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Iran

July 30, 2026

Tehran 4:45 pm

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In this handout photo provided by the US Navy, Two F/A-18 Super Hornets launch from the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) in support of Operation Epic Fury on March 3, 2026 in the Mediterranean Sea.

US carries out strikes in southern Iran after IRGC attack on Jordan airbase

The US says the strikes were retaliation for an attempted IRGC ballistic missile attack on a US airbase in Jordan as Iranian state media report explosions in the country's south.

A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on July 24, 2026, in New York.

Oil jumps 8% as US-Iran war pressures Saudi Arabia, explosions hit Egypt

The price of benchmark Brent crude climbed past $90 per barrel on Wednesday after a renewed round of US-Iran hostilities shattered a days-long lull in fighting and the Houthis targeted Saudi oil exports.

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Exclusive

Saudi Arabia to announce Red Sea coalition to counter Houthi threats

Houthi soldiers stand guard on a missile carrier during an official military parade marking the ninth anniversary of the Houthi takeover of the capital, Sanaa, on Sept. 21, 2023.

Amberin Zaman

Jared Szuba

By Amberin Zaman , Jared Szuba

Analysis

Katz riles Iran, US as Netanyahu-Trump meeting raises questions

Win McNamee/Getty Images

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

US, Saudi Arabia strike Iran-aligned militias in Iraq as IRGC targets US forces in Jordan

An EA-18G Growler assigned to Electric Attack Squadron (VAQ) 137 lands aboard the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) while the ship is moored in Honolulu, Hawaii, during Exercise RIMPAC (Rim of the Pacific) 2026 on July 17, 2026.

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

Smoke billows following an Iranian cross-border attack in the area of Zargwez.

US confirms American citizen killed in Iranian rocket attack in Iraq

Omar Mahmoudzadeh's family confirmed to Al-Monitor that he died in an Iranian strike Thursday in the Iraqi-Kurdish town of Koya.

Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

US unveils new sanctions targeting Iran’s oil sales

The Biden administration on Thursday blacklisted entities in China, Hong Kong, Iran, India and the United Arab Emirates over their alleged involvement in Iran’s petrochemical trade.

Iran protest

The Takeaway: Iran's protesters shift to rooftops in response to crackdown

Iran strikes Kurds in Iraq; Turkish drones complicate Central Asia disputes; cosmetic surgery booms in Syria; Egypt pushes reef protection ahead of COP27; and the politics behind Israel PM backing two-state solution.

Iran shop

Iran says enemies causing ‘sedition’ in the country with protests

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi calls recent protests “sedition," and police arrest a former president's daughter.

Smoke billows on the horizon in the village of Altrun Kupri, in the Sherawa region, south of Erbil in Iraq's Kurdistan, where a base of the Kurdistan Freedom Party is located, on Sept. 28, 2022.

Tehran strikes Kurdish opponents in Iraq as protests over Mahsa Amini’s death convulse Iran

Iran ramps up its bombing campaign in northern Iraq in what Iraqi Kurds argue is an attempt to divert the world's attention from the killing of Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini.

A woman reacts as she takes part in a protest over the death in custody of Mahsa Amini.

Mounting deaths in Iran protests as internet blackout drags on

As protests entered a 12th day, the government's deadly crackdown under severe internet disruptions appeared to have failed to soothe the boiling anger.

No Bears

Acclaimed Iranian filmmaker collects awards in prison

When Jafar Panahi’s "No Bears" won a prize at the 2022 Venice Film Festival, cast members had to accept it on his behalf, as the dissident Iranian director has been behind bars in Tehran since July.

A picture obtained by AFP outside Iran on Sept. 21, 2022, shows Iranian demonstrators taking to the streets of the capital Tehran during a protest for Mahsa Amini, days after she died in police custody.

Iran says it will prosecute those who encourage protests

In an attempt to quell widespread protests, Iran is now warning that those who encourage protests will be held liable.

Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian listens during a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart at the foreign ministry headquarters in Iran's capital Tehran on June 23, 2022.

Interview

Iran ‘ready to provide answers’ on nuclear probes, FM says

In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian discusses the nuclear talks, the prospects for a prisoner exchange and the protests following the death of Mahsa Amini.

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian

Foreign Minister of Iran

Iran protest

US lets firms expand internet services in Iran amid blackout

The American move to support internet freedom in Iran comes as protests continue over the death of Mahsa Amini.

A picture obtained by AFP outside Iran shows demonstrators gathering around a burning barricade during a protest for Mahsa Amini, a woman who died after being arrested by the Islamic republic's "morality police", in Tehran on Sept. 19, 2022.

Iran intensifies crackdown on protests amid internet outage

Videos trickled in of Iranian police opening fire on protesters, who appeared to be standing their ground despite a nationwide internet blackout.

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.

No indication Iran has softened position on nuclear probes, US says

As those involved in the stalled nuclear talks converge at the UN General Assembly, a senior US official says Tehran is 'doubling down' on its position.