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
Israeli strikes raise questions about US presence in Iraq A suspected Israeli strike against an Iran-backed convoy in Iraq has raised political doubts about the long-term American troop presence there. Iraq
Israel pays the price for sidelining Europe on the Iranian file The latest visit of Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Biarritz indicates that France is willing to offer Israel a respite on the Palestinian issue, but not on the Iranian file. Israel
Tehran stock market rally likely to continue Iran’s stock market is recovering dramatically as subsidized exchange rates are reduced, commodities are deregulated and certain prices are brought in line with inflation. Iran
Rouhani backpedals on suggestion of talks with Trump The Iranian president has conditioned any meeting with his US counterpart on sanctions removal, a clear shift from an earlier statement that he was prepared for any meeting that might help his country. United States
Will Iran-backed factions attack US troops in Iraq? Pro-Iranian militias in the Popular Mobilization Units are calling for taking strong action against the United States and for even targeting its presence in Iraq. Iraq
Netanyahu’s worst nightmare: a Trump-Rouhani meeting The G-7 statement by US President Donald Trump about Iran changing is the worst nightmare Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could have ever imagined. Israel
Trump leans into Macron's Iran diplomacy, open to meet Rouhani US President Donald Trump welcomed French President Emmanuel Macron’s proposal to try to arrange a meeting between Trump and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to discuss prospects for a new deal in the coming weeks. United States
Hard-liners lack evidence for dual nationality charges against Rouhani officials For years, hard-liners have claimed a large number of Rouhani administration officials held dual nationality, but a recently released parliamentary report on the matter provided no evidence to back this up. Iran
Rouhani defends Zarif’s G-7 appearance Conservative Iranian media outlets found much to criticize in Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif’s surprise arrival at the G-7 meeting, but President Hassan Rouhani is standing by the move. United States
Gaza’s Islamic Jihad openly at the service of Iran Hamas no longer tries to conceal the growing involvement of Iran in Gaza through its proxy Islamic Jihad. Palestine
Israel zeroes in on Iran’s Soleimani Recent Israeli attacks in Syria and Lebanon sent a clear message to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad: Syria won’t be reconstructed as long as it harbors Iranian proxies. Iraq
US influence on the line if Israel has 'free hand' to bomb Iraq Israeli attacks in Iraq signal need for some red lines with Iran. Iraq
