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

Iran cover image

Iran

May 4, 2026

Tehran 6:45 am

22°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

Iran's newly elected President Ebrahim Raisi speaks during his swearing in ceremony at the Iranian parliament in the capital Tehran on Aug. 5, 2021.

Raisi reasserts Iran's regional policy in swearing-in ceremony

The new head of state reiterated Iran's controversial regional policy, even as it has been at the very core of tensions between the Islamic Republic's hard-line establishment and the West.

State Department spokesperson Ned Price speaks during a briefing at the State Department August 2, 2021, in Washington, DC.

US urges Iran to return to nuclear talks as Raisi sworn in

Talks over reviving the nuclear deal remain on hold — a process the Biden administration warned "cannot go on indefinitely."

Iran's President-elect Ebrahim Raisi is pictured during his first press conference since his election on the weekend in Tehran, on June 21, 2021.

The Takeaway: Does Raisi sink prospects for Iran nuclear deal?

Maybe not, but diplomacy just got harder; also, Egypt pushes plans to address climate and water crises; Sudan calls out Ethiopia on recent floods; Russia says it is helping save Syria’s heritage; Turkish cleric takes issue with dress code for Olympic women; remembering Beirut’s port explosion; more!

GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images

US believes Iranians seized oil tanker off UAE coast

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said early Wednesday that the intruders had left the vessel, which is now safe.

Hossein Salami

Iran calls Gulf of Oman accusations 'psychological warfare'

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has warned of a "destructive" response to any attack.

MV Mercer Street oil tanker

Pentagon doesn't rule out response for Gulf shipping attack

Iran's conflicts with its neighbors once again loom over Biden's ambitions to return to the Iran deal.

ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

Raisi pledges to save Iran from sanctions, restore public trust

The new Iranian president said he will push to get harsh sanctions lifted without hinging Iran's battered economy on the West.

Antony Blinken

Blinken vows ‘collective response’ for ship attack blamed on Iran

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States is confident that Iran carried out the attack on the Israeli-linked oil tanker.

ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

Iran's outgoing health minister asks for military-enforced lockdown

Iran's health minister asked for a two-week lockdown to be enforced by the military to stop the spread of COVID-19.

GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images

UK, Romania summon Iranian ambassadors over ship attack

Iran, which has denied involvement in the attack on the Israeli-linked oil tanker, responded by summoning the British chargé d'affaires in Tehran.

A nurse stands by the CIRA-03 robot prototype built as part of a self-funded project to assist physicians in running tests on suspected COVID-19 coronavirus patients.

Middle East economic outlook hinges on vaccinations

Five countries to watch: Tunisia, Iran, Iraq, Egypt and Oman.

An undated image of Liberian flagged tanker MT Mercer Street.

Two reported dead in attack on Israeli-operated ship near Oman

Iran was suspected in the attack on the UAE-bound Mercer Street, which is connected to an Israeli billionaire businessman.