Analysis
Since 2012, the Week in Review keeps you ahead of the curve with in-depth analysis of the trends in the region, based on Al-Monitor’s world class reporting.
Russia-Ukraine war recasts Turkish policies and priorities
Erdogan sees opportunity in Ukraine crisis, including enhanced global role and dramatic reset in ties with Israel, as he weighs next steps in Libya and elections next year.
![Erdogan](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/2022-03/GettyImages-1239238400.jpg?h=1d34674f&itok=YXfB4A7p)
Bennett, Erdogan seek to fill diplomatic vacuum over Ukraine
Qatar’s role in Iran diplomacy even more vital with pause in Vienna nuclear talks.
![An Ukrainian flag waves in front of smoke rising from a bombed warehouse in the town of Stoyanka, west of Kyiv, on March 4, 2022.](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/2022-03/GettyImages-1238920160.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=8koCQMxV)
Will there be an Iran nuclear deal? What you need to know
The Biden administration, consumed by Russia-Ukraine crisis, may be close to the end on one of its top foreign policy priorities.
![Iran prisoners](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/2022-03/GettyImages-1237957833.jpg?h=1d34674f&itok=FX_pqFGY)
Russian invasion of Ukraine scrambles Middle East diplomacy
Update from Moscow; US calls on regional allies for support against Russian attack on Ukraine; some facts on Russia.
![Kharkiv](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/2022-02/GettyImages-1238729991.jpg?h=1d34674f&itok=8kLWY1AP)
Does Raisi need a nuclear deal more than Biden?
Also: The Iran talks in Vienna enter their final days, what comes next, and why neither president should expect an assist from the US Congress on Iran.
![US President Joe Biden meets with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett in the Oval Office at the White House on Aug. 27, 2021, in Washington, DC.](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/2022-02/GettyImages-1234897250.jpeg?h=a5ae579a&itok=aKAmT-Hr)
Islamic State still 'global operation,' says Pentagon report
Islamic State leader's killing prompted questions on Turkey's role; our reporting from Idlib, Syria.
![Lisa Ferdinando/US Department of Defense via Getty Images](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/2022-02/GettyImages-1238163678.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=tvSoAozG)
The death of ISIS’s ‘Hajji Abdullah’: Views from Idlib, Iraq and more
Erdogan’s mediation bid in Ukraine; Tartars in spotlight.
![Qurayshi attack](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/2022-02/GettyImages-1238163498.jpg?h=1d34674f&itok=kJe3WJ7H)
Crisis in Ukraine: the Middle East connections
Also: Oman's foreign minister says dialogue is essential in dealing with Iran, Yemen and Syria; keeps focus on two-state solution.
![Turkey Ukraine](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/2022-01/GettyImages-1198370156.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=4z1O4E56)
Islamic State escalates violence across Baghdad Belt
Terrorist attacks increase as Iraq continues government formation process.
![Mourners carry the casket of one of eleven Iraqi soldiers, killed in an overnight attack by the Islamic State (IS) group against a base in eastern Iraq, through a street in the central holy shrine city of Najaf, on Jan. 21, 2022.](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/2022-01/GettyImages-1237882098.jpg?h=1d34674f&itok=Qt7S5WzE)
Hints of progress on Iran nuclear talks, but time running out
The ongoing JCPOA talks in Vienna are still complicated, and the timeline is down to a ‘few weeks,’ says US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
![Blinken](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/2022-01/GettyImages-1237589155.jpg?h=1d34674f&itok=Azs3Vu7p)
Pagination
Netanyahu, regional leaders hedge on possible Trump win in November
The Israeli prime minister is under pressure to deliver on a cease-fire during his Washington visit next week; Biden can’t heal Democrat divisions over Israel and the Gaza war.
![JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/2024-07/GettyImages-1230516369.jpg?h=1d34674f&itok=-Zxq4qmm)
Lebanon FM warns of 'devastating’ regional war if Israel escalates campaign against Hezbollah
In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, Lebanon's top diplomat, Abdallah Bou Habib, adds that security in the south ultimately depends on a strong Lebanese army and an agreement on the border – not war.
![BERLIN, GERMANY - DECEMBER 15: Lebanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdallah Bou Habib speaks to the media following talks with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on December 15, 2023 in Berlin, Germany. The two diplomats discussed mutual measures to prevent the current Palestinian-Israeli conflict from expanding to other regions, among other issues. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/2024-07/GettyImages-1857491748.jpg?h=9855f42d&itok=rgoJZYYE)
US, Iran guarantors of shaky deterrence between Israel and Hezbollah
Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah is not ready to go to the mattresses over the killing of another senior commander on Wednesday, and Iran doesn't want a war while it favors the threat of confrontation as a deterrent.
![A portrait of Musa al-Sadr sits amid the rubble of a destroyed building in the heavily damaged, Hezbollah stronghold town of Aita al Chaab on June 29, 2024 in Aita al Chaab, Lebanon. Hezbollah and the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have been trading cross-border fire since the October 7 attacks, with the conflict escalating in May when the group launched a missile-carrying drone against Israel for the first time. The conflict intensified in June when Hezbollah fired hundreds of rockets and drones at Israeli m](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/2024-07/GettyImages-2159834748.jpg?h=4296c093&itok=iuOsSvRF)
G42-Microsoft partnership in Kenya 'just the beginning,' says UAE trade minister
In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, Dr. Thani Ahmed Al Zeyoudi discusses momentum in UAE trade with the US, the benefits of economic diversification and Africa’s priority in UAE trade policy.
![Indonesian President Joko Widodo (L) listens to a speech by United Arab Emirates (UAE) Minister of State for Foreign Trade Thani Ahmed Al Zeyoudi (R) during the inauguration of the newly built floating solar power plant on the water that can generate 192 mega watts of peak electricity in cooperation between the Indonesian government and Masdar from the UAE, at Cirata Reservoir, West Java, on November 9, 2023. (Photo by BAY ISMOYO / AFP) (Photo by BAY ISMOYO/AFP via Getty Images)](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/2024-06/GettyImages-1771551969.jpg?h=1dfc45c8&itok=YsgRPZu4)