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November 7, 2026

Tehran 9:06 am

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Tump

Can Trump turn midterm defeat into Iran breakthrough?

Although Iran may have contributed to Republican losses in midterms, the Trump administration still has a historic opportunity in the Middle East.

ATTA KENARE / AFP via Getty Images

As Trump weighs Iran strikes, possible nuclear opening emerges

Sticking points include Iran's highly enriched uranium and lack of access for international inspectors.

Russian Mil Mi-8 military helicopters fly over a joint Russian and Turkish convoy, northeastern Hasakeh province, Syria, Feb. 4, 2021.

Russia to provide Iran with 90 missile launchers as military ties grow: Reports

Multiple recent reports reveal increased Russian support for Iran, including weapons and intelligence sharing.

Latest News

Turkey says soldier killed by gunfire from Iran at border: What to know

A sign marking the border of Turkey in Van, Turkey, on March 14, 2026.

Explainer

Democrats’ midterm sweep tests US-Israel ties as Eisenkot vows reset

An aerial view shows a campaign billboard depicting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of the Likud party and President Donald Trump in Tel Aviv, on Oct. 26, 2026, on the eve of Israel's legislative elections.

Analysis

Iran cheers Democrats’ midterm victory but fears Trump's next move

Iranians walk along a building installed with a giant poster depicting Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei during a rally in front of the former US embassy to mark the anniversary of the 1979 Iran hostage crisis, in Tehran on Nov. 4, 2026.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

From Tehran to Tel Aviv, Democrats’ midterm triumph sparks Middle East reactions

The sun sets on the US Capitol on Election Day evening on Nov. 3, 2026 in Washington.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

Diplomatic Correspondent

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

Sabena Siddiqui

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

A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Benjamin Houghton

In Durham, reporting on China in the Middle East

Rahim Rahimov

In Baku, reporting on Middle East-Caucasus ties

Mehrnaz Samimi

In Washington, DC, reporting on Iranian culture

A woman walks past an anti-Israeli mural depicting fighters with assault rifles along a wall in Palestine Square in Tehran on April 14, 2024. Iran on April 14 urged Israel not to retaliate militarily to an unprecedented attack overnight, which Tehran presented as a justified response to a deadly strike on its consulate building in Damascus. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran gloats as Arab states, Turkey exercise caution after attack on Israel

Iran conducted an unprecedented and large-scale attack on Israel in retaliation for the strike that killed IRGC members in its Syrian consulate.

Markazi Jamiat Ahle Hadees Pakistan activists protest in Lahore on Jan. 19, 2024, after Iran launched an airstrike in Pakistan's southwest Baluchistan province.

Iran has a Baluchistan problem on restive Pakistan border

Israel's Iron Dome air defense system intercepts rockets launched from Gaza City, in Sderot on May 10, 2023.

Iran launches attack against Israel with missiles, drones in response to Syria strike

Middle East tensions are at an all-time high as the US military moved more forces to the region and multiple countries closed their airspaces in response to Iran's unprecedented attack. A 7-year-old Bedouin girl was reportedly injured by debris in the Negev region.

From left: Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and European Union Foreign Policy chief Josep Borrell, hold a joint press conference in Brussels on April 5, 2024. (Photo by Johanna Geron / POOL / AFP) (Photo by JOHANNA GERON/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

As EU courts Armenia, Iran and US are bound to clash in South Caucasus

Yerevan’s pivot to the West is a challenge for Tehran, yet Iranian authorities and media kept mum on a high-level trilateral EU-US-Armenia meeting last week.

Iranian attend the funeral procession for seven Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps members killed in a strike in Syria, which Iran blamed on Israel, in Tehran on April 5, 2024.

Iran’s delicate balance between striking Israel, avoiding full-blown war

The Islamic Republic has been assessing the potential consequences of its much-expected retaliation against Israel, as speculation is growing that an attack is imminent yet will be limited.

This US Navy photo released Jan. 15, 2015 shows an MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter from the Red Lions of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 15 as it prepares to land on the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) on Jan. 13, 2015 in the Gulf.

Pentagon shifts forces to Middle East ahead of expected Iran attack on Israel

The threat of Iranian retaliation has thrust the Biden administration into a precarious balancing act, as it seeks to help defend Israel while avoiding a wider conflict with Iran and its proxies.

Emergency and security personnel gather at the site of strikes which hit a building next to the Iranian embassy in Syria's capital Damascus, on April 1, 2024.

Analysis

Iran can’t win in response to Israeli killing of IRGC leaders

Also Al-Monitor must-read reporting from Syria, Israel, Gaza and Washington.

Week in Review

Andrew Parasiliti

By Week in Review , Andrew Parasiliti

Emergency and security personnel search the rubble at the site of strikes which hit a building annexed to the Iranian embassy in Syria's capital Damascus, on April 1, 2024.

Flurry of US calls to China, EU, Gulf as threat of Iranian attack on Israel looms

The calls occurred as the region prepares for a possible response to the suspected Israeli strike on the Iranian Consulate in Syria that killed seven members of the IRGC.

Lufthansa aircraft parked in front of a hangar during a nationwide strike of Lufthansa ground employees, Frankfurt Airport, March 7, 2024.

Lufthansa extends Tehran flights ban as Iran-Israel tensions flare

The Middle East remains on high alert after a suspected Israeli airstrike killed seven senior Iranian commanders in Damascus April 1.

A large billboard depicting Iranian missiles with writing in Hebrew and in Persian, which reads "prepare your coffins," hangs on the side of a building in Tehran on Jan. 16, 2024, after Iran's overnight missile attacks on multiple targets in Syria and in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region.

Analysis

Israel, US on high alert as Iran vows ‘punishment’ for Syria strike

As Iran threatens retaliation for a strike on its consulate in Syria last week and Israel vows to respond in kind, potentially caught in the middle are thousands of US troops at bases throughout Iraq, Syria and Gulf states.

Jared Szuba

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

TEHRAN, IRAN - MARCH 01: Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (R) arrives to cast his ballots during the parliamentary and key clerical body elections at a polling station on March 1, 2024 in Tehran, Iran. Iranians are voting in parliamentary elections and will also cast ballots for the Assembly of Experts, which selects and nominally oversees the work of Iran's supreme leader. (Photo by Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)

Iran’s Khamenei says Israel ‘will be punished’ for Syria consulate bombing

Khamenei's remarks come as the region awaits a response to the suspected Israeli strike on the Iranian Consulate in Damascus.

An Iranian Navy warship takes part in the "National Persian Gulf day" in the Strait of Hormuz, on April 30, 2019.

Iran naval chief calls Israeli presence in UAE 'threat,' seeks Islamic army coalition

During the course of the Gaza war, Iran has been critical of some Islamic countries for their refusal to sever ties with Israel, and it's hoping that the war will shelve Arab-Israeli normalization plans.