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

Iran cover image

Iran

October 2, 2026

Tehran 2:16 pm

27°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

France says Iran must return to nuclear deal compliance before US does

Paris backed up Washington after Russia’s government said the Biden administration must make the first move before Iran returns to compliance.

Iranian government spokesman Ali Rabiei speaks during a news conference in the capital Tehran on July 22, 2019. - Iran's seizure of a British-flagged oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz was a "legal measure", Rabiei said otoday.
Iran impounded the Stena Impero tanker on July 19, on allegations it failed to respond to distress calls and turned off its transponder after hitting a fishing boat. (Photo by str / AFP) (Photo credit should read STR/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran to restrict nuclear inspections unless sanctions lifted

Government spokesperson Ali Rabiei said Iran would start restricting short-notice inspections of its nuclear facilities beginning next month.

An Iranian man wearing a protective mask amid the COVID-19 pandemic, walks past a mural painted on the outer walls of the former US embassy in the capital Tehran, on December 30, 2020. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran urges US to end sanctions it says hinder vaccine access

Iran says sanctions imposed by former President Donald Trump are preventing the country from securing the COVID-19 vaccines it needs.

Iraqi youths watch an event celebrating the inauguration of a street named after the late Iraqi commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in the southern city of Basra on January 8, 2021, more than a year after a US drone strike killed Iran's revered commander Qasem Soleimani and his Iraqi lieutenant Muhandis (image) near the capital. (Photo by Hussein FALEH / AFP) (Photo by HUSSEIN FALEH/AFP via Getty Images)

Iraqi Kurdish officials call Iran's Soleimani film 'insult' to Peshmerga

Peshmerga that fought on the front lines against the Islamic State see the film as an "insult and belittling the role of Peshmergas."

TOPSHOT - Isreali Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at the Kohelet Policy Forum conference in Jerusalem, on January 8, 2020. - Netanyahu today warned Israel would strike a "resounding blow" if attacked by arch foe Iran, as regional tensions spike after the US killing of military commander Qasem Soleimani. (Photo by MENAHEM KAHANA / AFP) (Photo by MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images)

Netanyahu bristles in warning as Biden seeks reentry to Iran deal

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is hinting to the new US administration that reentering the original nuclear deal with Iran could spell Israeli military action.

A picture taken on February 19, 2020, shows a general view of the airport of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo upon the relaunch of commercial flights. (Photo by - / AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

As Syrian regime touts reopening, Iran continues to lurk at Aleppo airport

International air traffic has resumed at Aleppo International Airport, but it is believed to remain under the control of Iranian forces.

Iranian commander threatens to 'destroy' US ships

A general in Iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps made the provocative statement less than a week into Joe Biden's presidency. The new US president has said he wants to talk with Iran.

Picture shows Iranian supertanker Grace 1 off the coast of Gibraltar on August 15, 2019. - Gibraltar's Supreme Court ruled today to release an Iranian supertanker seized last month on suspicion of shipping oil to Syria in breach of EU sanctions, despite a last-minute US request to detain the vessel. (Photo by JORGE GUERRERO / AFP) (Photo by JORGE GUERRERO/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran demands answers from Indonesia over seized oil tanker

Indonesia seized an Iranian fuel tanker on Sunday, accusing the vessel of failing to respond to radio calls and disabling its identification system.

Twitter suspends account linked to Iran's supreme leader following threat against Trump

The social media giant also suspended an account from an Iran-backed Iraqi militia commander; these actions follow the suspension of Donald Trump's Twitter account earlier this month when he was still president.

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 20: U.S. President Joe Biden prepares to sign a series of executive orders at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office just hours after his inauguration on January 20, 2021 in Washington, DC. Biden became the 46th president of the United States earlier today during the ceremony at the U.S. Capitol. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Biden to talk Iran deal in early calls with foreign leaders, White House says

Incoming Biden administration officials have suggested a return to the nuclear deal is a long way off.

A health worker prepares an injection for a woman during the first trial phase of a locally-made Iranian vaccine for COVID-19 coronavirus disease in Iran's capital Tehran on December 29, 2020. (Photo by - / AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran to begin administering imported vaccines in February

Iranian officials have warned that the country is set to experience a fourth wave of the coronavirus.

WILMINGTON, DE - NOVEMBER 24: Secretary of State nominee Antony Blinken speaks after being introduced by President-elect Joe Biden as he introduces key foreign policy and national security nominees and appointments at the Queen Theatre on November 24, 2020 in Wilmington, Delaware. As President-elect Biden waits to receive official national security briefings, he is announcing the names of top members of his national security team to the public. Calls continue for President Trump to concede the election as

The Takeaway: Who goes first in return to Iran nuclear deal?

Iran President Hassan Rouhani says ‘we are ready’; US Secretary of State designate Blinken says Iranian compliance, consultations with allies critical to new deal; Al-Monitor archive interviews with two members of Biden team; Egypt’s animal problems.