Iran - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Iran cover image

Iran

May 3, 2026

Tehran 7:03 pm

28°C

Crops of wheat and barley in Terbol village on May 10, 2022, in Bekaa Valley, Lebanon.

Analysis

MENA wheat importers face food security risks as Hormuz crisis festers

Home to many of the world's largest wheat importers, the Middle East and North Africa face acute food security risks as the US-Israel-Iran war disrupts global fertilizer flows and pushes up prices.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Soldiers from Iran's land, navy, air force and special forces parade on the occasion of National Army Day in Tehran, capital of Iran on April 18, 2025, in Tehran, Iran.

Analysis

How Iran is rebuilding its bruised military as ceasefire masks recalibration

Iran is using the fragile truce to recover by blending redeployment and reverse engineering into broader preparedness for renewed conflict.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent testifies during a Senate Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on April 22, 2026 in Washington, DC.

US sanctions Iran’s shadow banking channels moving oil proceeds from China

The latest sanctions come as the Trump administration weighs Iran's latest proposal to end the war.

Ibrahim AMRO / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Without exit strategy, Israel faces emboldened Hezbollah, limited options on Iran

While President Donald Trump remains undecided on striking Iran again, the Israeli military is sinking deeper into its Lebanon quagmire with a reinforced Hezbollah.

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

Latest News

Trump faces three paths ahead in Iran war as Hormuz standoff intensifies

This photo obtained by AFP from the Iranian news agency Tasnim shows an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) boat allegedly taking part in an operation to seize ships attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz, on April 21, 2026.

In defiant message, Iran’s Khamenei threatens US but appeals to Gulf

AFP via Getty Images

US blockade tests Iran's limits, but will global pain force Trump’s hand?

QESHM ISLAND, IRAN - APRIL 28: Boats navigate the sea on April 28, 2026 on Qeshm Island, Iran in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's latest proposal for ending its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz calls on the United States to end its naval blockade of Iran's ports, and sets aside questions about what to do with Iran's nuclear program. The United States has not formally responded to the latest proposal, which was delivered by Iran's foreign minister to Pakistan two days ago. (Photo by Asghar Besharati/Getty Images

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

Blinken

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.

ANDREW HARNIK/AFP via Getty Images

Blinken says 'a few weeks' left for Iran to resume nuclear compliance

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said there were "other options" if world powers are unable to resurrect the deal.

A crowd gathers to mark the second anniversary of the killing of Qasem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, in the southern Iraqi city of Basra, on Jan. 8, 2022.

Khamenei website posts animation of Trump targeted in strike

The video was released in line with renewed threats from Iran’s hard-line establishment against a hit list of former US officials involved in the killing of Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani.

Trafalgar Square

UN experts urge Iran to halt execution of juvenile offender

Hossein Shahbazi was 17 when he was arrested for fatally stabbing a classmate and was sentenced to death in a trial that reportedly relied on torture-tainted confessions.

SU-35

Moscow struggles to sell fighter jets in the Mideast

With Egypt and Algeria reportedly backing out of plans to acquire Russian-made fighter jets, there is speculation Tehran could emerge as a potential buyer.

Aras Amiri.

Iran frees British Council employee Aras Amiri

Aras Amiri's lawyer in Tehran said the British Council worker flew out of the Iranian capital on Monday after her travel ban was lifted.

Nakasone cyber

Pentagon says Iran is behind MuddyWater hacking group

Iranian intelligence is behind a group of cyber-attackers that have targeted private and government organizations across the Middle East.

Iran vaccine

Pressure mounts on Iran's health minister amid personal vaccine saga

The impeachment motion was triggered by a leaked document showing that the health minister had received an imported vaccine, contradicting his earlier claims that he had been jabbed with a government-promoted, domestic one.

HOSHANG HASHIMI/AFP via Getty Images

Iran calls for US to unfreeze Afghan funds amid humanitarian crisis

Following a visit by Taliban envoy Amir Khan Muttaqi to Tehran, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said it wasn't ready to formally recognize Afghanistan's new rulers.

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (L) meets with Oman's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah (R) in Tehran on Dec. 2, 2019.

Iranian foreign minister visits Oman

Oman's top diplomat voiced support for the Iran nuclear deal during the meeting.

Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh speaks to media during a press conference in Tehran on Nov. 15, 2021.

Iran denies reports of interim deal

Tehran has denied reports of an interim deal in Vienna, but there are signs that Iranian officials are preparing their public for a possible agreement.

Iran protest

Iran’s days of rage on Soleimani anniversary have their limits

Can Israel live with an Iranian nuclear deal? Maybe so.