Trump

Members of Houthi security forces stand guard while supporters of Yemen's Houthi movement attend an event commemorating the ninth anniversary of the Saudi-led intervention in their country, in the capital, Sanaa, on March 26, 2026.

Exclusive

Senior Houthi official says Bab el Mandab closure an option if any Gulf states join war

Houthi Deputy Information Minister Mohammed Mansour also said the strait could be closed “should the aggression against Iran and Lebanon escalate.”

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

People inspect destruction at a business building that housed the offices of the Doha-headquartered news network Al Araby TV following a missile strike earlier in the day, Tehran, Iran, March 29, 2026.

Analysis

Israel urges US escalation against Iran, possible ground invasion

Israel has made clear it will not deploy ground forces to Iran, but would strongly support US military action if the Trump administration chooses to proceed.

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

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) is joined by Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer and other officials for a meeting with US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (not pictured) at the Pentagon, July 9, 2025.

Dermer’s return puts Netanyahu’s 'brain' at center of US-Israel calculus

Dermer, former Israeli strategic affairs minister, is considered one of Netanyahu’s closest associates, having worked together for over two decades.

Israeli settler violence graffiti

Settler violence spike exposes Israeli government rift with military

Knesset member Ram Ben-Barak of centrist Yesh Atid told Al-Monitor that the government must permit the use of administrative detention for extremist settlers to curb the violence.

Latest News

Iran warns Trump against ground invasion as US troop presence surges

A large banner with the image of Iran's slain supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei adorns a main taxi rank close to Tajrish Square, one week on from the start of the US-Israel attack on Iran, in Tehran on March 7, 2026.

Exclusive

Israel suspects Trump betting on 3 Iran officials, including Ghalibaf, to end war

TEHRAN, IRAN - OCTOBER 4: (EDITOR’S NOTE: This Handout image/clip was provided by a third-party organization and may not adhere to Getty Images’ editorial policy.) In this handout image provided by the Iranian Leader's Press Office, Iranian Supreme leader Ali Khamenei (C) with Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf (L) and Judiciary Chief Mohsen Ejeie (R), reading the Koran during the Friday prayer ceremony on October 04, 2024 in Tehran, Iran. Protesters supporting Iran's military position against Isra

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

Turkey confirms Iraq troop withdrawal as NATO pulls back due to Iran war

A handing over of command ceremony at Union III Camp in the Green Zone of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, on May 22, 2025.

Analysis

Meet Bagher Zolghadr, a hard-line IRGC veteran now Iran's security chief

Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, the new secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, is pictured in this undated photo.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif (C) speaks as US President Donald Trump (L) and Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer (R) watch during the Sharm El-Sheikh Peace Summit on Oct. 13, 2025 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.

Analysis

Pakistan emerges as mediator but faces limitations in Iran-Trump standoff

Pakistan has emerged as a potential neutral venue for US-Iran talks, leveraging its ties to both sides, but analysts warn that early back-channel diplomacy faces major hurdles amid ongoing military escalation.

Sabena Siddiqui

By Sabena Siddiqui

In Karachi, reporting on South Asia, Middle East, Iran

Paratroopers assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division walk to a C-17 Globemaster III before an airborne operation at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, March 13, 2025.

US readies 3,000 additional troops for Iran war: What to know

The deployment of US Army paratroopers could give the Trump administration additional options to escalate the war against Iran, including the potential seizure of strategically important terrain.

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the eastern outskirts of the southern Lebanese coastal city of Tyre on March 24, 2026. Lebanon was pulled into the Middle East war when Iran-backed Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel on March 2 to avenge the killing of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Israel has since launched strikes across Lebanon, killing at least 1,039 people and displacing more than a million others, and sent ground troops into the country's south. (Ph

Analysis

Israel hedges, intensifies Iran and Lebanon strikes ahead of Trump talks

Israel believes that US President Trump might soon opt to end the war, leading to a surge in Israeli strikes ahead of a potential ceasefire.

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

(L-R) Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, U.S. Vice President JD Vance and U.S. President Donald Trump arrive for a dignified transfer event at Dover Air Force Base March 7, 2026 in Dover, Delaware.

As US signals new diplomatic push, Iran rejects Trump's ‘very strong talks’ claim

Even if the two sides resumed negotiations, Iran has laid out tough conditions for ending the war.

US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright speaks during 2026 CERAWeek by S&P Global energy conference in Houston on March 23, 2026.

US ramps up emergency oil flows as prices swing on Iran strike pause

US Energy Secretary Chis Wright announced Monday that the United States started releasing 1 million to 1.5 million barrels of oil per day last week from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

A general view of Navigator Terminals, an oil storage depot along the River Thames, London, March 10, 2026.

Oil plunges 8% after Trump extends Iran ultimatum

In a Truth Social post, US President Trump said that Washington and Tehran “have had, over the last two days, very good and productive conversations regarding a complete and total resolution of our hostilities in the Middle East.”

An undated image of Eran Etzion.

Interview

Ex-Israeli security official: Netanyahu pushed US, Israel into Iran war without imminent threat

Eran Etzion, a former Israeli deputy national security adviser and opposition politician, says Netanyahu might decide to prolong the war against Hezbollah and Iran even if the United States opts out.

Indian vessel 'Nanda Devi' carrying liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) arrives at Vadinar Port in the Jamnagar district of Gujarat state on March 17, 2026 after Iran allowed it to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, a key energy corridor that remains disrupted by the Middle East war.

Iran’s Hormuz choke hold leaves West divided as energy markets reel

Between March 1 and March 19, there were only 114 crossings of the strait, according to analytics firm Kpler — 95% less than prewar traffic.

A picture taken on March 12, 2017, shows an Iranian tanker docking at the platform of the oil facility in the Khark Island, on the shore of the Gulf.

Why a Kharg Island blockade could be Iran’s greatest economic threat

The island is an energy hub that accounts for 90% of Iran's oil exports and is home to key Iranian military installations.

US President Donald Trump steps of Marine One as he returns to the White House on March 18, 2026, in Washington, DC.

Analysis

In Hormuz standoff, Trump struggles to rally allies

President Donald Trump again urged US allies to “step up," while insisting their help isn't needed unblocking the Strait of Hormuz.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

A view of the oil refinery on March 17, 2026 in Erbil, Iraq.

Exclusive

Iraqi oil flows to Turkey after US pledges role in Baghdad-Kurds customs dispute

A US-brokered breakthrough between Baghdad and Erbil has restarted Iraqi oil exports through Turkey after a weeklong standoff.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

An Iranian security force officer stands guard next to a huge billboard of Iran's newly nominated supreme leader Ayatollah Mojataba Khamenei (pointing) during Al-Quds (Jerusalem) Day rally, a commemoration in support of the Palestinian people on the last Friday of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, in Tehran on March 13, 2026. On February 28, Israel and the United States launched strikes on Iran, killing its supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (photo bottom L) and triggering a war that spread across the M

Analysis

Israel sees long road to Iran regime change as IRGC tightens grip

While the large number of Iranian leaders killed is clearly destabilizing the regime, its toppling could still take a long time, Israeli officials told Al-Monitor.

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