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October 18, 2026

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US President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at the Oncenter Convention Center in Syracuse, New York, on Oct. 9, 2026.

Window for diplomacy with Iran may be closing as Trump again threatens Pickaxe Mountain

Israel still wary of Damascus, writes Ben Caspit from Israel; our correspondent in Tehran and Amberin Zaman explain how Iran and Turkey look to exploit Azerbaijan’s headscarf controversy; Qatar’s top diplomat offers energy assistance to Lebanon, Beatrice Farhat reports from Beirut.

A vessel transits the Gulf of Oman

Analysis

How much oil can cushion another Middle East supply shock?

Global oil inventories stood at 3.35 billion barrels in October, the lowest level on record since January 2017, according to Kpler.

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

A woman walks past a wall painting in the colours of the Iranian flag in Tehran on February 25, 2026. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

How hijab dispute is opening new front in Iran-Azerbaijan tensions

Iran's longstanding unease over Azerbaijan's strategic ties with Israel is spilling into a dispute over religious freedoms and Baku's position in the Islamic world, testing already fragile relations between the two neighbors.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

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.

Trump rules out US troops in Iran, leaves Pickaxe Mountain strike on the table

He did not dispute reports that the US military is weighing use of the "mother of all bombs."

Latest News

Female commander in Iran's Basij units assassinated: What to know

People attend the funeral ceremony of Mahan Setareh, a member of the paramilitary Basij force who was killed in the recent Israeli attacks on June 26, 2025 in Tehran, Iran. A cease-fire between Israel and Iran has brought an end to 12 days of daily aerial attacks that started with Israel's strikes on Iranian military and nuclear sites on June 13. (Photo by Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)

Analysis

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

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.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

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

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.

Exclusive

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

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

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

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, (R), Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, (L), and Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz (C) appear before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in Washington July 23, 2015. U.S. lawmakers skeptical about the nuclear deal with Iran promised to press senior Obama administration officials to make more information about it public at a Senate hearing on Thursday as Congress begins its two-month review of the agreement.
REUTERS/Gary Cameron
TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTX1LJ2K

Kerry, GOP face off over Iran deal

The secretary of state said lawmakers in search of a better deal are pursuing a "fantasy."

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius briefs French journalists at Palais Coburg, the venue for nuclear talks in Vienna, Austria July 14, 2015. Iran has accepted a so-called "snapback" plan that will restore sanctions in 65 days if it violates a deal agreed with six world powers to curb the country's nuclear programme, diplomats told Reuters on Tuesday. REUTERS/Joe Klamar/Pool - RTX1K9KW

Fabius visit stirs bad blood in Iran

France’s foreign minister is finding out that a deal with Iran is not enough of a Band-Aid to repair the damage a previous scandal has done to his reputation in the country.

U.S. Special Representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan James Dobbins speaks during a news conference in New Delhi June 27, 2013. REUTERS/Mansi Thapliyal (INDIA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX112Q6

Veteran US diplomat: After Iran deal, focus on Syria

US diplomat James Dobbins shared his thoughts on what is next for the US and Iran, and what the recent agreement means for further collaboration in the region.

Obama's foreign policy doctrine rejected by Israel

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's unequivocal rejection of the Iranian deal reflects his rejection of President Barack Obama's liberal doctrine, which embraces a strategy of diplomatic solutions to conflicts in cooperation with US partners.

Ali Akbar Velayati (C), Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's top adviser on international affairs, meets with Lebanon's Prime Minister Tammam Salam along with Iranian ambassador in Lebanon Mohammad Fathali (L) at the government palace in Beirut, May 18, 2015. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir - RTX1DGIZ

What Lebanon will get from the Iran deal

Economist Hassan Mokalled told Al-Monitor that the expected boost the nuclear deal will provide Iran's economy could benefit Lebanon in several areas.

Khamenei foreign policy adviser says Iran sticking to its guns

Ali Akbar Velayati says that the nuclear deal will not change Iran's regional policy or limit the country's missile program.

Israeli Ambassador to the United States Ron Dermer (R) shakes hands with U.S. Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's address to a joint meeting of Congress in the House Chamber in Washington, March 3, 2015. Dermer was a key figure in arranging Netanyahu's visit to Washington and his speech before Congress. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (UNITED STATES) - RTR4RX8E

Can Netanyahu get Congress to reject nuke deal?

The United States and Israel are close allies, but the battle over the nuclear deal is getting fiercer by the moment.

Iran MPs: Hamas visit to Saudi Arabia a 'mistake'

While Iran has been a strong supporter of the Palestinian group Hamas, a trip by its leaders to Saudi Arabia has drawn warnings from Iranian politicians.

Israeli media drowns out pro-Iran-deal voices

Israeli politicians condemning the agreement with Iran have monopolized the conversation in Israel.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (R) and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov speak at the Zakovkzalny War Memorial in Sochi, Russia May 12, 2015. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts - RTX1CKET

How US, Russia could solve Syria

The successful cooperation between the United State and Russia throughout the Iran nuclear negotiations could bode well for a new plan for Syria.

Deputy Defense Minister Ephriam Sneh in front of a large map of the West Bank during a press conference March 19 at which he announced the Israeli cabinet decision to go ahead with a further redeployment from 6.1% of West Bank land to be handed over to full Palestinian Authority. control. The dark brown areas show areas to be included in the redeployment in the northern part of the West Bank. The Palestinians will control 60% of their population but only a bit less than 20% of the West Bank land after the 6

I'm no fan of Bibi but I see a bad deal, says former Labor minister

In an interview with Al-Monitor, former Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh argues that the deal with Iran is dangerous to Israel, because it will strengthen Hezbollah and Hamas, while allowing Iran to enlarge its regional hegemony.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards commander General Mohammad Ali Jafari (R) chats with the head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization Fereydoun Abbasi Davani (L) during a ceremony in Tehran on September 6, 2011. Abbasi Davani said on Monday that Iran is ready to give the International Atomic Energy Agency "full supervision" of its nuclear programme for five years if UN sanctions are lifted. AFP PHOTO/BEHROUZ MEHRI (Photo credit should read BEHROUZ MEHRI/AFP/Getty Images)

Revolutionary Guard leader slams US, criticizes deal

The head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said in an interview that there were problems with the draft resolution passed today by the United Nations Security Council.