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

Iran cover image

Iran

May 9, 2026

Tehran 5:29 am

17°C

Traffic passes a billboard depicting Iranian ballistic missiles in service, with text in Arabic reading "the honest [person's] promise" and in Persian "Israel is weaker than a spider's web," Valiasr Square, Tehran, April 15, 2024. ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images.

Analysis

CIA report on Iran missiles undercuts Netanyahu as war euphoria dissipates

The findings cast doubt on Israel’s wartime gains and put pressure on Netanyahu’s campaign strategy ahead of elections.

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

Getty

US strikes Iran tankers as UAE reports fresh missile, drone attacks

Strikes on Iranian tankers and fresh exchanges in the Gulf escalate tensions as Washington awaits Tehran’s response to a deal proposal.

In this picture obtained from Iran's ISNA news agency on May 4, 2026, the Iran-flagged tugboat Basim sails near a ship anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas in southern Iran.

What to know about Iran's 'Persian Gulf Strait Authority' to control Hormuz traffic

The establishment of an entity seeking to control maritime transportation in the Strait of Hormuz is the latest sign that Iran wants to formalize authority in the strategic waterway.

Latest News

US sets expectations for Iraq’s next PM to confront Iranian militias

Popular Mobilization Forces

Analysis

China shores up Iran support as Trump seeks exit

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi of Iran meeting with Foreign Minister Wang Yi of China in Beijing on May 6, 2026. Credit: Telegram

Joyce Karam

Iran president says he held official meeting with Mojtaba Khamenei: What to know

An Iranian woman holds up an image of Iran's new supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei.

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

Al-Qaeda is using Iran as safe haven, says State Department report

Nathan Sales, ambassador-at-large and the US coordinator for counterterrorism, describes Iran's connections to al-Qaeda as "no surprise."

Iranian men wearing face masks are pictured at a metro station in the capital Tehran on June 10, 2020 amid the coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic crisis. - Nearly one in five Iranians may have been infected with the novel coronavirus since the country's outbreak started in February, a health official said yesterday. The figure represents 18.75 percent of the more than 80 million population of Iran, which on June 9 announced another 74 deaths from the coronavirus. (Photo by STRINGER / AFP) (Photo by STRINGER/AFP

Iran passes 10,000 COVID-19 deaths

Iran's president says citizens must wear masks as part of a “new phase” of dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.

Syrian demonstrators look at a poster bearing the portraits of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (C-R) and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (C) in the central Saadallah al-Jabiri square in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on January 7, 2020, to mourn and condemn the death of Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani (portrait-L), and nine others in a US air strike in Baghdad. (Photo by - / AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran hunkers down in Syria after Caesar Act sanctions

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps says it has no backup plan and is not leaving Syria.

Rouhani says talks with US possible any moment after ‘apology’

While Iran’s hard-liners have persistently warned against any compromise with the Donald Trump administration, President Hassan Rouhani said he is ready for talks even before the upcoming US presidential elections.

Relatives and colleagues of the 11 Ukrainians who died in a plane mistakenly shot down by Iran in January, lay flowers during a ceremony unveiling a memorial stone at the site of the future monument at the Boryspil International airport outside Kiev on February 17, 2020. (Photo by Sergei SUPINSKY / AFP) (Photo by SERGEI SUPINSKY/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran to hand over to France black boxes from downed Ukrainian plane

Iran is ultimately promising to loosen its hold on the black boxes from the Ukrainian plane it shot down with two missiles in January.

General Electric helps increase electricity generation in Iraq

Power stations that General Electric helped develop and improved exploitation of natural gas boost Iraq's energy infrastructure as the country seeks alternatives to imported energy from Iran.

A labourer puts up banners depicting U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, part of a new campaign by the umbrella Yesha Jewish settler council bearing the words in Hebrew, "No to a Palestinian State" and "Sovereignty Do it right!", in Jerusalem June 10, 2020. REUTERS/Ammar Awad - RC2B6H9W3TZP

Israel-Iran conflict enters tense waiting period until US election in November

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is praying for US President Donald Trump to win reelection, but security experts worry that he might lose interest in the Iran conflict.

Iranian food ship docks in Venezuela

It is the latest example of cooperation between the two countries in the face of US opposition.

TOPSHOT - Forensic investigators carry the body of Iranian judge Gholamreza Mansour who died after a falling from high in a hotel atrium in Bucharest June 19, 2020. - "An investigation is underway," a police spokesman told AFP, confirming that the deceased was the Iranian judge Gholamreza Mansouri. (Photo by OCTAV GANEA / AFP) (Photo by OCTAV GANEA/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran seeks answers in death of fugitive judge

The Iranian judiciary seeks answers after a fugitive judge fell from a hotel window in Bucharest.

Parliament alone cannot stop honor killings in Iran

While legislation aimed at combatting honor killings in Iran is certainly needed, the country must also address broader issues involving policy failings and social norms.

Michael White, a freed U.S. Navy veteran detained in Iran since 2018, poses with U.S. Special Envoy for Iran Brian Hook while on his return to the United States at Zurich Airport in Zurich, Switzerland June 4, 2020. U.S. State Department/Handout via REUTERS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. THIS IMAGE WAS PROCESSED BY REUTERS TO ENHANCE QUALITY, AN UNPROCESSED VERSION HAS BEEN PROVIDED SEPARATELY. - RC2K2H90N3HH

Can Trump secure release of all US hostages in Iran?

Another prisoner exchange between Iran and the United States seems possible after two in just six months, but the previous exchanges have not generated any mutual trust.

Iraq summons Turkey, Iran as operations against Kurdish groups continue

Turkey cites past agreements for its operations against the Kurdistan Workers Party in Iraq, while Iran is also targeting Kurdish groups in the country.