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

Iran cover image

Iran

October 1, 2026

Tehran 9:13 pm

24°C

A Caspian Airlines McDonnell Douglas MD-83 lands at Sabiha Gokcen Airport in Istanbul, Turkey, on Aug. 17, 2014.

Turkey seizes Iran’s Caspian Airlines jet over $3.4M debt

The court-ordered seizure at Istanbul Airport comes as Iranian carriers face mounting pressure from sweeping new US aviation sanctions.

A woman crosses a street near a giant billboard erected on the facade of a building depicting a member of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps placing his foot on a US sea drone, reportedly seized by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz, in Vanak Square in Tehran, on Sept. 24, 2026.

Analysis

As Iran’s grip on Hormuz weakens, what leverage does Tehran have left?

Six months into the war, Iran's grip on the Strait of Hormuz is weakening. The world is slowly learning to live with it, oil flows are recovering, alternative routes are expanding and Tehran's own economy is bearing the cost of keeping the waterway under pressure.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Iranian-made Zolfaghar missiles are seen on display beside a large portrait of Iran's supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei at Baharestan Square in Tehran on Sept. 28, 2026.

After indirect talks, new US sanctions target Iran's weapons supply

The latest sanctions come after the two sides held another round of indirect talks over a possible deal to end the war.

Saudi stocks hit wartime low as Aramco slides, Gulf oil exports rebound

Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All-Share Index fell 1.17% on Tuesday, dragged down by oil giant Aramco, as investors digested signs that Gulf oil exports are recovering.

Latest News

Iran’s rial hits record low as pressure on oil exports mounts

A man counts Iranian rial notes

Iran’s IRGC slams Trump as Ghalibaf threatens oil infrastructure

Ghalibaf

Iraq announces Iran flights to resume: What to know

An Airbus A321 airliner arrives at the Mehrabad international airport during the delivery of the first batch of planes to the Iranian state airline Iran Air in the capital Tehran on Jan. 12, 2017.

New US aircraft carrier heads to Middle East as Iran war stretches on

In this handout released by the US Navy on July 15, 2010, the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) transits the Pacific Ocean.

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

Three protesters killed during demonstrations against the water crisis are seen, from left to right: Ali Mazraeh, killed in Ahvaz, Mostafa Naeemawi, killed in Shadegan and Qasem Khozeiri killed in Kut Abdollah.

Iranians protesting water crisis killed in southwest Khuzestan province

After protests, officials have promised to address the water issue in Iran’s southwest region.

SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images

Netanyahu reportedly urged Trump to attack Iran

The New Yorker has revealed former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's role in former US President Donald Trump's push to strike Iran during his final days in office.

ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

Whither the Iran nuclear deal? Ask Raisi

Rouhani has transfered JCPOA file to Iran’s new hard-line president, who just might close the deal.

Facebook logos

Facebook says Iranian hackers spied on US military personnel using fake accounts

The social media company said the hackers baited targets into clicking on malicious links that would infect their devices with malware.

iranian weapons afghanistan 1998

Grand ayatollah warns against Iran's Taliban approach

The rare criticism came as the Iranian establishment is accused of attempting to canonize the Taliban amid shifting regional dynamics.

Jemal Countess/Getty Images

Iran calls US kidnapping allegations 'Hollywood-like'

The US government has accused Iran of seeking to kidnap an American journalist in New York, but the Iranian Foreign Ministry called the allegations "ridiculous."

Jen Psaki

US says nuclear talks to continue, despite alleged Iran kidnapping plot

State Department spokesman Ned Price said Washington is "ready to go" ahead with talks, after Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the task of renegotiating the deal had been handed over to the next administration.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani (C) addresses parliament in the capital, Tehran, on Sept. 3, 2019.

Rouhani says nuclear talks will be handed to successor

Iran's president said the next administration will take up the nuclear negotiations.

Journalist and Author Masih Alinejad.

Who is Masih Alinejad, target of an alleged Iranian kidnapping plot?

Prosecutors say the four Iranian defendants plotted to forcibly take the Brooklyn-based author and activist to Iran where her "fate would have been uncertain at best.”

A picture taken on June 20, 2018, shows a propaganda billboard for the pro-Iran Hezbollah Brigades militia.

IRGC official urged Iraq militias to continue hitting US, report

The IRGC intelligence chief's visit to Iraq last week followed one by top commander Ismail Ghaani.

Valentine's Day display in Tehran

Iran rolls out matchmaking app to curb declining birthrate

The Hamdan app aims to create "healthy" families and pair "bachelors seeking permanent marriage” with a wife.

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (L) meets with the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi

Zarif's final defense for Iran deal infuriates hard-liners

Iran's foreign minister faced scathing attacks from hard-liners in parliament after his upbeat assessment of the status of the nuclear talks.