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June 12, 2026

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Members of the Iranian national soccer team including midfielder Alireza Jahanbakhsh (R) arrive at Tijuana International Airport on June 7, 2026, in Tijuana, Mexico.

Culture

World Cup opens amid visa disputes for Iran, Iraq and Somalia

Iran says a number of team staff were denied entry into the US, with Trump administration officials touting efforts to prevent affiliates of designated terrorist groups from entering.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Bessent says Iran's frozen assets will pay for Gulf damage, Hormuz tolls

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that any damage Iran inflicts on Gulf allies will be paid for with funds extracted from Iranian accounts.

Scott Olson/Getty Images

Explainer

US strategic oil stockpile nears four-decade low as Iran war drags on

The US Strategic Petroleum Reserve fell to 349.2 million barrels amid the global energy shock caused by the war in Iran.

President Donald Trump speaks to the press before boarding Air Force One prior to departure from John F. Kennedy International Airport, in New York, on June 9, 2026.

Trump weighs releasing billions to Iran after blasting past payments

As mediators scramble to broker a peace deal, a key hurdle remains the release of Iranian assets frozen under US sanctions.

Latest News

Trump vows continued ‘very hard’ strikes on Iran as negotiators leave Qatar

Samuel Corum/Getty Images

Trump launches new airstrikes on Iran as deal stalls

In this US Navy released handout, an F/A-18E Super Hornet, attached to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 14, prepares to take off from the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) in support of Operation Epic Fury on March 1, 2026 at Sea.

US, Iran trade strikes after downing of Apache helicopter: What to know

In this US Navy released handout, an F/A-18F Super Hornet, attached to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 41, makes an arrested landing on the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in support of Operation Epic Fury, Feb. 28, 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

Video surfaces of detained US businessman in Iran

A year after the arrest of Iranian-American businessman Siamak Namazi, a video has appeared on social media with new footage of him.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani attends a meeting during the Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) summit at the Foreign Ministry in Bangkok, Thailand, October 10, 2016. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha - RTSRK1N

Why Rouhani won't halt costly cash handouts anytime soon

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is unlikely to discontinue the monthly cash handouts paid to most Iranians any time soon, despite the payouts' steep costs.

Ron Arad, an Israeli air force navigator missing since he bailed out over Lebanon in 1986, is seen in this undated handout picture released by Israel's Channel One on July 13, 2008. Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah group will exchange prisoners beginning on Wednesday under a U.N.-mediated deal, Israel's Prisons Service said on Sunday. A report on Arad's fate was handed over to Israel as part of the agreement. REUTERS/Handout ISRAEL OUT. ISRAEL OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN ISRAEL. FOR EDITORIAL U

30 years on, fate of Israeli air force officer remains a mystery

Three decades after IDF navigator Ron Arad ejected from his jet in Lebanon, Israelis still cannot be sure of his fate and cannot heal from the trauma that left such a deep scar on both the military and civil society.

Smoke rises from the community hall where Saudi-led warplanes struck a funeral in Sanaa, the capital of Yemen on October 9, 2016. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah/File Photo - RTSRJA4

Will Obama push for Yemen cease-fire?

The United States, which fired cruise missiles at rebel radar sites in Yemen on Oct. 13 after missiles were fired at a US warship, needs to push for an immediate cessation of hostilities in Yemen before things get even more out of hand.

Iran's head of Atomic Energy Organisation (IAEO) Ali Akbar Salehi (L) talks with the Head of the Central Bank of Iran, Valiollah Seif, as they arrive for a press conference of Iranian President on January 17, 2016 in the capital Tehran after international sanctions on Iran were lifted.

President Hassan Rouhani said that sceptics who said a nuclear deal with world powers would not bring benefits to Iran were all proven wrong.

/ AFP / ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Im

Why Iran’s banking shake-up won't be enough

The first shake-up of Iran's banking sector in three decades is only the first step toward supporting the economy.

Iranian Shiite Muslims chant in western Tehran on October 12, 2016, during the annual Ashura commemorations marking the killing of Imam Hussein, the grandson of Islam's Prophet Mohammed in 680AD. / AFP / ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)

Iranian eulogist in trouble for saying Imam Hussein used to swear

A eulogist stirred strong reactions and possible legal consequences after a televised interview in which he described how Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, used to swear.

Iranian pop singer Mohsen Yeghaneh (C) performs on stage during the 31th Fajr International Music Festival at the Milad hall in the capital Tehran, on February 17, 2016. / AFP / ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)

Rouhani’s opponents take aim at concerts

The continuing controversies surrounding the holding of concerts in Iran appear to have less to do with Islam and more to do with the country’s upcoming presidential vote.

Iranian fans wave a religious banner to mark Ashura, which marks the death of Prophet Mohammed's grandson Imam Hussein in the seventh century, during the 2018 World Cup qualifying football match between Iran and South Korea at the Azadi Stadium in Tehran on October 11, 2016. / AFP / ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)

Grieving Iranians beat South Korea in soccer

After weeks of debate over the confluence of the Iran-South Korea soccer match and the most significant Islamic holiday for Shiite Muslims, Iran beat South Korea — while people cheered and mourned simultaneously.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu (R) and Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif shake hands following a joint press conference at the Foreign Ministry in Ankara on August 12, 2016. / AFP / ADEM ALTAN (Photo credit should read ADEM ALTAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Is Turkey ditching Saudi Arabia for Iran?

The recent string of high-level meetings between Iranian and Turkish officials suggests that the two regional powerhouses may be moving closer on Syria.

A view of Zalikan Camp in Bashiqa, October 6, 2016. Picture taken October 6, 2016. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani - RTSR6ML

Turks blame US, Iran for encouraging Baghdad against Ankara

Turkey's opinion-makers think Iraq isn’t acting alone in its calls for Turkish troops to leave a camp near Mosul.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani attends a meeting during the Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) summit at the Foreign Ministry in Bangkok, Thailand, October 10, 2016. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha - RTSRK1N

Five reasons Rouhani will be president for another term

With former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad apparently sidelined by the supreme leader, Rouhani seems set for a second term in office.

German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel and Iranian economy minister Ali Tayebnia sign contracts during a conference in Tehran, Iran October 3, 2016. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke - RTSQIGL

Finance minister says Iran seeks 'resilient' economy

Iran's Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance Ali Tayebnia tells Al-Monitor that Iran is boosting non-oil exports, unifying its exchange rate and increasing the independence of its Central Bank and that remaining US sanctions are the main impediment to Iranian-American investment.