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Iran

August 20, 2026

Tehran 11:33 am

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Iraq seeks special Hormuz access from Iran in scramble to keep oil flowing

As Iran's parliament speaker holds talks in Baghdad, Iraq has asked Tehran for special consideration for its oil exports.

Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf speaks during a press conference at the site where Qasem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was killed by a US airstrike in 2020 near the airport upon his arrival in Baghdad, on Aug. 19, 2026.

Iran’s Ghalibaf makes high-level visit to Iraq ahead of disarmament deadline

The Iraqi parliament speaker is calling on his Iranian counterpart to help Iraq export oil through Hormuz amid the regional conflict.

Pedestrians walk past a billboard depicting Iran's late Supreme Leaders Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Tehran, Iran, June 15, 2026.

With talks stalled, Iran ups threats against Gulf, Europe: What to know

The threats have raised concerns that the conflict between Iran and the United States could expand beyond the region.

Latest News

Analysis

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

Vessels in the Strait of Hormuz

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

UAE halts all trade ties with Iran after missile attack

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.

United Arab Emirates

Oil nears $92 on UAE missile alert as Trump claims Iran talks stuck

Leon Neal/Getty Images

United Arab Emirates

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 disembarks from his plane as he arrives in Geneva March 15, 2015. Kerry is in Geneva to resume talks with Iranian officials to limit Tehran's most sensitive nuclear activities for at least 10 years in exchange for the gradual easing of some sanctions. REUTERS/Brian Snyder (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4TGB9

Despite congressional threats, Iran negotiators resume talks

US and Iranian negotiators are meeting in Lausanne to work toward a potential nuclear deal.

An Iranian woman registers her candidacy for the upcoming parliamentary elections at the interior ministry in Tehran on December 24, 2011. Iranians began to register their candidacy for the upcoming elections set for March 2, 2012 for a four-year tenure in parliament. AFP PHOTO/ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)

Iran's female MPs show mixed record

Iran's female members of parliament have been few in number but have had a large impact on national policies.

A Muslim woman reads the Koran before Iftar, when Muslims break their fast, during the holy month of Ramadan at the historic Umayyad Mosque in Old Damascus August 26, 2009. Muslims around the world abstain from eating, drinking and conducting sexual relations from sunrise to sunset during Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar. REUTERS/Khaled al-Hariri (SYRIA SOCIETY RELIGION) - RTR274NK

Contemporary Islamic views support reform in favor of women

The religious feminist movement has succeeded in improving the status of women in some parts of the Muslim world, while in others, there is resistance to any change regarding women’s rights.

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif attends the closing session of 18th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit in Kathmandu November 27, 2014. A brief meeting between India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart appears to have salvaged a summit of South Asian leaders, with all eight countries clinching a last-minute deal to create a regional electricity grid.
REUTERS/Niranjan Shrestha/Pool (NEPAL - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4FUCN

Pakistan declines to join Saudi Arabia's anti-Iran alliance

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has rejected, at least for now, Saudi Arabia's entreaties for Pakistani troops to help guard the Saudi border with northern Yemen, controlled by Iranian-backed Houthi Shiite forces.

Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) fighters and foreign fighters (R) who joined the YPG, man their weapons during what the YPG said was an offensive against them by Islamic State fighters, in the western countryside of Ras al-Ain March 10, 2015. Picture taken March 10, 2015. REUTERS/Rodi Said (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT MILITARY) - RTR4SVQX

US 'working through' extent of support for Syrian rebels

The resolution being considered by Congress does not address protection of vetted Syrian rebels against Syrian government forces; nuclear talks with Iran enter decisive phase amid challenges by Republicans in Congress; Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani determines fate of reconciliation in Iraq; Israeli election is verdict on Benjamin Netanyahu.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken (R) and Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David Cohen (L) testify before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in Washington January 21, 2015. Top U.S. Treasury and State Department officials said on Wednesday that, despite reports, Russia had not entered into oil-for-goods deals with Iran in violation of international sanctions. REUTERS/Gary Cameron (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS BUSINESS) - RTR4MCBJ

Iran under fire ahead of deal deadline

A look at the Middle East issues Congress will be addressing the week of March 16.

Men stand in line to vote during the Iranian presidential election at a mosque in Qom, 120 km (74.6 miles) south of Tehran June 14, 2013. Millions of Iranians voted to choose a new president on Friday, urged by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to turn out in force to discredit suggestions by arch foe the United States that the election would be unfair. REUTERS/Fars News/Mohammad Akhlagi (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ON

Rouhani wins over Qom, for now

President Hassan Rouhani took a surprise trip to Qom to win over the support of senior clerics in Iran's religious capital.

Iranian singer Googoosh, whose real name is Faegheh Atashin, salutes the audience during a rare concert she gave in the Iraqi Kurdish city of Arbil, 320 kms (200 miles) north of Baghdad, late on September 12, 2010. The popular Persian diva was banned from singing along with all female preformers in Iran after the establishment of the Islamic republic in 1979, but she resumed her performances abroad ten years ago. AFP PHOTO/SAFIN HAMED (Photo credit should read SAFIN HAMED/AFP/Getty Images)

Iranian singers push boundaries, face restrictions

Iranian authorities have begun to crack down on female singers and musicians, despite attempts by the culture minister to issue more licenses for performances.

A member of the Kurdish Peshmerga forces stands guard at a security point on Bashiqa mountain, overlooking Islamic State held territories of Mosul, 12 km northeast of Mosul City, March 7, 2015. REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY CONFLICT) - RTR4SF1J

Turkey to support Mosul operation from sidelines

Turkey will provide assistance to the forces organizing to retake Mosul from the Islamic State, but will not engage directly in military conflict.

U.S. Senators' Lindsey Graham (front L) (R-SC), John McCain (Back L) (R-AZ), Charles Schumer (C) (D-NY) and Bob Corker (R) (R-TN) talk on the floor of the House Chamber prior to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's address to a joint meeting of Congress in the House Chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 3, 2015. REUTERS/Gary Cameron (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4RX59

Infographic: Meet the Senate's Iran hawks

As the Senate prepares to vote on new legislation, Al-Monitor takes a deeper look at the motivations guiding those lawmakers most wary of negotiations

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier speaks on transatlantic issues at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Statesmen's Forum in Washington March 12, 2015. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4T42S

Europeans worry Senate letter gives Iran edge in nuclear talks

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier says the "open letter" to Iran by Senate Republicans undermines Western credibility in nuclear negotiations that are approaching a denouement.

Iranian Jewish MP Siamak Moreh Sedq (L) and schoolboys read prayers during a demonstration in front of the United Nation's building in Tehran on November 19, 2013 in support of Iran's nuclear program and Iranian negotiators on the eve of the new round of nuclear talks with world powers in Geneva. Talks are scheduled to restart on November 20, as the P5+1 group aims to convince Iran to roll back its work that Western power suspect is masking a military nuclear drive in exchange for some sanctions relief. AFP

Iranian Jewish MP dismissive of Netanyahu, senators' letter

In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, Siamak Moreh Sedgh shares his thoughts on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to Congress and the letter sent by US senators to the Iranian leadership.