fluctuating. The government adopted a new official exchange rate, fixing it at 1,300 dinars to the US dollar instead of 1,470, the prime minister's office said. (Photo by Murtaja LATEEF / AFP) (Photo by MURTAJA LATEEF/AFP via Getty Images)

As dinar drops, Iraq says embassies safe in light of US-Iran tension

The Iraqi dinar fell slightly on Thursday, as the country responds to the latest round of potential escalation between the United States and Iran.

Peacekeepers of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) ride in armoured vehicles during a patrol along the border with Israel by the village of Kfar Kila in south Lebanon on June 4, 2025. (Photo by AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

With UNIFIL under attack, Lebanon says 500 arms depots dismantled

Lebanon's prime minister said over 500 arms depots have been removed by the army in the south since the Israel-Hezbollah war ended. His statements coincided with President Joseph Aoun's visit to Jordan, his latest regional stop aimed to revive Arab-Lebanese ties.

The US Central Command Commander General Michael Kurilla speaks at the 18th IISS Manama Dialogue in Bahrain's capital on Nov. 19, 2022.

US general says Israeli strike on Iran would risk troops in region

Outgoing CENTCOM Gen. Michael 'Erik' Kurilla said he has provided a broad range of military options to the Trump White House should diplomacy fail to rein in Tehran's nuclear enrichment.

Latest News

Interview

US believes Syria’s Sharaa at risk of assassination, Trump envoy says

US special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack meets Syrian President Ahmed Sharaa in Damascus, on May 29, 2025.

Tom Barrack

Tom Barrack

US special envoy for Syria

Analysis

How the US drawdown in Syria is expected to play out

US soldiers patrol in Syria's northeastern city Qamishli, in the Hasakeh province, mostly controlled by Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), on Jan. 9, 2025.

Jared Szuba

In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military

Syria’s top Islamic body issues decree against honor killings: What to know

A large Syrian flag flutters above Tishreen Park in Damascus, on June 4, 2025.

Analysis

‘A wild gamble’: Will Israel's arming of Gaza militia backfire?

Israeli tanks are positioned along the border with the Gaza Strip, on June 5, 2025, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.

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

Smoke billows during airstrikes in central Khartoum as the Sudanese army attacks positions held by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces throughout the capital, Khartoum, Sudan, Sept. 26, 2024.

What's behind attack on UAE ambassador in Sudan?

The UAE's role in Sudan is coming under greater scrutiny as the battle for power between rival groups SAF and RSF drags on into its 17th month.

United Arab Emirates

A man points to a television set displaying an image of the late leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah.

Analysis

Even with killing of Nasrallah, Hezbollah nowhere near defeated

Removing savvy and charismatic militant chieftains is a necessary, but not sufficient, counterterrorism measure. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed in October 2019, nearly five years ago, and the Islamic State, though attenuated, demonstrated a remarkable ability to adapt and evolve.

Colin P. Clarke

By Colin P. Clarke

In Pittsburgh, US, reporting on counterterrorism, militancy

LEBANON-ISRAEL-PALESTINIAN-CONFLICT Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the southern Lebanese village of Khiam on September 30, 2024. (Photo by Rabih DAHER / AFP) (Photo by RABIH DAHER/AFP via Getty Images)

US boosts defense posture as Blinken urges diplomacy between Israel, Lebanon

The White House is calling for a prioritization of diplomacy despite reports that Israel could be readying for a ground operation in Lebanon.

Smoke rises from the smouldering rubble at the scene of Israeli air strikes in the Haret Hreik neighbourhood of Beirut's southern suburbs on September 27, 2024. A source close to Hezbollah said the massive Israeli strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs flattened six buildings. (Photo by Ibrahim AMRO / AFP) (Photo by IBRAHIM AMRO/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel kept Pentagon in the dark about Beirut strikes, Austin says

The White House ordered the US military to adjust force posture in the Middle East ‘as necessary’ after Israel defied Washington in a bid to kill Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, risking war with Iran.

Commanding officers of the US-led international coalition against the Islamic State.

US, Iraq announce end of defeat-ISIS coalition, but troops may stay

Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani’s need for a domestic political win has sent Pentagon officials back to the drawing board to find ways to keep the lid on ISIS in neighboring Syria.

Turkish-backed Syrian fighters from the Turkish-backed 1st Corps of the Samarkand Brigade take part in a military parade in the opposition-held Afrin region of northern Syria, on Nov. 23, 2022.

Interview

Syrian-Kurdish KNC leader decries abuse by Turkey-backed Sunni factions in Afrin

Kurdish National Council President Sleiman Oso told Al-Monitor that dialogue with his group's rivals, the PYD, is still possible.

Sleiman Oso

Sleiman Oso

Kurdish National Council President

Lebanese army soldiers stand guard as an ambulance rushes wounded people to a hospital in Beirut on Sept. 17, 2024.

Exclusive

Exclusive: Hezbollah suspicions forced Israel to expedite Lebanon pager attack

It was not Israel’s preferred course of action to detonate the pagers ahead of a full-scale war with Hezbollah, but security officials made an 11th-hour decision after at least two Hezbollah members suspected something was amiss with the devices.

Gabrielle Debinski

Tyler Huffman

By Gabrielle Debinski , Tyler Huffman

Ambulances are surrounded by people at the entrance of the American University of Beirut Medical Center, on September 17, 2024, after explosions hit locations in several Hezbollah strongholds around Lebanon amid ongoing cross-border tensions between Israel and Hezbollah fighters.

Pentagon denies role in suspected Israeli pager attacks in Lebanon

Phone pagers exploded across Lebanon and in Syria, injuring thousands in a suspected Israeli attack targeting Hezbollah just a day after top Washington officials urged Israeli leaders not to escalate the conflict.

Jared Szuba

Rina Bassist

By Jared Szuba , Rina Bassist

Displaced Palestinians walk next to the border fence between Gaza and Egypt, on February 16, 2024 in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas militant group. Nearly 1.5 million displaced Palestinians are trapped in Rafah -- more than half of Gaza's populations -- seeking shelter in a sprawling makeshift encampment near the Egyptian border. (Photo by MOHAMMED ABED / AFP) (Photo by MOHAMMED ABED/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Egypt fed up with Netanyahu, but crisis with Israel deeper than Philadelphi

Bilateral relations between Israel and Egypt have been extremely tense, mostly due to disagreement over the Philadelphi Corridor, but not only that.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

HADI MIZBAN/AFP via Getty Images

US-Iraq raids puts scrutiny on Baghdad’s ability to contain ISIS

Seven US troops were injured during raids to take down senior Islamic State operatives in Iraq’s western Anbar province last week amid a spike in ISIS attacks.

A cargo ship is docked at the port of Yemen's Huthi-held city of Hodeida on July 28, 2024. Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

Saudi entity denies its ship hit as Houthis claim attack on Greek tanker

Saudi Arabia's national shipping company Bahri denied reports that its tanker Amjad came under attack by the Houthis, the Yemeni armed group that has stepped up attacks on oil tankers in the Red Sea.

A group of protesters hold placards reading "Yankee go Home - No way to USA," in Istanbul, on April 14, 2021.

Turkish ultranationalists arrested after accosting US Marines in Izmir

A mob of provocateurs of the Turkish Youth Union assaulted two US Marines while they visited the port city, shouting "Yankee go home" and thrusting a bag over the head of one of the Marines.