Interviews

Exclusive conversations with Al-Monitor.

Former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin arrives to attend a church service for former French President Jacques Chirac at the Saint-Sulpice church in Paris on September 30, 2019. - Former French President Jacques Chirac died on September 26, 2019 at the age of 86.

Former French PM says Trump has ‘immense opportunity’ in Mideast

Dominique de Villepin

Dominique de Villepin

Former French prime minister

Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani, Permanent Representative of Iran to the UN, speaks during a press conference at the United Nations headquarters on June 16, 2025 in New York City.

Interview

Iran open to regional consortium, enriched uranium transfer in US nuclear talks

Iran’s UN ambassador says his country would consider transfer of enriched uranium stockpiles and outside investment in energy sector if there is an agreement with the US, but that the country is unwilling to accept restrictions on its missile program or domestic enrichment.

Amir Saeid Iravani

Amir Saeid Iravani

Permanent Representative of Iran to the UN

Retired Israeli general and Executive Director of Tel Aviv University's Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) Amos Yadlin attends a session at the Manama Dialogue security conference in the Bahraini capital on December 5, 2020. (Photo by Mazen Mahdi / AFP) (Photo by MAZEN MAHDI/AFP via Getty Images)

Interview

Amos Yadlin: Israel's goal to enable Trump to reach better Iran deal than 2015

In an interview with Al-Monitor, former head of the Israeli military intelligence directorate Amos Yadlin talks about the extent of the damage Israel has thus far inflicted on Iran and the strategic goals of the war.

Amos Yadlin

Amos Yadlin

Former head of Israeli military intelligence

US special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack meets Syrian President Ahmed Sharaa in Damascus, on May 29, 2025.

Interview

US believes Syria’s Sharaa at risk of assassination, Trump envoy says

US special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack also discusses what’s next for sanctions relief, the country’s relationship with Israel and why the Trump administration is not engaged in “nation-building.”

Tom Barrack

Tom Barrack

US special envoy for Syria

People queue outside the main headquarters of the Central Bank of Syria to exchange US dollars at prices lower than the black market, in Damascus on December 30, 2024. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP) (Photo by ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images)

Interview

Syria’s central bank chief: US sanctions relief a ‘turning point’

Abdulkader Husrieh discusses how sanctions relief could impact Syria’s reintegration into the global financial system.

Abdulkader Husrieh

Abdulkader Husrieh

Syrian central bank governor

Sheikha Mayes Al-Thani speaks at inaugural USQBC-SelectUSA event in Washington, DC, February 25, 2024.

Interview

Qatar’s digital future offers opportunities in AI, energy, says head of US-Qatar Business Council

Talent, not just capital, is key to sustainable growth, says Sheikha Mayes Al Thani.

Sheikha Mayes Al Thani

Sheikha Mayes Al Thani

Managing Director, US-Qatar Business Council

Ami Ayalon, a candidate for the Israeli Labor Party leadership, arrives to vote in the second and decisive round of party primaries on June 12, 2007, in Geva Carmel, northern Israel.

Interview

Ayalon: Netanyahu firing Shin Bet chief to shield inner circle from Qatar probe

Former Shin Bet chief Ami Ayalon accuses Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of endangering Israel’s democracy by going after the country’s gatekeepers, such as current Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar.

Syrian Kurds

Interview

Syria's Kurds to demand federalism in tactical push for decentralization

Syrian Kurdish groups are uniting to push for federalism and constitutional guarantees of Kurdish rights in talks with Damascus, despite skepticism about interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s willingness to accept decentralization

Mohammed Ismail

Mohammed Ismail

President of the Kurdistan National Council

Adi Alexander (C), father of Edan Alexander, attends a US House Committee on Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia roundtable with family members of individuals being held hostage by Hamas, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on Nov. 29, 2023.

Interview

Israel's renewed Gaza strikes put last living US hostage at risk, family warns

Israeli American Edan Alexander was due to be released in the second phase of the ceasefire.

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert speaks during a briefing on US President Donald Trump's Mideast peace plan on February 11, 2020 in New York. Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas told the UN Security Council that the world should reject President Donald Trump's Middle East plan, which he said would limit Palestinian sovereignty in a "Swiss cheese" deal. "We reject the Israeli-American plan," which "throws into question the legitimate rights of the Palestinians," Abbas said, brandishing a large map of

Interview

In break with Netanyahu, Olmert urges Israel to recognize Syria’s Sharaa, open dialogue

Former Israeli Premier Ehud Olmert believes Israel should recognize the legitimacy of the Syrian interim administration, telling Al-Monitor in an interview that he believes that the two countries should open dialogue.

Saudi digital economy expert Deemah Al-Yahya speaks onstage during the 2024 Concordia Annual Summit at Sheraton New York Times Square, New York, Sept. 24, 2024.

Interview

As AI superpowers clash, Saudi tech diplomat pushes collaboration over competition

Deemah AlYahya

Secretary General, Digital Cooperation Organization

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

BASHAR TALEB/AFP via Getty Images

Interview

Qatar banks on Trump's help to sustain Gaza ceasefire

Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari discusses the Gaza ceasefire-for-hostages deal, the Trump administration's role in implementing it and the future of Hamas' political office in Doha.

Majed al-Ansari

Majed al-Ansari

Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson

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