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

Iran cover image

Iran

October 14, 2026

Tehran 8:03 pm

26°C

Ships are docked along a pier at the Khor Fakkan Container Terminal, the only natural deep-sea port in the region and one of the major container ports in Sharjah Emirate, along the Gulf of Oman on July 14, 2026.

Analysis

What's behind Iran’s intensifying attacks on shipping in Hormuz?

With renewed tanker attacks, Tehran is betting to make Hormuz passage costly enough for Washington and strengthen the tool with election-related pressure President Trump is currently facing.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

This picture shows the border wall between Iran and Afghanistan at the Milak border crossing near the town of Zabol, in the southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchistan bordering Afghanistan, on Dec. 17, 2025.

Iran’s IRGC says 5 killed in Baluchistan after dismantling ‘militant cell’: What to know

Iran’s IRGC announced a new operation against armed militants in the southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchistan, which is witnessing almost daily attacks and clashes.

A giant electoral poster for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party with the slogan "no surrender" is displayed on the facade of a building in Tel Aviv on Sept. 29, 2026

Exclusive

In bid to win over Saudi Arabia, Netanyahu may strike Yemen before elections

Attacks on Iran or its Yemeni proxy before the elections cannot be ruled out, but the Israeli prime minister appears more inclined to support Saudi Arabia against the Houthis in Yemen.

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

In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia's President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian shake hands during a meeting in Turkmenbashi on Oct. 8, 2026.

Analysis

Putin offers to help end Iran war, but can Russia deliver?

As Washington and Tehran weigh their next moves, Moscow is seeking a diplomatic foothold in a war where influence may prove harder to convert into concrete results.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Latest News

Trump offers Iran path to nuclear deal while keeping up military pressure

US President Donald Trump speaks at the "Golden Age of American Innovation Summit" at the Institute of Peace in Washington, DC, on Oct. 8, 2026.

Analysis

Deal or war? Israel fears fallout from Trump’s next move on Iran

GRAND ISLAND, NEBRASKA - OCTOBER 05: U.S. President Donald Trump wraps up an appearance at a campaign rally at Pinnacle Bank Expo Center on the Nebraska State Fairgrounds on October 05, 2026 in Grand Island, Nebraska. Trump is campaigning for incumbent U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-NE) and Gov. Jim Pillen ahead of the November midterm elections. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

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

Iran’s Sistan and Baluchistan province witnesses uptick in attacks

A Baluch Iranian man rides a bicycle in Zahedan, in the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan bordering Afghanistan on Dec. 18, 2025, during a media tour organized by the Iranian government.

Trump says no Iran strikes before midterms amid ‘productive’ talks

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House on Oct. 7, 2026 in Washington, DC.

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

Rouhani targets Iran's conservative media

Iran's justice minister has accused the country premier conservative paper of publishing lies against the administration.

A Boeing 737 MAX plane is seen during a media tour of the Boeing plant in Renton, Washington December 7, 2015. Orders for long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods surged in April on strong demand for transportation equipment and a range of other products . REUTERS/Matt Mills McKnight/File Photo - RTX2EBUC

Boeing deal would reverse 1993 decision to sell to Saudis, not Iran

A $17 billion deal by Boeing to sell Iran more than 100 civilian airplanes has major ramifications for US-Iran relations, say American and Iranian analysts.

Why sanctions relief has not been enough to kick-start Iran's industry

Iran's industrial sector continues to sag despite the implementation of the nuclear deal, but there are some ways the government could shore up domestic production and stimulate the economy.

Will Iran’s most popular general enter politics?

With the presidential election one year away, the Iranian press is already speculating about Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani entering the race.

Revolutionary computer game faces crackdown in Iran

Iranian authorities are attempting to block a new computer game offering players a first-person perspective of the 1979 revolution, claiming it is anti-Iran.

Iran denounces Orlando terror attack, ignores gay venue

While its Foreign Ministry condemned the deadly attack in Orlando, Iran's media seemed split on whether to mention that it took place at a gay nightclub.

Iranians denounce BBC report claiming secret contact between Khomeini, US

Many Iranian officials have expressed outrage over a BBC report claiming Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini made secret contact with the United States leading up to the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Why many Iranians are feeling the Bern

Many Iranians and Iranian-Americans are still pulling for US presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, whose "real" image has "managed to change the general narrative about the United States."

Gas flares from an oil production platform at the Soroush oil fields in the Persian Gulf, south of the capital Tehran, July 25, 2005. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi/File Photo - RTSG4X4

Will new 5-year plan solve Iran's economic problems?

Iran's incoming parliament is set to debate the government's ambitious five-year development plan, but will the plan be enough to address the country's economic needs?

Russian, Syrian defense ministers arrive in Tehran for 'strategic meeting'

The defense ministers of Russia, Syria and Iran met in Tehran to discuss the latest regional developments and methods to "fight terrorism."

Is Rouhani’s economic team about to crack?

An escalating dispute between Iran’s Central Bank governor and the minister of economic affairs and finance is threatening to crack President Hassan Rouhani’s economic team.

Iran calls US congressmen's visa request 'publicity stunt'

Iran rebuked three American congressmen who requested Iranian visas in order to personally inspect the country's nuclear sites.