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

Iran cover image

Iran

October 15, 2026

Tehran 1:36 pm

28°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

Iran MP: We’ve created artificial red lines on free speech

While official campaigning has not yet begun, Iranian candidates have begun speaking at universities.

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on leaving the office to report, film or take pictures in Tehran.
A man fills in his ballot during Iran's parliamentary election, at a mosque in southern Tehran March 2, 2012. Iranians voted on Friday in a parliamentary election likely to reinforce Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's power over rival hardliners led by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR2YQLW

Iranians gear up for parliamentary elections

Hard-liners have managed to seize control of the conservative camp, but their victory in the upcoming parliamentary elections is not guaranteed.

Members of the Saudi security forces take part in a military parade in preparation for the annual Haj pilgrimage in the holy city of Mecca September 28, 2014. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed (SAUDI ARABIA- Tags: RELIGION MILITARY) - RTR482AN

7 things to consider before sending troops to Syria

By supporting a Saudi ground invasion of Syria, the United States would be aiding and abetting the expansion of terrorism as well as pushing Iran and Russia toward threatening the very viability of the House of Saud.

How Tehran plans to crack down on property speculators

Iran has a plan to tax languishing building projects and vacant homes in an effort to curb rampant speculation and raise revenue.

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

Iranian youths sit at a coffee shop in central Tehran March 1, 2012. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl (IRAN - Tags: SOCIETY FOOD BUSINESS) - RTR2YP8X

How the Arab Spring impacted Iran

In light of Iran's new openness to the world following the nuclear deal, how do Iranian pro-reform activists interpret the events of the Arab Spring?

What Hezbollah stands to gain from Iran's nuclear deal

As the Iranian nuclear deal enters its implementation phase, analysts are discussing the repercussions of Iran’s openness to the West on Lebanese Hezbollah.

An Airbus A310 of Iranian private airline Mahan Air taxis at Sanaa International airport following its first flight to Yemen from Iran, in Sanaa March 1, 2015. - Yemen and Iran signed a civil aviation deal on Saturday, Yemeni state news agency SABA reported, a move that may reflect Tehran's support for the Shi'ite Muslim militia that now controls Sanaa. The deal signed in Tehran by the aviation authorities of both countries allows Yemen and Iran each to fly up to 14 flights a week in both directions, SABA s

US seeks to block sanctioned Iranian airline’s flights into Europe

The Obama administration is warning EU allies to shut out Mahan Air or risk US retaliation.

An Iranian worker speaks into a radio on an oil production platform at the Soroush oil fields in the Persian Gulf, 1,250 km (776 miles) south of the capital Tehran, July 25, 2005. Picture taken July 25, 2005. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi CJF/KS - RTRIU0Y

How Iran's new petroleum contracts are producing more than oil

Criticism of the general terms of the new Iran Petroleum Contract do not appear to be based on sound legal reasoning, but is rather the result of factionalism ahead of upcoming elections.

Iran: Republicans wanted to delay prisoner swap

The secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council said Republicans reached out to Iran to delay the prisoner swap until the US presidential elections.

Saudi Arabia turns to Turkey

Following the visit of a Turkish delegation to Saudi Arabia, the kingdom hopes to establish economic and military ties with Turkey to counter the expanding Iranian influence in the region.

Shi'ite fighters sit on the top of Spiral Minaret of the Great Mosque in Samarra, February 3, 2016. Picture taken February 3, 2016. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad - RTX25EVC

Obama's anti-IS envoy: Shiites saved Iraq

President Obama's envoy praises all sides in a bid to keep the coalition together.

Iran defends its support for Syria, Iraq

Iranian officials and media argue that the fight against terrorists in Syria and Iraq is in defense of Iran.