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

Iran cover image

Iran

August 16, 2026

Tehran 3:01 pm

38°C

A Baluch Iranian man rides a bicycle

Analysis

Why Iran is intensifying wartime crackdown in restive Baluchistan

A string of security operations in Iran's southeast has underscored Tehran's enduring fears that wartime instability could aggravate longstanding ethnic, sectarian and economic grievances.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Motorists drive vehicles past a billboard depicting Iran's late supreme leader Ali Khamenei along a street in central Tehran on August 8, 2026. Hopes for an imminent US-Iran deal to end the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz added to optimism that oil and gas, along with other key products, would again start flowing freely after more than five months of war. But oil prices turned higher ahead of the weekend in the absence of any confirmation of an accord, amid reports that Iran was planning to block US and Is

Explainer

What would BRICS Bank membership mean for Iran's reeling economy?

Iran’s Central Bank governor said the country will soon join the New Development Bank as he traveled to India this week for a meeting of the group’s finance leaders.

A photograph obtained from the Iranian Students’ News Agency shows an oil slick along the southern coast of Qeshm Island, Iran, August 13, 2026.

Oil spills off Oman, Iran's Qeshm Island reap environmental havoc amid war

One oil leak off the coast of Oman is estimated to cover more than 772 square miles, devastating local habitats.

Latest News

Iran’s Hormuz authority denies Trump claims of control over strait: What to know

Children swimming in the Strait of Hormuz

Hormuz traffic sinks to one-week low as ships attacked, talks stagnate

port attack

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

Man poses in front of on a display showing the word 'cyber' in binary code, in this picture illustration taken in Zenica December 27, 2014. A previously undisclosed hacking campaign against military targets in Israel and Europe is probably backed by a country that misused security-testing software to cover its tracks and enhance its capability, researchers said. Picture taken December 27, 2014. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic (BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA - Tags: SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY CRIME LAW TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR4JEYI

How nuclear deal has cooled Iran-US cyberwar

Once-threatening cyberattacks between the United States and Iran appear to have slowed since the countries reached a nuclear pact.

Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami (R) receives an award from U.S. director Martin Scorsese during the closing ceremony of the 5th Marrakesh International Film Festival in Marrakesh, Morocco, November 19, 2005. REUTERS/Andrea Comas/File Photo - RTX2JPDJ

Iran mourns its greatest filmmaker

Even the conservative media outlets that once criticized Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami are now lamenting the loss of a national treasure.

(L-R) Iran's President Hassan Rouhani, Russia's President Vladimir Putin and Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov pose for a picture before their meeting at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Dushanbe September 12, 2014. REUTERS/Mikhail Klimentyev/RIA Novosti/Kremlin (TAJIKISTAN - Tags: POLITICS) THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS - RTR45ZQI

Does Iran need to join Shanghai Cooperation Organization?

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization has not moved to bring in Iran, though the international sanctions the organization said precluded it have been lifted.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan chats with passengers at the international departure terminal during his visit to Ataturk airport in Istanbul, Turkey, July 2, 2016. REUTERS/Seda Sezer - RTX2JEBA

Erdogan’s latest wake-up call on Islamic State

The Obama administration weighs deeper coordination with Moscow against Jabhat al-Nusra; Erdogan’s slow turnaround on Syria policy; Hamas seeks to resume ties with Iran.

Iranian student confronts Khamenei over treatment of critics

University student Mohammad Ali Kamfirouzi questioned Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on how the country should deal with those who voice criticism of the government.

Iranians walk past a branch of Bank Melli in Tehran on January 23, 2012. Top European Union diplomats are meeting in Brussels to tighten existing sanctions on Iran by banning imports of Iranian crude as well as targeting finance, petrochemicals and gold to pressure the country. AFP PHOTO/ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)

Will leaked payslips scandal bring down Rouhani?

Iranians are more outraged by the day over revelations of exorbitant pay for executives at state-controlled banks and insurance firms as the fallout from their leaked payslips continues.

An Iranian sniper stands on a hill as a helicopter flies overhead in military manoeuvres in western Iran, September 18, 2004. The manoeuvre by Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards are taking place near the border with Iraq. REUTERS/Fars News Agency MN/DBP - RTRB3OE

Why Iranian Kurdish party is stepping up fight against Tehran

The Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan broke the two-decade cease-fire by launching attacks on IRGC forces, which triggered Iranian attacks against Iraqi Kurdistan.

An unemployed labourer smokes a cigarette as he waits for a job offer on a sidewalk in Tehran, Iran January 20, 2016. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi/TIMA ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. - RTX238JA

Fed up with talk, Iranians demand action on jobs

Three years into his term, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is running out of time to fulfill his campaign promise of lowering unemployment.

After 20-year break, these Iranian Kurds are taking up arms again

In a surprise development, the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran, which has not used guns against the Iranian regime for 20 years, has resumed fighting, reportedly instigated by regional powers.

A woman waits behind the entrance door of the German branch of the Bank Saderat Iran in the northern German town of Hamburg August 18, 2010. Picture taken August 18, 2010. REUTERS/Christian Charisius (GERMANY - Tags: BUSINESS) - RTR2HPYU

Four heads of Iranian banks fired for high salaries

The chiefs of four banks in Iran were removed after the exorbitant salaries of senior government executives were published anonymously on social media.

David Lipton, First Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), speaks at a news conference in Beijing, China, June 14, 2016. REUTERS/Jason Lee - RTX2G3KI

Senior American at IMF says Iran faces 'fundamental' economic choices

A year after the nuclear accord was reached, a top official at the International Monetary Fund said he was impressed on his first visit to Iran by the desire of senior officials there to reform the Iranian economy but that they need to do more to insure sustainable growth.

Iran forges ahead with Atlantic ambitions

Iran moves forward with its plans to establish a naval presence in the Atlantic Ocean, announcing progress in the construction of new frigates.