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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivers a speech after a signing ceremony with Libyan Government of National Unity prime minister at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, on April 12, 2021.

Analysis

In Libya, maritime dispute could complicate Turkey’s backing of US unity push

Turkey and the US increasingly share an interest in stabilizing Libya through a Tripoli-Benghazi power-sharing deal, though their alignment may hinge on the durability of any such deal and Washington's stance on Ankara's disputed 2019 maritime agreement.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Motorists drive past a billboard bearing a picture of Iran's slain supreme leader Ali Khamenei, ahead of his funeral in Tehran on July 3, 2026. Iranian leaders began paying their respects on July 3 before the coffin of the country's late supreme leader Ali Khamenei, killed in the US-Israeli strikes that triggered the Middle East war, as Tehran prepared for a vast funeral. Khamenei's body arrived at Tehran's Grand Mosalla on July 3 ahead of ceremonies which are expected to draw millions. (Photo by AFP via Ge

Analysis

As US-Iran talks falter, Israel views war outcome as 'total strategic failure’

Israeli officials believe the US failure to attain the kind of agreement with Iran that it originally sought stems from the strategic mistakes made during and after the recent war.

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

Crude oil tankers, bulk carriers and vessels sit anchored around Qaboos Port on June 22, 2026, in Muscat, Oman.

Oil falls below $71 as US-Iran talks continue, Gulf exports rebound

Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson said in an X post on Wednesday that Iran and the United States had made "positive progress."

Latest News

Who is Melat Kiros, the pro-Palestinian who unseated a longtime Democrat?

Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images

Explainer

Saudi FM concludes China visit amid Trump-MBS friction: What to know

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) shakes hands with Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud before a family photo for the attendees of a meeting of foreign ministers from Arab and Muslim-majority nations at the Diaoyutai State Guest House in Beijing on November 20, 2023. The international community must take urgent action to stop the "humanitarian disaster" unfolding in Gaza, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told visiting diplomats from Arab and Muslim-majority nations on Novembe

Adam Lucente

News and Business Correspondent

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

Elizabeth Hagedorn

Diplomatic Correspondent

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

Jared Szuba

Defense and Security Correspondent

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

Joyce Karam

Editor-in-Chief

Rosaleen Carroll

News Reporter and Supporting Editor

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

Paul J. Saunders

In Washington, DC, reporting on Russia in the Middle East

U.S. President Donald Trump listens at a rally in support of Rep. Kevin Cramer (R) in his run for Senate in Fargo, North Dakota, U.S. June 27, 2018. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RC1ECB7F9050

White House whips Senate allies to block Armenian genocide resolution

The White House has so far succeeded in keeping the Senate from passing a resolution recognizing the Armenian genocide, but the Trump administration is slowly running out of options.

Brian Hook, U.S. Special Representative for Iran, speaks at a news conference in London, Britain June 28, 2019. REUTERS/Simon Dawson - RC1B15C08920

In shift, State’s Hook says Yemen’s Houthis independent from Iran

A top Trump administration Iran official praised a de-escalation proposal by Yemen’s Houthi rebels amid apparent progress in Saudi-Houthi talks to end the war in Yemen.

A drone and armored vehicles serve as a backdrop as U.S. Vice President Mike Pence delivers remarks to U.S. troops at Al Asad Air Base, Iraq November 23, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RC29HD9HDU3K

Pentagon: US not considering doubling counter-Iran deployment

The Pentagon is sending mixed messages on whether the United States will deploy more troops to the Middle East to counter perceived threats from Iran.

Turkish flag flutters at Turkey's border gate, as pictured on Syria side, overlooking the ruins of buildings destroyed during fightings with the Islamic State militants in Kobani, Syria October 11, 2017. Picture taken October 11, 2017. REUTERS/Erik De Castro - RC1E48BC4870

US pushes to reintegrate militants after Islamic State fight

A senior State Department official told Al-Monitor the administration is working to help Middle Eastern and African countries reintegrate thousands of fighters who joined the Islamic State and its affiliates.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo holds a news conference at the Alliance headquarters in Brussels, Belgium November 20, 2019. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir - RC26FD9RQLKO

Intel: How Israel — and Netanyahu — stand to gain from Pompeo's Morocco visit

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has arrived in Morocco for a one-day trip aimed boosting ties with a country that the State Department deems a "critical partner" across a range of issues ahead of the visit.

A convoy of U.S. vehicles is seen after withdrawing from northern Syria, in Erbil, Iraq October 21, 2019. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari - RC1AB61E8440

Intel: Here’s how many US troops Trump wants to keep in Syria

After months of uncertainty and ambiguity surrounding US troop levels in Syria as part of President Donald Trump’s mission to secure the war-torn country’s northeast oil fields, the Pentagon is finally disclosing a number.

Why is delivery of S-400 missiles to Turkey delayed?

The testing of the battle management and multimode engagement for the Russian-built S-400 air defense missile system in Ankara was both a technical necessity as well as an expression of diplomatic determination for full activation of the S-400s.

Syria’s Kurdish parties do not see eye to eye

While Syria's Kurds call for a unified political project to manage Kurdish territories, they remain confused about the differences between the Kurdish National Council and the Syrian Democratic Forces.

U.S. Democratic Presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard greets supporters after filing her declaration of candidacy papers to appear on the 2020 New Hampshire primary election ballot at the State House in Concord, New Hampshire, U.S., November 5, 2019. REUTERS/Mike Segar - RC1696ABFE70

Democratic leader pours cold water on Tulsi Gabbard’s bid to force Syria withdrawal

The House’s No. 2 Democrat dealt a major blow to Tulsi Gabbard’s effort to force President Donald Trump to pull the remaining US troops out of Syria.

A man reads a newspaper story about Republican U.S. presidential nominee Donald Trump as people gather to protest against Trump on the sidewalk, outside the grand opening of his new Trump International Hotel in Washington, U.S. October 26, 2016. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - S1AEUJFELYAA

Middle East lobbyists pay op-ed writers to sell their message

A Kuwaiti firm and an armed Iranian opposition group are some of the latest examples of lobbyists paying for positive press coverage.

Mazloum Kobani, Syrian Democratic Forces' (SDF) commander in chief, talks as he announces the destruction of Islamic State's control of land in eastern Syria, at al-Omar oil field in Deir Al Zor, Syria March 23, 2019. - RC1F71152EF0

SDF woos Syrian Kurdish rivals in wake of Turkish assault

Could the Syrian Democratic Forces and the Iraqi Kurdish-backed Kurdish National Council, long at loggerheads, come to an accord in the wake of Turkey's invasion of Kurdish-administered areas of Syria?

U.S. President Donald Trump and Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pose for a family photo at the NATO leaders summit in Watford, Britain December 4, 2019. REUTERS/Yves Herman - RC2BOD97VB0U

Erdogan drops block on NATO defense plan as trust issues linger

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan dropped his threat to block a defense plan for the Baltic states and Poland, though disagreements persist among NATO allies.