Newsletter: Business & Tech Trump pivots from Hormuz tolls as US-Iran fighting resumes Oil prices remain far below their early May peak of nearly $115 a barrel, but the renewed hostilities have pushed them well above the roughly $70 level seen before the war. By Jack Dutton In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech
Ahmadinejad denies alleged Mossad plot to install him as Iran leader: What to know The former president, who was a virulent critic of Israel while in office, was reportedly part of a Mossad plan to replace the current Iranian leadership. Iran
Newsletter: Daily Briefing Why Iran, US are drifting back to conflict Trump hosts Iraqi PM Zaidi; Bahrain sentences 3 to life in prison over ties to Iran's IRGC; and more. By Ezgi Akin In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO
Interview Why Strait of Hormuz no longer rattles oil markets as much: IMF The fund's Middle East director, Jihad Azour, told Al-Monitor that the big Gulf energy producers now have more capacity to absorb the shock. Jihad Azour Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the International Monetary Fund
Analysis How UK's IRGC designation raises stakes for Iran and Europe By A correspondent in Tehran In Tehran, reporting on politics
Trump, Europeans push to keep space for Iran diplomacy after Saudi attacks Following strikes on Saudi oil facilities, Donald Trump stated his desire to avoid escalation with Iran. Saudi Arabia
Turkey at odds with US and Russia over northern Syria As Ankara loses ground in Idlib, President Erdogan’s threat of military action east of the Euphrates raises the stakes for Turkey. Syria
Iran defends strikes on Saudi oil facility but denies role While flatly denying any role in the twin strikes on Saudi oil facilities, Iran finds no drawback in firmly standing by the Shiite Houthi rebels for what it views as their exercise of the right to retaliate against Saudi attacks. Saudi Arabia
Self-proclaimed marja riles other Iranian ayatollahs Conservative ayatollahs in Qom, Iran, are losing patience with one of their own because he deems himself a marja, or top religious authority, and because of his secular leanings. Iran
Suspected Iranian strikes raise US concerns over Chinese missile proliferation The Donald Trump administration is concerned that US adversaries such as China are abetting Iran’s growing missile arsenal, which US officials believe was used in strikes against Saudi oil facilities over the weekend. Saudi Arabia
What the latest Astana summit tells us about Iran’s position on Syria Russia, Iran and Turkey continue to negotiate a settlement to the Syrian war that works to their advantage. Syria
US questions Iran’s assent to non-proliferation pact amid inspections Washington is challenging Tehran's commitment to global non-proliferation agreements, citing traces of uranium found at an Iranian site. United States
Iran's supreme leader says no talks with US 'at any level' Iran's supreme leader has dismissed talks with the United States, saying Washington is bound to proving the success of its "maximum pressure" policy by pushing Tehran to the negotiating table. Saudi Arabia
Intel: What’s behind Putin’s arms sale proposal to Saudis Putin's offer of defense missile systems for the Saudis was political but there's more to this in the runup to his visit to Riyadh. Saudi Arabia
How latest Astana talks between Turkey, Russia, Iran went beyond Syria What the Astana guarantors agreed upon in Ankara will have implications for Syria but the way the leaders communicated past each other each is even more telling. Saudi Arabia
Iraq works to distance itself from US-Iran tension after Saudi Aramco attack Baghdad is worried that the Sept. 14 attack on Saudi Arabia will affect Iraq's stability and relationship with neighboring countries. Legacy: Gulf
Sanders warns Trump against illegal Iran strike Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is warning Donald Trump that he does not have the legal authority to strike Iran. Saudi Arabia
