Defense/Security cooperation

Eurofighter jet fighters from the United Kingdom fly over the North Sea after being refueled by an MRTT aircraft coming from Eindhoven Air Base as part of the NATO exercise "Ramstein", near Eindhoven on April 2, 2025.

Breaking | Last Updated: October 27, 2025, 1:36 pm

Turkey’s Erdogan, UK’s Starmer ink $11B Eurofighter deal in Ankara

Turkey plans to purchase a total of 44 Eurofighter jets, the Turkish defense chief said, including 20 from the UK and 12 each from Oman and Qatar.

Iran's Deputy Defense Minister Majid Ebnoreza (L) sits next to Andrei Matsiyevich.

Grappling with Western sanctions, Iran, Belarus strengthen military ties

Defense-related cooperation between Iran and Belarus has accelerated considerably in recent years, particularly after Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko’s trip to Tehran in 2023.

Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

Turkey, Qatar sign defense deal as Ankara eyes Doha’s Eurofighters

The Turkish president’s visit to Qatar during his Gulf tour largely centered on defense ties and Qatar’s little-used Eurofighters, as Ankara moves to quickly rebuild its air power.

Smoke billows following an Israeli strike that targeted a building in the Bureij camp for Palestinian refugees in the central Gaza Strip on Oct. 19, 2025.

US military to start Gaza ceasefire monitoring as international force plans stall

Diplomatic snags and concerns that their troops could be caught in the crossfire between Hamas and Israel are raising questions about a US proposal to stabilize postwar Gaza with an international force, despite "great optimism" cited by US Vice President JD Vance on Tuesday.

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Analysis

As Trump envoys seek ceasefire progress, Netanyahu pins hopes on Hamas scuttling deal

US Vice President JD Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance greet US Ambassador

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

Vance arrives in Israel to bolster fragile Gaza ceasefire

US Vice President JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance disembark Air Force Two on arrival to Ben Gurion airport on Oct. 21, 2025, in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Iraq to keep some US military advisers despite troop pivot to Kurdistan region

US army soldiers, part of the Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) the US-led coalition against the Islamic State (IS) group, walk around at the K1 Air Base northwest of Kirkuk in northern Iraq before a planned US pullout on March 29, 2020.

Analysis

Netanyahu powerless as Trump advances Gaza plan with Arab, PA forces

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, EGYPT - OCTOBER 13: World leaders including U.S. President Donald Trump, Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani pose for a family photo, at a world leaders' summit on October 13, 2025 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. President Trump is in Egypt to meet with European and Middle Eastern leaders in what’s being billed as an international peace summit, following the start of a US-brokered ceasefire deal to end the war

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

Palestinians rally around aid trucks which entered from the Karem Abu Salem crossing, in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on Oct. 12, 2025.

US CENTCOM hastens to rally international force to stabilize Gaza

Washington and its allies are drafting a UN Security Council resolution for an international stabilization force for Gaza, but the belated push has allowed Hamas to emerge from the rubble to kill off would-be rivals — and risks Israel restarting the war.

TOKYO, JAPAN - AUGUST 31: Members of the British Royal Navy walk near helicopters parked aboard HMS Prince of Wales, the navy's flagship aircraft carrier, during a public ship tour at the Tokyo International Cruise Terminal on August 31, 2025, in Tokyo, Japan. The aircraft carrier was opened to the public in connection with the UK Carrier Strike Group's (CSG) port call in Tokyo. The group has been in Japan since August 12 for joint training exercises. (Photo by Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images)

Turkey deepens Europe defense ties with UK aircraft deal, German security talks

Turkey-European defense cooperation is deepening as Ankara finalizes a military transport deal with the UK and prepares for high-level defense talks with Germany.

Members of the internal security forces loyal to the Palestinian group Hamas, man a checkpoint in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, on Oct. 12, 2025.

US military says Hamas must 'immediately' halt violence as crackdown targets rivals

The US wants Egyptian and Qatari mediators to rein in Hamas amid skirmishes with rivals and evidence of extrajudicial killings in Gaza.

Kurds wave Kurdistan Workers' Party flags (PKK) and flags depicting Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan, during a demonstration to call for Ocalan's liberation outside the European Council in Strasbourg, eastern France, on Sept. 15, 2025.

Exclusive

PKK leader Ocalan appeals to Iraqi Kurdistan president for help in Turkey peace talks

In a letter shared exclusively with Al-Monitor, the jailed PKK leader asks Barzani to help advance negotiations aimed at ending decades of conflict with Turkey.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Two F-15 Strike Eagle's take part in an air display on the opening day of the Farnborough International Airshow 2024, south west of London, on July 22, 2024.

Pentagon says Qatari F-15 fighter jet pilots to train at US base in Idaho

The announcement comes as the Trump administration has moved to reward Qatar for facilitating talks to end the Gaza war.

People walk along a destroyed road past heavily-damaged buildings in the centre of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on Oct. 10, 2025, as the displaced return to their homes after Israeli forces' withdrawal.

Pentagon bolsters Gaza ceasefire oversight with 200-troop mission to Israel

US military officials will help coordinate everything from logistics of humanitarian aid deliveries to building security force teams, but doubts remain as to whether any side can force Hamas to disarm.

The chief of the Lebanese Armed Forces, Gen. Rodolphe Haykal, meets with Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani in Doha, Oct. 8, 2025.

Lebanon army chief visits Qatar amid push to disarm Hezbollah

Haykal has held meetings with the Qatari army chief, the country’s prime minister and its minister of state for defense affairs.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov chairs the annual meeting of the Caspian Sea littoral states foreign ministers, known as the Caspian Five, in Moscow, on Dec. 5, 2023.

Iran, Russia, Central Asia states ink Caspian Sea pact, plan naval drills

The navies of Iran, Russia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan signed a comprehensive strategic cooperation agreement on Wednesday, aimed at strengthening security in the Caspian Sea basin as the four countries deepen their relations.

OMAR AL-QATTAA/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Israel adapts, Turkey rises, Iran ruined: How 2 years of Gaza war reshaped Middle East

Turkey’s involvement worries Israel in Syria but also raises hopes for pressuring Hamas to agree to President Donald Trump's ceasefire proposal.

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

DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images

CENTCOM chief meets Syrian Kurdish leader in push for postwar unity

A senior US Navy admiral joined Trump envoy Tom Barrack in efforts to break the impasse between Syria’s Kurdish-led forces and Damascus on postwar unification.

Turkish air force fighter jets fly over a parade during celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of Turkey's invasion of Cyprus on July 20, 2024, in occupied northern Nicosia, Cyprus.

Analysis

Jet lag: Turkey weighs alternatives as US sanctions stall Kaan engine imports

Turkish defense experts say delays in engine approvals could slow the country’s fifth-generation fighter, yet Turkey has alternatives to maintain its offensive and defensive capabilities.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Lebanese army soldiers and security forces deploy near a vehicle that was hit by a reported drone-strike at the entrance of the village of Barja, about 30 kilometres south of Beirut, on Sept. 9, 2025.

US approves $230M for Lebanon’s push to disarm Hezbollah

New US funds for Beirut signal rare bipartisan approval for progress by Lebanon's security forces as they dismantle Hezbollah weapons caches, but significant risks remain as the militant faction resists full disarmament.