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

Iran cover image

Iran

July 1, 2026

Tehran 8:42 am

26°C

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian listens during a joint press conference alongside Armenia's Prime Minister in Yerevan on August 19, 2025.

Analysis

Why Iran's Pezeshkian is facing an uphill battle in postwar diplomacy

As President Masoud Pezeshkian's administration advances dialogue with Washington, its fiercer contest is in the corridors of power within the Islamic Republic itself.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Shia Muslim devotees gather for a mourning ritual near the shrine of Hassan Nasrallah, the slain leader of the Lebanese Shia movement Hezbollah who was killed in a 2024 Israeli-airstrike, in Beirut's southern suburbs on June 26, 2026 at the peak of Ashura, a 10-day period commemorating the seventh century killing of Prophet Mohammed's grandson Imam Hussein. (Photo by JOSEPH EID / AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

For Israel, Lebanon deal 'historic' despite fears Hezbollah will rebuild

While the deal with Lebanon allows the Israeli military to maintain a presence there, security experts warn that it also gives the weakened Hezbollah the time it needs to recover.

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

Members of the crowd wave Iranian flags during a funeral procession held for IRGC Navy Chief Alireza Tangsiri.

3 IRGC members killed in twin attacks as Iran intensifies Kurdish crackdown

At least three members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps were killed in separate armed attacks across Iran, including one in western Iran near the border with Iraqi Kurdistan, where authorities have intensified their crackdown on Kurdish groups.

Latest News

Oman's sultan meets Macron in first France visit since 1989: What to know

French President Emmanuel Macron (L) and Oman's Sultan Haitham bin Tarik pose during a meeting with business leaders in Paris on June 29, 2026.

Traffic plummets through Strait of Hormuz after Iran, US trade fire

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

A picture taken on Nov. 10, 2019, shows an Iranian flag in Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant, during an official ceremony to kick-start works on a second reactor at the facility.

Iran, Europe gamble on fresh talks in Geneva to resolve nuclear deal deadlock

The upcoming negotiations in Geneva follow a two-year hiatus in Iran's nuclear diplomacy, reviving cautious optimism regarding potential economic relief while also highlighting the pressure Tehran is facing in the wake of Donald Trump's new tenure.

Majid Saeedi/Getty Images

Iran promises response 'beyond imagination' to Israeli strikes even as deal looms

A month after Israel's Oct. 26 strikes on Iran, Iranian officials are ramping up discussions of a response to the attack.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps special forces fire a short-range missile during a military drill in the Gulf of Oman near Iranian southern port town of Bandar-e-Jask on Tuesday, April 4, 2006.

Iran and Azerbaijan hold joint military drills in sign of easing tensions

Iran and Azerbaijan are at odds over the planned Zangezur Corridor through Armenia, as well as Baku’s relations with Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C)

Iran’s Khamenei says Netanyahu must face death penalty, ICC warrant 'not enough'

In his first comment on the ICC’s decision to issue arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense chief, Yoav Gallant, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said a death sentence must be issued for the Israeli leaders, not arrest warrants.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks after casting his vote for the presidential runoff election on July 5, 2024, in Tehran, Iran.

Analysis

Is Iran's Khamenei signaling readiness for new deal as Trump threat looms large?

Iran's supreme leader appears to be exercising pragmatism and reintroducing his "heroic flexibility," as his top aide says the stalled nuclear deal was "not written in stone" and that Tehran remains open to a new accord with the incoming Trump administration.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

A man walks past a mural depicting slain commander of the IRGC's Quds Force Qasem Soleimani in Caracas, Venezuela, on April 26, 2024.

Iran defense chief visits Venezuela, talks energy, trade: What we know

Iran and Venezuela are working to repair oil ties after the reimposition of US sanctions on the South American country and the looming return of President Donald Trump to the White House.

A picture taken on November 10, 2019, shows an Iranian flag in Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant, during an official ceremony to kick-start works on a second reactor at the facility. - Bushehr is Iran's only nuclear power station and is currently running on imported fuel from Russia that is closely monitored by the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

IAEA censures Iran over nuclear activity

Out of its 35 member countries, 19 voted in favor of the resolution, 12 abstained, while China, Russia and Burkina Faso voted against it.

Chinese President Xi Jinping (shakes hands with Saudi Arabian Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud at the G20 Summit on Sept. 4, 2016, in Hangzhou, China.

Saudi Arabia, Iran, China slam Israel at Riyadh meeting: What we know

The China-Saudi Arabia-Iran Trilateral Joint Committee met for the second time in the Saudi capital, more than a year after the Chinese-brokered deal that resumed relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Iran's head of the Atomic Energy Organization, Mohammad Eslami, speaks during a joint press conference with the United Nations nuclear chief in Tehran on Nov. 14, 2024.

Iran threatens 'proportionate' response as IAEA censure looms

Iranian officials have repeatedly denied pursuit of nuclear weapons. In recent months, however, the rhetoric from state media and hard-liners has increasingly shifted.

ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

After UAE visit, Qatari PM holds talks in Iran as Hamas officials depart Doha

A Gulf political official told Al-Monitor on Wednesday that the Qatari prime minister's visit to the UAE is designed to communicate Doha's new policy toward Hamas, where it seeks to be more in alignment with them regarding the group.

Grossi

IAEA's Grossi denies Netanyahu claim Israel hit Iran nuclear facility

International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi denied Israel's contention that a shuttered Iranian nuclear facility had restarted activity at the military complex it struck in Parchin, Iran.

Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency Rafael Grossi speaks during the International Conference on Nuclear Science and Technology in Isfahan, on May 7, 2024.

Iran offers few concessions ahead of likely censure at IAEA meeting

The E3, with the support of the US, is set to introduce a resolution to censure Iran claiming that Iran has not complied with requirements outlined by the international community regarding its nuclear program.