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

Iran cover image

Iran

June 17, 2026

Tehran 2:49 pm

32°C

An Iranian woman waves a national flag at Valiasr Square in Tehran on June 15, 2026.

Analysis

Why Iran's hard-liners are turning on each other over US deal

Iran's memorandum of understanding with the United States has triggered unusual regime infighting, as the official line hails victory, while hard-liners worry about strategic concessions and hidden traps.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Snipers set up their positions above of the US Capitol on Feb. 24, 2026 in Washington, DC.

Scrutiny builds over Iran deal kept from lawmakers

Both Republicans and Democrats are calling for the White House to show them the deal.

MAHMOUD ZAYYAT / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

How Iran's internal divide over Lebanon could shape US negotiations

Sources familiar with the indirect discussions between Tehran and Washington told Al-Monitor that Iran had prepared a significant response to Sunday's Beirut strike.

Ali Hashem

In Doha, reporting on Iran, regional politics, conflict

Latest News

Trump punts nuclear question with placeholder Iran deal

President Donald Trump speaks before signing a proclamation in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on June 11, 2026.

Gulf cautiously welcomes US-Iran deal as Hezbollah congratulates Tehran

Veiled women in black Chadors wave Iran and Hezbollah flags during commemoration at the Iranian embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, on April 22, 2026.

Trump, Vance sign Iran-US framework

A police officer stands holding a flag in Valiasr Square beneath a mural of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on April 23, 2026 in Tehran, Iran.

Analysis

'He knew it was over': Inside Netanyahu’s response to Trump’s Iran deal as Israel recalibrates

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

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

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

Saudi policemen look at monitor screens showing footage from cameras set up around the holy places, during a tour for journalists, on the second day of Eid al-Adha in Mina near the holy city of Mecca September 25, 2015. REUTERS/Ahmad Masood - RTX1SG86

Saudis investigate Mina stampede

Since the deadly Mina incident, Iranian officials have been criticizing Saudi Arabia for its mismanagement of hajj affairs and its approach that seems focused on containing Muslim anger and avoiding a direct confrontation with Iran.

U.S. President Barack Obama extends his hand to Russian President Vladimir Putin during their meeting at the United Nations General Assembly in New York September 28, 2015. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RTX1SYBB

Obama prepared to work with Putin to broker Syria transition

Despite widespread condemnation of Russian airstrikes in Syria, signs of progress on UN-brokered talks on a political transition; Iran’s ties with Saudi Arabia and Egypt; the trend toward counterterrorism; United States should not treat Iraq as a "weak partner."

Congress to probe war in Yemen

A look at the Middle East issues Congress will be addressing the week of Oct. 5.

Saudi security forces block the way to an area where a stampede occurred at the camp city at Mina, near the holy city of Mecca September 24, 2015. At least 717 pilgrims from around the world were killed on Thursday in a crush outside the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi authorities said, in the worst disaster to strike the annual haj pilgrimage for 25 years. REUTERS/Ahmad Masood - RTX1SAS4

Hajj disaster lost chance for Saudi-Iranian engagement

Rather than functioning as a platform for cooperation, the deadly stampede in Mina has only worsened the war of words between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

An Iranian worker works on a production line of carmaker Iran Khodro, west of Tehran June 20, 2011. Unusually for the Middle East, Iran has developed its domestic car industry for five decades and produced 1.6 million vehicles last year, about half of them made by Iran Khodro which aims to export around 10 percent of its production this year. Even with sanctions, which have scared off some suppliers from exporting to Iran, and a limp economy, Iran Khodro says sales rose 18 percent in 2010 and plans a 13 pe

Can Iran shield its embattled auto sector?

Amid a parliamentary move to hike car import tariffs, debate surfaces on the wider problem of what to do about Iran's troubled auto sector.

US-Iraqi relations need a reset

US-Iraqi relations have had their ups and downs since the 2003 invasion and withdrawal of US troops in 2011, and currently require a reassessment to establish a solid partnership between the two parties.

Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) addresses the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) policy conference in Washington March 1, 2015. Israeli Prime Benjamin Netanyahu has come under almost unprecedented criticism from the U.S. administration and in Israel for his planned speech to Congress on Tuesday, as international talks with Iran are under way to secure a deal on Teheran's nuclear program. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4RMVE

Senate bill splits Iran deal advocates

Nuclear deal skeptics seek to put the screws on Tehran without blowing up the agreement.

Is Syria bringing Iran, Egypt together?

Egypt's seemingly shared interests with the Syrian government may provide grounds for improved relations with Iran.

Khamenei warns ‘appeasement’ won't end enemy hostility

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei counseled military leaders that it is futile to compromise with Iran's enemies and that the nation must maintain its independent path for generations to come.

Iranian hard-line newspaper falls out of Khamenei's favor

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei seems to be breaking ties with the hard-line Kayhan newspaper, long understood to be his mouthpiece.

Imprisoned 'economic basij' pleads case to Rouhani

Babak Zanjani, the former "economic basij" imprisoned for allegedly using international sanctions to keep $2 billion from the Oil Ministry, has claimed innocence in a letter to President Hassan Rouhani.

U.S. President Barack Obama addresses attendees during the 70th session of the United Nations General Assembly at the U.N. Headquarters in New York, September 28, 2015. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri - RTX1SXTI

Iranian sources confirm Zarif, Obama handshake

Iranian sources have confirmed the handshake between Iran's foreign minister and the US president, although they said it was not planned.