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

Iran cover image

Iran

October 7, 2026

Tehran 5:01 pm

29°C

smoke rising after a strike on the Iranian capital of Tehran

Satellite images could indicate return to activity at Iranian compound: Report

The images show renewed vehicle and earth-moving activity at an Iranian compound that Israel struck in March.

People gather during protest on Jan. 8, 2026 in Tehran

Analysis

Iran’s execution drive intensifies as war provides cover for repression

Iran has recently executed more protesters, raising fresh questions about how it is using wartime narratives and global inattention to reshape its approach toward dissent and instill societal fear.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Vessels transit the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of the port city of Bandar Abbas in southern Iran

Hormuz tanker attacks mount, putting oil flows at risk

Roughly a dozen reported attacks on tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz suggests Iran is once again dialing up the pressure as US economic sanctions plunge the rial to new lows.

Latest News

Iran’s economy deteriorates, oil minister resigns, workers protest: What to know

Iranian Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad looks on during the 27th Gas Exporting Countries Forum ministerial meeting, Doha, Qatar, Oct. 23, 2025.

Analysis

Why Trump-Xi summit did not move the China needle away from Iran

US President Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping hold a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office

Yun Sun

In Washington, DC, reporting on China-Middle East ties

Analysis

Gulf oil exports are back, but how durable is recovery?

nyse

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Analysis

After US exit, Iran gains space in Iraq and a harder balancing act

Members of Iraq's Hashed al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization) paramilitary forces stand guard during an election rally for the "Asaib Ahl al-Haq" movement in the capital Baghdad, on October 7, 2021.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

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

Missile fire is seen over Damascus, Syria January 21, 2019. SANA/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THIS IMAGE - RC14FC464120

Intel: What’s behind the escalation between Iran and Israel in Syria

Meet Iran’s next, non-turbaned head hard-liner

Despite his attacks on the Qom Seminary, Hassan Rahimpour Azghadi continues to rise as a prominent and popular figure among a new generation of hard-liners in Iran.

Polish Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Maciej Lang speaks during an interview with AFP at the Polish Embassy in the Iranian capital Tehran on January 21, 2019. - Lang met in Tehran today with his Iranian counterpart in an effort to solve a dispute over a conference his country is to host. He described as "constructive" his talks with Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi over the jointly organised conference with the United States on peace and security in the Middle East. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP

Senior Polish diplomat in Iran to mend ties amid Warsaw conference row

Poland's deputy foreign minister visited Tehran to assure Iranians that an upcoming controversial conference in Warsaw will not turn into an anti-Iran event.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad meets with Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Damascus, Syria September 3, 2018. SANA/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THIS IMAGE. - RC1F08842BC0

Drivers and barriers to Iran-US compromise in Syria

The best option for Iran in post-war Syria would be to bargain over a regional compromise aimed at establishing limited policy cooperation with all influential actors; however, to realize such a scenario it is necessary for the barriers to a compromise to be removed.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani listens during a news conference on the sidelines of the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York, U.S., September 26, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan Mcdermid - HP1EE9Q1DLYG4

Betraying Reformist backers, Rouhani paves way for Iran’s hard-liners to take office

After supporting President Rouhani in the past two elections, Reformists are breaking with the president in public ways.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during the Missile Defense Review announcement at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, U.S., January 17, 2019. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RC1B92AE1D40

Trump administration finds its Iran policy not working

The Trump administration conducted an internal assessment of its Iran “maximum pressure” policy this month and determined that it so far has been ineffective, according to a new report.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during the Missile Defense Review announcement at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, U.S., January 17, 2019. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RC1D4E23D950

Intel: How Trump used his missile defense rollout to take shots at Iran

President Trump chastised Iran for attempting to launch a satellite earlier this week and pledged the United States would take a harder line on Iran.

Can Iranian sovereign crypto-rial loosen sanctions straitjacket?

The United States is gearing up to sanction Iran’s sovereign cryptocurrency in anticipation of its introduction.

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on their ability to report, film or take pictures in Tehran.

Iran's Armed Forces Chief of Staff Hassan Firouzabadi (L) and Revolutionary guards commander Mohammad Ali Jafari salute during a parade to commemorate the anniversary of the Iran-Iraq war (1980-88), in Tehran September 22, 2011. REUTERS/Stringer (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY ANNIVERSARY) - GM1E79M1GOU01

IRGC head vows to protect military advisers in Syria

The head of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has responded to comments by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about successful Israeli strikes in Syria.

Netanyahu’s bravado endangers Israel

Ahead of the April elections, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has broken away from Israel’s traditional policy of ambiguity on military operations in neighboring countries, but his credit-taking could endanger Israeli lives.

An Iranian woman shops at a drugstore at the Nikan hospital in Tehran on September 11, 2018. - Judges at the International Court of Justice in The Hague unanimously ruled Washington should remove barriers to "the free exportation to Iran of medicines and medical devices, food and agricultural commodities" as well as airplane parts. Iran produces 96 percent of the drugs it uses, according to the Syndicate of Iranian Pharmaceutical Industries, but imports more than half the raw materials to make them. (Photo

How US sanctions intensify rent-seeking in Iran’s pharma sector

As US sanctions hit Iranian patients, it is becoming clear that the impact of the sanctions — including renewed opportunities for rent seeking — are also intensifying turf wars in the country’s pharmaceutical sector.

Iranian TV says American-born anchor detained in US

An American-born Iranian TV anchor working for Iran's state broadcaster says she has faced mistreatment after being detained upon arrival in the United States.