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Iran

August 19, 2026

Tehran 2:38 pm

39°C

Vessels in the Strait of Hormuz

Analysis

How failing US-Iran diplomacy is giving way to fresh confrontation

Iran's dismissal of secret talks with Washington comes as diplomacy is in impasse, the Strait of Hormuz remains contested and Iranian commanders signal a potentially more aggressive military posture.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

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A policeman waits outside the venue of nuclear talks in Vienna, Austria, June 28, 2015. European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said on Sunday that a last-minute deal between Iran and world powers on Tehran's nuclear programme was still possible. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader - RTX1I4II

Critics make last-ditch effort to hamper Iranian deal

US skeptics are putting maximum pressure on negotiators ahead of June 30 deadline.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry sits between U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz (L) and Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Yukiya Amano during a meeting at a hotel in Vienna, Austria June 29, 2015. Iran is backtracking from an interim nuclear agreement with world powers three months ago, Western officials suggested on Sunday, as U.S. and Iranian officials said talks on a final accord would likely run past a June 30 deadline. REUTERS/Carlos Barria - RTX1I8AB

Reality of deal sets in for Iran, P5+1

A senior US negotiator suggested that all parties, but particularly the Iranians, may be experiencing some eleventh-hour jitters.

White smoke rises from the chimney above the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, indicating a new pope has been elected at the Vatican March 13, 2013. White smoke rose from the Sistine Chapel and the bells of St. Peter's Basilica rang out on Wednesday, signaling that Roman Catholic cardinals elected a pope to succeed Benedict XVI. REUTERS/Tony Gentile (VATICAN - Tags: RELIGION) - RTR3EXR7

Awaiting 'white smoke' in Vienna

An Iranian source tells Al-Monitor that it is Iran, not the US Congress, that needs reassurances as nuclear talks in Vienna approach the deadline.

A serviceman carries a air-to-ground missile next to Sukhoi Su-25 jet fighters during a drill at the Russian southern Stavropol region, March 12, 2015. Russia has started military exercises in the country's south, as well as in Georgia's breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia and in Crimea, annexed from Ukraine last year, news agency RIA reported on Thursday, citing Russia's Defence Ministry. REUTERS/Eduard Korniyenko (RUSSIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST MILITARY) - RTR4T425

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TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY STUART WILLIAMS
Iranian Hossein Shariatmadari, director of the hardline Kayhan (Universe) newspaper group for the past 15 years, sits next issues of the newspaper at his office in Tehran, 16 September 2007. Ridiculing the latest US threats against Tehran and advocating the need to expose traitors, Shariatmadari remains one of the most ardent champions of Iran's Islamic system. Appointed by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei himself, few in Iran can match Shariatmadari's authority

Iranian newspaper warns against showing enthusiasm for US

The Kayhan paper, sensing a nuclear deal is imminent, is worried about certain media outlets depicting the United States in a positive light.

Ebrahim Yazdi, secretary-general and chairman of Central Council Freedom Movement of Iran, speaks during an interview at his home in northern Tehran June 15, 2009. Iranian opposition politician Yazdi has been released from jail a day after he was detained while in hospital, a source close to him said on June 19, 2009. Yazdi, who heads the banned Freedom Movement, was one of scores of reformist activists detained since Iran's disputed June 12 presidential election. Picture taken June 15, 2009. REUTERS/Mortez

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In an interview with Al-Monitor, Iran's first foreign minister after the 1979 Islamic Revolution talked about the tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia, the Rouhani administration and the lack of respect for the law within the country.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (2nd R) meets with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (2nd L) at a hotel in Vienna, Austria June 27, 2015. Senior U.S. and Iranian officials said much hard work still needs to be done to bridge significant differences on an agreement to curb Iran's nuclear programme. REUTERS/Carlos Barria - RTX1I13O

Zarif travels to Iran after nuclear talks with Kerry

Iran Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif departed nuclear talks with US Secretary of State John Kerry and P5+1 diplomats in Vienna June 28 for consultations in Tehran, as officials say they will need a few days past the June 30 deadline to try to conclude the nuclear deal.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (2nd R) meets with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (2nd L) at a hotel in Vienna, Austria June 27, 2015. Senior U.S. and Iranian officials said much hard work still needs to be done to bridge significant differences on an agreement to curb Iran's nuclear programme. REUTERS/Carlos Barria - RTX1I13O

Did Khamenei blur his own red lines on sanctions?

Supreme Leader Khamenei gives strong backing for Iran’s negotiating team heading into Vienna talks; Assad holds off on hitting Islamic State, for now; Israel forced to clarify position on Jabhat al-Nusra; Egypt seeks to counter Turkey’s role in Syria.

Did Khamenei demand immediate sanctions relief?

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s acknowledgement of the time necessary for the West to uphold its commitments gains great importance when put into the context of what he defines as “signing of the agreement.”

Shi'ite fighters from Hashid Shaabi forces walk with their weapons at the front line at the Shi'ite Turkman village of Bashir, 20km south of Kirkuk, March 14, 2015. Kurdish peshmerga forces, backed by Shi'ite militia fighters, have been attacking Islamic State-held towns and villages south and west of the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, peshmerga sources said. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT POLITICS MILITARY) - RTR4TCDN

Leaked cables show Gulf leery of Shiite expansion

The Gulf states are concerned about the growing influence of Shiites in neighboring countries, expressing their fears of the relations established between the Shiites of Iran and Iraq and their own Shiite communities.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry holds a briefing on the "2014 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices" at the State Department in Washington June 25, 2015. Kerry will fly to Vienna on Friday to take part in Iran nuclear talks ahead of a self-imposed June 30 deadline, U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said in a statement. REUTERS/Gary Cameron - RTR4YYCY

US 'hopeful' on final Iran deal

The United States sees a path to reaching a “very good” Iran nuclear deal, but tough decisions will have to be made, according to a senior US official, as John Kerry and Mohammad Javad Zarif were set to join the talks in Vienna.

A woman prepares tea at a booth representing Iran at the 49th International Tourism Fair (ITB Berlin 2015) in Berlin on March 4, 2015. 10 096 exhibitors from 186 countries attend the fair that runs until March 8, 2015 in the German capital. AFP PHOTO / TOBIAS SCHWARZ (Photo credit should read TOBIAS SCHWARZ/AFP/Getty Images)

Iran's tea tradition

Though tea came late to Iran, it has become ubiquitous in daily life in the country.