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

Iran cover image

Iran

September 11, 2026

Tehran 3:36 pm

31°C

Pedestrians walk past a wall mural along a street in downtown of Tehran on Aug. 31, 2026.

Analysis

Could Iran’s nuclear ambitions harden as war escalates?

A new report has raised alarm about the Pickaxe Mountain nuclear site that President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to strike.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

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

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks during a meeting with Australia's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Richard Marles at the Pentagon in Washington, DC, on September 2, 2026. (Photo by Kent NISHIMURA / AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Iran’s Pickaxe mountain tests limits of Trump’s military options

A secretive Pentagon innovation agency has hastened to test munitions that may penetrate deeper than the GBU-57 bombs dropped on Iran’s two main enrichment facilities.

Jared Szuba

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

Elke Scholiers/Getty Images

Iran's IRGC set to declare new ‘sanctions zone’ beyond Hormuz: What to know

The latest Iranian effort to assert control over waterways in the region follows heavy US strikes targeting oil tankers.

AFPTV / AFP via Getty Images

Brent crude sails past $100 as Middle East war intensifies

The Iran war escalated this week as Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels attacked four southern Saudi Arabian cities and oil facilities.

Latest News

US strikes Iranian tankers after attempted attack on Navy ship

Vessels transit the Hormuz Strait off the coast of Iran's southern port city of Bandar Abbas on September 7, 2026. Iran's top negotiator threatened on September 6 of a more forceful response to any further US attacks after Tehran targeted American warships in their latest round of clashes. The exchanges of fire, which began with US raids last week, come amid a deadlock in the six-month war between the two foes. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP via Getty Images) /

Analysis

What Houthi setbacks in Yemen mean for Iran's regional influence

Forces loyal to Yemen's Saudi-backed government

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Analysis

Israel braces for Iran attack as Trump’s economic squeeze on Tehran intensifies

TOPSHOT - Explosions from projectile interceptions by Israel's Iron Dome missile defence system are pictured over Tel Aviv on February 28, 2026. The United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran on February 28, with Israel's public broadcaster reporting that the Iranian supreme leader had been targeted, as the Islamic republic retaliated with barrages of missiles at Gulf states and Israel. (Photo by Jack GUEZ / AFP via Getty Images)

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

US hits 27 Iranian airlines with latest sanctions

A picture take on September 14, 2017 shows an Airbus A340 of Mahan Air at the tarmac at Dubai's International Airport. (Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE / AFP) (Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via 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

TOPSHOT - Forensic investigators carry the body of Iranian judge Gholamreza Mansour who died after a falling from high in a hotel atrium in Bucharest June 19, 2020. - "An investigation is underway," a police spokesman told AFP, confirming that the deceased was the Iranian judge Gholamreza Mansouri. (Photo by OCTAV GANEA / AFP) (Photo by OCTAV GANEA/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran seeks answers in death of fugitive judge

The Iranian judiciary seeks answers after a fugitive judge fell from a hotel window in Bucharest.

Parliament alone cannot stop honor killings in Iran

While legislation aimed at combatting honor killings in Iran is certainly needed, the country must also address broader issues involving policy failings and social norms.

Michael White, a freed U.S. Navy veteran detained in Iran since 2018, poses with U.S. Special Envoy for Iran Brian Hook while on his return to the United States at Zurich Airport in Zurich, Switzerland June 4, 2020. U.S. State Department/Handout via REUTERS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. THIS IMAGE WAS PROCESSED BY REUTERS TO ENHANCE QUALITY, AN UNPROCESSED VERSION HAS BEEN PROVIDED SEPARATELY. - RC2K2H90N3HH

Can Trump secure release of all US hostages in Iran?

Another prisoner exchange between Iran and the United States seems possible after two in just six months, but the previous exchanges have not generated any mutual trust.

Iraq summons Turkey, Iran as operations against Kurdish groups continue

Turkey cites past agreements for its operations against the Kurdistan Workers Party in Iraq, while Iran is also targeting Kurdish groups in the country.

An Iranian flag flutters in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters in Vienna, Austria September 9, 2019. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger - RC1DCEC85C40

UN nuclear watchdog urges Iran to allow inspections of old sites

The watchdog agency's board hadn't issued a formal rebuke of Iran since 2012.

An Iranian woman gives a protective face mask to a worshipper to attend the Friday prayers in Qarchak Jamee Mosque, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Tehran province, in Qarchak, Iran, June 12, 2020. WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Ali Khara via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY - RC2P7H9Y3JZH

Iran says 10 provinces have reached peak coronavirus numbers

Iran says coronavirus deaths in the country will continue until there is a vaccine.

Interview

Chief rabbi of Iran: Israel does not represent Judaism

In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, Rabbi Yehuda Garami, chief rabbi of the Jewish community in Iran, explains about their daily lives and why he paid a condolence visit to the family of assassinated Gen. Qasem Soleimani.

Yehuda Garami

Yehuda Garami

Chief rabbi of the Jewish community in Iran

UAE condemns Turkish and Iranian military interventions in Iraq

Turkey and Iran are conducting operations against Kurdish groups in the country.

United Arab Emirates

Iranian official criticizes Instagram for 'immorality'

The remarks by the head of the Islamic Development Organization follow last month's arrest of a popular Instagram star.

Iran rocked by three honor killings in one month

A push for urgent legal reforms and greater public awareness is gaining momentum in Iran after the country reported three gruesome honor killings in less than a month.

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif shakes hands with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov after a news conference following their meeting in Moscow, Russia, December 30, 2019. REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina - RC2N5E98ZR59

Iran’s Zarif seeks Russian support as US pressure builds

The Iranian foreign minister went to Moscow for help against US efforts to extend an arms embargo against Iran.

Iran’s wildfires leave trail of destruction, lingering questions

Wildfires that raged for two weeks turned significant swaths of Iran’s western forests into ash as state bureaucracy dramatically slowed down an efficient response.