EU-Mideast ties

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

Yadlin: Israel's war goal to weaken Iran, not immediate regime change

Israeli leaders are aware that Washington will decide when the war ends whether or not Israel has achieved its war aims, Yadlin told Al-Monitor.

Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez speaks during a United Nations Summit on Palestinians at UN headquarters during the United Nations General Assembly, New York, Sept. 22, 2025.

Spain recalls Israel ambassador, calls Iran war 'flagrant illegality': What to know

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called the US-Israel war in Iran a "flagrant illegality.”

A plume of smoke rises after an explosion on March 2, 2026 in Tehran, Iran.

US strikes on Iran peak as Trump warns Tehran over Hormuz oil routes

The Pentagon said its campaign in Iran will reach new levels of daily strikes just hours after President Donald Trump placed the onus on Iran not to escalate further.

Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

With Gulf partners under fire from Iran, will Europe step up its defense?

France and the United Kingdom are prepared to help defend Gulf countries against Iranian attacks, but experts say they are unlikely to extend the same support to Israel.

Latest News

Merz courts Gulf as Germany seeks energy alternatives to US, China

Merz

France's role in Syria-SDF agreement: What to know

Syrian Democratic Forces fighters stand on a pick-up truck to provide security during an inspection of SDF positions on the Tell Brak frontline in Syria on Jan. 26, 2026.

Analysis

Will EU’s terror listing of besieged Iran's IRGC backfire?

A person holds up a placard which reads "IRGC Terrorist" as they take part in a rally in solidarity with protesters in Iran on Jan. 11, 2026, in London, England.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

European Union adds IRGC to terror list, expands sanctions

SIMON WOHLFAHRT / AFP via Getty Images

IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi arrives for the IAEA Board of Governors meeting on March 06, 2023 in Vienna, Austria.

IAEA’s Grossi expects Iran’s cooperation as technical team readies visit

France's President Emmanuel Macron (L) arrives with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for a working dinner at presidential Elysee Palace in Paris on July 28, 2022. - French President Emmanuel Macron host Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for talks in Paris on July 28, 2022, outraging rights groups and the fiancee of slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. (Photo by BENOIT TESSIER / POOL / AFP) (Photo by BENOIT TESSIER/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

France cautious about China's role but welcomes Iran-Saudi agreement

Paris would have much preferred that the Saudi-Iran rapprochement would have been reached by means other than Chinese mediation.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

The Ritz hotel is pictured in central London on May 18, 2020.

UK Islamic bank: Soccer boosting Gulf property investments

Andrew Ball, the CEO of the Bank of London and The Middle East (BLME), spoke to Al-Monitor about how soccer is fueling a rise in Gulf investment in northern England.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks during a press conference at the NATO headquarters in Brussels on March 7, 2023.

Turkey, Sweden and Finland agree to more talks on NATO accession

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s spokesman and foreign affairs adviser Ibrahim Kalin, who took part in Thursday’s talks, described the meeting as “positive.”

Lithuania’s Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis meets with Israel's Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, in Jerusalem, on March 2, 2023.

Analysis

Lithuania joins Israel's EU efforts to designate Iran's IRGC

In what could be the first true shift in the European Union's position, Lithuania’s FM is signaling support to adding the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to the EU's terror list.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

DANIEL LEAL/AFP via Getty Images

Turnips to the rescue? UK tomato shortages could last weeks as Morocco curbs exports

After Morocco restricted certain exports, several large British supermarkets have started rationing produce.

Iran German

Iran expels German diplomats as row continues over death sentence

Iran has sentenced another dual European citizen, a German-Iranian man, to death in relation to a 2008 attack on a mosque.

Madrid Mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida.

Barcelona ends twin city agreement with Tel Aviv, citing Israeli 'apartheid'

Barcelona’s Mayor Ada Colau said that thousands of residents in her city signed a petition to sever ties with Tel Aviv so as to pressure Israel on Palestinian human rights.

A man waits for news of his loved ones, believed to be trapped under collapsed building on February 08, 2023 in Hatay, Turkey. A 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit near Gaziantep, Turkey, in the early hours of Monday, followed by another 7.5-magnitude tremor just after midday. The quakes caused widespread destruction in southern Turkey and northern Syria and were felt in nearby countries. (Photo by Burak Kara/Getty Images)

Turkey's earthquake spikes Europe's fears of Middle East flare-ups

The Turkish-Syrian border area at large remains one of the world’s geopolitical quagmires, a major epicenter of tensions and fault lines that run throughout the Middle East toward Europe.

Gilles Kepel

By Gilles Kepel

A picture taken on Aug. 20, 2018, shows a general view of the US Embassy in Ankara.

Ankara lashes out at US envoy over security alerts: 'Get your filthy hands off Turkey'

Turkey’s rhetoric against Washington and several European capitals grows more belligerent, with the interior minister calling out the American ambassador.

US Central Command supported maritime operations

France's seizure of Iranian weapons to Yemen is a win for Pentagon

French forces seized some 3,000 assault rifles, 23 anti-tank rockets and more than half a million rounds of ammunition bound for Yemen's Houthi rebels.

Swedish consulate in Istanbul

Turkey denounces 'psychological war' as Western consulates close

Turkey has summoned ambassadors from nine countries after a number of diplomatic missions temporarily shut their doors amid a growing terror threat level.