Israeli-Gulf relations

LEESBURG, VIRGINIA - APRIL 24: U.S. President Donald Trump arrives at Leesburg Executive Airport on April 24, 2025 in Leesburg, Virginia. Trump is attending the MAGA Inc. fundraiser dinner at Trump National Golf Club. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Trump willing to meet Iran's Khamenei but 'will be leading' war pack if no deal

In an interview with Time Magazine, President Donald Trump says he believes a deal with Iran can be reached via negotiations while expressing readiness for war in the event that it doesn't.

This handout photo made available by the Iranian Army Office on April 17, 2025 shows Iran's Armed Forces Chief of Staff Major-General Mohammed Bagheri (L) receiving Saudi Arabia's Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman (C) in Tehran on April 17, 2025.

Saudi defense chief meets Khamenei in historic Iran visit: What to know

Prince Khalid’s visit marks a further step in Iran and Saudi Arabia’s political reconciliation, but it comes at a tense time in the region, with the second round of US-Iran nuclear negotiations just two days away.

US President Donald Trump, accompanied by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L), speaks during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House, Washington, Feb. 4, 2025.

Analysis

Emboldened by Trump, Netanyahu is driving Israel into judicial crisis

Empowered by moves in Washington, Prime Minister Netanyahu fired Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar and is pushing for the sacking of Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara.

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

Yair Golan in Tel Aviv on Feb. 2, 2025.

Interview

Amid Israel's rightward shift, left struggles for relevance

In a special interview with Al-Monitor, Yair Golan, leader of center-left party the Democrats, insists that the Palestinian Authority must play a pivotal role in the future administration of Gaza.

Yair Golan

Yair Golan

Chair of the Democrats Party

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Rubio heads to Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Israel on first Mideast visit

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio talks to the media during a joint news conference with Guatemala's President Bernardo Arevalo at the Culture Palace in Guatemala City on Feb. 5, 2025.

Analysis

Will Trump's Gaza plan scuttle fragile Israel-Hamas ceasefire?

U.S. President Donald Trump greets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House in Washington, D.C. on February 4, 2025. (Photo by Bryan Dozier / Middle East Images / Middle East Images via AFP) (Photo by BRYAN DOZIER/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

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

From Saudi Arabia to Australia and China, world leaders denounce Trump’s plan to 'take over' Gaza

U.S. President Donald Trump takes questions from reporters during a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C. on February 4, 2025. (Photo by Bryan Dozier / Middle East Images / Middle East Images via AFP) (Photo by BRYAN DOZIER/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Could Trump’s Gaza plan be negotiating tactic for Saudi-Israel deal?

JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images

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

US President Joe Biden shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as they meet on the sidelines of the 78th United Nations General Assembly in New York City on Sept. 20, 2023.

Analysis

Can US pressure Netanyahu to accept Palestinian state for Israel-Saudi normalization?

The Biden administration is pushing for a comprehensive deal that would see Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accept the two-state solution in exchange for the Saudis agreeing to normalize ties with Israel.

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

Saudi FM

Saudi FM: No Israel normalization without ‘irreversible path’ to Palestinian state

Saudi Prince Faisal bin Farhan said the kingdom would not finance the rebuilding of the enclave unless there is a viable path to a two-state solution.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is greeted by Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan as he arrives at al-Ula in northwestern Saudi Arabia on January 8, 2024, during his week-long trip aimed at calming tensions across the Middle East.

In policy shift, White House links Israel-Saudi normalization to Palestinian statehood

Jared Szuba

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

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyhu attends the funeral for First Sergeant Major Gal Meir Eisenkot in Herzliya, Dec. 8, 2023.

Analysis

'Hallucination' or realpolitik? Netanyahu's long shot at Israel-Saudi normalization

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu still hopes to normalize ties with Saudi Arabia after rejecting US proposals for Palestinian control of Gaza and the West Bank.

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

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's meets with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at al-Ula in northwestern Saudi Arabia on January 8, 2024, during his week-long trip aimed at calming tensions across the Middle East.

Saudi-Israel normalization emerges as leverage for post-war Gaza

Dormant discussions of a two-state solution are back on the US and regional agenda as part of Israel-Saudi normalization talks shelved after Oct. 7.

Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

2023 in review: Gaza war forces Palestinian question on Biden’s agenda

For most of 2023, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict remained on the Biden administration’s back burner amid a major push for normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

Jared Kushner (R), adviser to former US president Donald Trump, and Italy's former prime minister Matteo Renzi (L) participate in a panel at the annual Future Investment Initiative (FII) conference in Riyadh on Oct. 25, 2023.

2023 in review: Gaza war tests Gulf economic overhauls at pivotal moment

Amid a year of headlines and hype in Gulf dealmaking, the eruption of the Israel-Hamas war on Oct. 7 complicates the GCC's economic overhauls.

A file image grab taken from a video handed out by Yemen's Houthi rebels on March 27, 2018.

Breaking | Last Updated: December 18, 2023, 10:22 pm

US announces new naval task force as Houthis threaten Red Sea shipping

The United States is rallying its allies in a bid to deter Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, but it wasn't immediately clear what action they'd take to deter the ongoing flurry of attacks.

Getty Images

BP, Equinor change oil shipment plans after Red Sea Houthi attacks

The Iran-backed rebels have said the attacks are in retaliation for the war in Gaza.

BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Netanyahu, Biden at loggerheads over war, Gaza's future

While the Americans pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to lean on the Palestinian Authority, the Israeli leader continues to scapegoat Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

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

Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan (R) escorts US Secretary of State Antony Blinken as they arrive for a meeting with GCC Ministers at the GCC Secretariat in Riyadh on June 7, 2023.

Ending Gaza war ‘doesn’t seem priority’ says top Saudi diplomat on US visit

Top diplomats of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey and Qatar implied Washington’s credibility is on the line, saying repercussions from destruction wrought by Israeli military in Gaza will impact region for ‘generations’ if not stopped.

A child carries a bag of humanitarian aid on his back as another uses a bicycle, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on November 26, 2023.

Qatar announces two-day Gaza truce extension

Hamas and Israel will pause their fighting for two additional days to allow the release of more hostages and the delivery of more aid into the Gaza Strip, Qatar announced on Monday.