Oman's sultan meets Macron in first France visit since 1989: What to know French President Emmanuel Macron has been pushing against any form of toll for the Strait of Hormuz. Iran
Analysis Why Turkey and Egypt are deepening military ties amid regional turmoil Turkey and Egypt are expanding military cooperation as overlapping security challenges, from Libya and Sudan to Gaza and the Red Sea, bring the former rivals closer together. By Barin Kayaoglu In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security
Analysis Vance turning us into 'punching bag': Israel fumes over alleged IRGC-CENTCOM channel in Doha The US-Iran decision to launch direct talks between the IRGC and CENTCOM in Qatar deepens the rift between President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while heightening Israeli fears that Washington is shifting toward Doha and Tehran. By Ben Caspit In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense
Iran attacks cargo ship off Oman, testing Trump’s Hormuz Strait deal The first Iranian attack on a cargo vessel since the ceasefire comes as top US diplomat Marco Rubio huddled with Gulf Cooperation Council ministers in Manama to reject Iran's claims to control the Strait of Hormuz. By Jared Szuba In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military
CENTCOM commander heads to Israel, Gulf as Lebanon talks stall By Jared Szuba In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military
Analysis As US reshapes Lebanon strategy, Israel finds itself sidelined By Rina Bassist In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs
Analysis Why Gulf defense firms are betting on Europe in wake of Iran war By Francesco Schiavi In Bologna, reporting on security, defense, economy, governance
Will Putin's 'ice cream diplomacy' with Erdogan help resolve Idlib? In Moscow, ice cream may have been the only thing Erdogan got for free from Putin. Syria
US influence on the line if Israel has 'free hand' to bomb Iraq Israeli attacks in Iraq signal need for some red lines with Iran. Iraq
Turkey’s Patriot offer dead after S-400 delivery The Donald Trump administration automatically rescinded a $3.5 billion deal to sell Patriot missile defenses to Turkey after it took delivery of a Russian alternative in July, US officials have told Al-Monitor. Syria
What recent purges, promotions mean for Turkey's military This year's meeting of Turkey’s Higher Military Council to decide on promotions for generals and admirals provides some important clues about the direction of US-Turkish ties. Turkey
Army failure to prepare training could impact North Africa efforts The Pentagon failed to properly prepare US Army troops in Africa to train foreign partner forces, a declassified inspector general investigation has found. North Africa
Pentagon pushes Egypt to fight counterinsurgency campaign in Sinai The Pentagon used a visit by Egypt’s defense minister to push the US ally into a counterinsurgency-style approach to the fight against terror groups in the Sinai desert. Egypt
Israel, US, Iran prepare for out-of-the-atmosphere battle Israel and the United States are together developing super-technologies that enable missiles to hit other missiles out of the atmosphere. Israel
Congress struggles to sanction Saudis for Khashoggi murder Faced with opposition from the White House and Senate Republican leadership, Congress is struggling to pass Saudi sanctions legislation. Saudi Arabia
Republicans push tepid Trump to sanction Turkey After huddling with President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday, Republican senators tell Al-Monitor that the president isn’t keen on sanctioning Turkey. Turkey
Intel: Pentagon chief says European-led Gulf initiative complements US On his first day on the job at the Pentagon, US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said that a fresh European-led initiative to defend ships transiting the Gulf was complementary to the Donald Trump administration’s separate efforts to gather allies to protect shipping in the region. United States
Intel: Why 5 Democratic presidential hopefuls just rebelled against Trump’s new defense secretary An overwhelming bipartisan majority of the Senate voted 90-8 Tuesday to confirm former Army Secretary Mark Esper as President Donald Trump’s new defense secretary. Saudi Arabia
What's at stake for Russia with S-400 deliveries to Turkey? The decision to sell the missile system to Turkey is now seen as a win for Moscow, but this doesn't mean it came easy. And there are still potential downsides for Russia. Turkey
