Border Disputes

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a session of the Israeli Parliament in Jerusalem on July 16, 2026, before the start of the election recess ahead of the Oct. 27 general election.

Analysis

Trump's ‘180-degree reversal’ on Lebanon, Syria leaves Netanyahu with few options before elections

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hopes an Israeli withdrawal from two pilot zones in southern Lebanon will help ease tensions with President Donald Trump.

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

Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan (R) shakes hands with Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian during his visit in Yerevan on July 19, 2025. (Photo by KAREN MINASYAN / AFP) (Photo by KAREN MINASYAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Feature

Armenia's Pashinyan keeps Iran close while wooing Trump, Turkey and Azerbaijan

As Yerevan pursues normalization with Turkey and Azerbaijan and backs a US-led transport corridor, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is working to reassure an increasingly assertive Iran that its interests won't be threatened.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met on the sidelines of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly in New York, Sept. 24, 2024.

Analysis

Will Pashinyan’s victory in Armenia be enough to unlock peace with Turkey, Azerbaijan?

Armenia’s election result strengthens Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, but his push to normalize ties with Turkey and Azerbaijan still faces major political and constitutional hurdles.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

A roadside sign marks the entrance to Khnatsakh on May 16, 2025, a border village in Armenia's Syunik Province that has become a frontline community amid rising tensions with Azerbaijan.

Analysis

Azerbaijan envoy hits raw nerve with reminder of Baku’s sway on Turkey-Armenia ties

Baku’s ambassador says borders with Armenia will remain closed until Yerevan changes its constitution, hardening positions just weeks before a pivotal Armenian election seen as a referendum on Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s peace agenda with Turkey and Azerbaijan.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Latest News

Somaliland's first ambassador to Israel announces embassy in Jerusalem: What to know

Somaliland’s first ambassador to a foreign country formally, Mohamed Hagi, presented his diplomatic credentials in Jerusalem to Israeli President Isaac Herzog, on May 18, 2026.

New Turkey maritime draft bill fuels EastMed tensions with Greece, Cyprus

The helicopter of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan lands on Abdulhamid Han drill ship, the fourth built by Turkey, in Mersin on Aug. 9, 2022, before being sent for gas exploration to an undisputed area in the Mediterranean Sea, south of Gazipasa.

Turkey's border reopening unlocks new sphere of influence in Syria

Turkish Red Crescent's cars and trucks cross the Turkish border as they leave the Syrian city of Tel Abyad on Oct. 19, 2019, in Akcakale, Turkey.

Why US, Israel are freezing France out of Lebanon talks

French President Emmanuel Macron speaks to journalists as he arrives for an informal meeting of the European Council in Nicosia, Cyprus, April 24, 2026.

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian waves as he boards a plane at Tehran's Mehrabad Airport on Aug. 18, 2025, ahead of his trip to Armenia.

Iran’s Pezeshkian seeks assurances in Armenia as Yerevan, Baku nominate Trump for Nobel

Tehran is concerned that the new Armenia-Azerbaijan corridor, announced in an agreement brokered by Washington earlier this month, threatens its access to regional trade routes and could invite a foreign military presence.

AFP via Getty Images

Iran border clash kills 3 militants, police officer in Baluchistan: What to know

Iranian forces have prioritized targeting Jaish al-Adl and other groups in the southeast, and are seeking cooperation with Pakistan on the issue.

TOPSHOT - France's President Emmanuel Macron (2nd-R) and Lebanon's Prime Minister Nawaf Salam (2nd-L) pose ahead of their working lunch at the presidential Elysee Palace in Paris, on July 24, 2025. (Photo by GEOFFROY VAN DER HASSELT / AFP) (Photo by GEOFFROY VAN DER HASSELT/AFP via Getty Images)

On first visit to Paris, Lebanon's Salam secures $88M reconstruction pledge

During discussions with Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, President Emmanuel Macron emphasized that Beirut must implement economic reforms before an aid conference can be organized to support Lebanon's reconstruction.

A general view shows the Iranian-Iraqi border crossing point of Bashmakh in the Kurdistan province, March 3, 2007.

2 Iranian border guards killed in Kurdistan province: What to know

Iraq agreed to move Iranian Kurdish groups farther from the border in 2023, but some clashes have occurred since then.

Fighters from Bedouin tribes gather near a burning building in al-Mazraa village, in Syria's southern Suwayda governorate, as clashes with Druze gunmen continue, on July 18, 2025.

Turkey on edge as clashes continue in Syria's Suwayda, Kurds weigh next move

Turkey fears a deepening ethnic fracture in Syria could redraw the regional map — and embolden its own Kurdish population.

Members of Syria's security forces drive through the predominantly Druze city of Suwayda on July 15, 2025, following Israeli bombardment amid clashes between Bedouin tribes and Druze fighters.

Analysis

Will Israel's airstrikes in Druze city derail Syria normalization talks?

The violent clashes in Syria and subsequent Israeli attack have pushed a potential bilateral security agreement further off.

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

Members of the United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) patrol the road near the border with Israel in the southern Lebanese coastal town of Naqura on March 19, 2025.

UNIFIL patrol in southern Lebanon comes under attack: What to know

A group of men blocked a UNIFIL patrol in southern Lebanon, citing the absence of a Lebanese army escort, leading to brief clashes in the latest incident involving local residents and the UN peacekeeping mission.

Turkish soldiers patrol near the border wall between Turkey and Iran in the Van Province, eastern Turkey, on Nov. 1, 2024.

Turkey ramps up Iran border security as Ankara, UNHCR monitor refugee risks

UNHCR stands ready to support Turkey, though no major refugee movement has been observed along the Iranian border, the international body’s Turkey spokesperson told Al-Monitor.

A Sudanese army officer walks near an armoured vehicle seized after their capture of a base used by the rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitaries after the latter group evacuated from the Salha area of Omdurman, the twin-city of Sudan's capital, on May 26, 2025. Sudan, Africa's third largest country, has been ravaged by more than two years of war between the army and the RSF. The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced 13 million and created what the United Nations describes as the

Sudan army loses border control to RSF after clashes with Libya’s Haftar

Sudan’s army withdrew from a volatile border zone after clashes with Libyan forces tied to Khalifa Hifter, who is accused of supporting Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

Pakistani soldiers wearing facemasks stand guard at the closed Pakistan-Iran border in Taftan on February 25, 2020 as fears over the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus escalate following an outbreak in neighbouring Iran. - The Iranian outbreak where at least 15 people have already died -- the highest death toll in any country outside of China -- has aggravated already frayed nerves in neighbouring Afghanistan and Pakistan. (Photo by Banaras KHAN / AFP) (Photo by BANARAS KHAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Despite top-level visits, lingering mistrust overshadows Pakistan-Iran ties

Against the backdrop of renewed tensions in South Asia, Iran and Pakistan are navigating a fragile detente shaped by border security concerns, regional rivalries and the prospect of closer economic ties.

By Rosaleen Carroll

In Washington, DC, US, reporting on the Middle East

LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP via Getty Images

Syria-Israel talks reportedly intensify as Trump asks Sharaa to normalize: What to know

Following President Donald Trump’s call for Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa to join the Abraham Accords, multiple contacts have reportedly taken place between Israeli and Syrian officials.

new delhi

Iranian, Saudi officials in India as more airlines halt service amid Pakistan row

Iranian and Saudi officials headed to New Delhi in separate visits following Indian airstrikes in Pakistan that raised fears of war between the neighboring countries.