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Iran

June 19, 2025

Tehran 1:46 pm

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Ground staff prepare a Middle East Airlines flight for departure on the tarmac at Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut on May 2, 2025.

From Lebanon to Qatar, Israel-Iran war disrupts flights, airport traffic: What to know

Lebanon’s Middle East Airlines canceled all flights to Iraq through Thursday as the ongoing Israel-Iran war forces widespread disruptions across Middle East aviation.

Turkish soldiers patrol near the border wall between Turkey and Iran in the Van Province, eastern Turkey, on Nov. 1, 2024.

Turkey ramps up Iran border security as Ankara, UNHCR monitor refugee risks

UNHCR stands ready to support Turkey, though no major refugee movement has been observed along the Iranian border, the international body’s Turkey spokesperson told Al-Monitor.

The President will attend the annual meeting of the Group of 7 nations, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States are taking place in the Canadian Rocky Mountains in Alberta, and will run until late Tuesday. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

Analysis

Israel tests Trump’s promise to keep US out of new wars

The president who said he would bring peace to the Middle East now has another war unfolding on his watch.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan arrives at the 6th European Political Community summit on May 16, 2025 at Skanderbeg Square in Tirana, Albania.

Armenia's Pashinyan, Turkey's Erdogan to hold 'historic' talks amid Iran-Israel war

The meeting comes as both countries weigh the fallout of a widening regional conflict and rising tensions along their shared border with Iran.

Latest News

‘I’ve had it’: Trump threatens to ‘blow up’ Iran nuclear sites

US President Donald Trump speaks to the press as workers install a large flag pole on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC on June 18, 2025.

UAE's MBZ and Putin hold call as Gulf, Russia push diplomacy on Iran-Israel

Russia's President Vladimir Putin and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan.

Iran's Khamenei threatens US with 'irreparable damage' if Trump joins war

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei prepares to cast his ballot during the runoff of the presidential elections in Tehran on July 5, 2024. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Can Russia broker Iran-Israel deal as Putin looks to divert West from Ukraine?

In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia's Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian arrive for a documents signing ceremony following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow on January 17, 2025. (Photo by Vyacheslav PROKOFYEV / POOL / AFP) (Photo by VYACHESLAV PROKOFYEV/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Kasia A. Houghton

By Kasia A. Houghton

Elizabeth Hagedorn

State Department Correspondent

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

Andrew Parasiliti

President and Chief Content Officer

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, national security

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

Bijan Khajehpour

In Vienna, reporting on Iranian politics

Smoke rises from the rubble of an Iranian state media building in Tehran after an Israeli airstrike on June 16, 2025.

Analysis

As prospects of US strikes loom, can Iran's regime avert collapse?

The Iranian government engaged in a frenzy of diplomatic efforts to try to halt relentless Israeli strikes and thwart possible collapse amid reports suggesting possible US involvement in support of the Israeli campaign.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Iranian short-range missile (Tondar) is test-launched during war games in Qom, 120 kms south of Tehran, on September 27, 2009. Iran test-fired three short-range missiles as the Islamic republic began war games at a time of heightened tension with the West over its controversial nuclear programme. AFP PHOTO/SHAIEGAN/FARS NEWS (Photo by SHAIGAN / FARS NEWS / AFP) (Photo by SHAIGAN/FARS NEWS/AFP via Getty Images)

What we know about Fordow, Iran's secretive nuclear site Israel struggles to hit

A recent report indicated that Israel might need US help to hit Fordow, a heavily fortified facility located up to 300 feet underground.

Flags flutter along a bridge as a plume of heavy smoke and fire rise from an oil refinery in southern Tehran, after it was hit in an overnight Israeli strike, on June 15, 2025. Iran fired a fresh barrage of missiles at Israel, state television announced early on June 15, as the rivals exchanged fire for a third day. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

With over 85% imported, Turkey braces for energy ripples of Iran-Israel war

Rising oil prices threaten Turkey’s fragile economy amid escalating regional tensions, while energy supply risks grow.

Ezgi Akin

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

Smoke rises from the rubble of an Iranian state media building in Tehran after an Israeli airstrike on June 16, 2025.

China, India, EU countries evacuate citizens from Iran and Israel

Some countries are urging citizens to leave Israel and Iran via land borders as the airports remain closed.

TOPSHOT - Vehicles jam a highway as a fire blazes nearby in the oil depots of Shahran, northwest of Tehran, on June 15, 2025. Israel and Iran exchanged fire on June 14, a day after Israel unleashed an unprecedented aerial bombing campaign that Iran said hit its nuclear facilities, "martyred" top commanders and killed dozens of civilians. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

Exodus, shortages and strikes: Tehran reels under weight of Israel-Iran war

Israeli strikes on Tehran have continued, prompting evacuation warnings, creating fuel and internet disruptions, and adding to the growing number of residents who are fleeing the capital.

TEHRAN, IRAN - JUNE 15: People observe fire and smoke from an Israeli attack on the Shahran oil depot on June 15, 2025 in Tehran, Iran. Iran's foreign minister said the country would respond "decisively and proportionally" to a wave of attacks that Israel launched beginning in the early hours of June 13. The attacks targeted multiple military, scientific and residential locations, as well as senior government officials. (Photo by Stringer/Getty Images)

Analysis

As Israel-Iran strikes escalate, Russia weighs risks and opportunities

With evacuations underway and investments at risk, the Kremlin still sees a chance to benefit by boosting gas exports and mediating US-Iran talks.

Nikita Smagin

By Nikita Smagin

Bank Sepah

Cyberattack strikes Iranian bank with ties to IRGC: What we know

The hacker group that claims to be behind the attack said it targeted the bank over its role in financing Iran’s ballistic missile and nuclear programs.

In this handout photo provided by the US Navy, the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln transits the Strait of Hormuz as an MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter from the Nightdippers of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 5 lifts off from the flight deck, Nov. 19, 2019.

First ships pull back from Hormuz as Israel-Iran war drags on: What to know

Missile fire between the Middle East’s two biggest foes continued into its fifth day on Tuesday, with more than 220 people killed in Iran and more than 20 in Israel.

Ben Gurion International Airport is seen mostly empty after flights were canceled following Israel's early morning attack on Iran on June 13, 2025, in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Iran's barrages hit at least 10 Israeli cities, towns: What to know

Iran’s latest wave of strikes on Israel reflects an escalation in strategy since its 2024 strikes, targeting urban centers and involving a broader range of missiles and drones.

Smoke rises from locations targeted in Tehran amid the third day of Israel's waves of strikes against Iran, on Sunday, June 15, 2025.

State TV to IRGC elite: Here are Israel’s main targets in Iran war

At least seven senior Iranian officials have been killed in the Israeli strikes, which have expanded to include government institutions and energy facilities in recent days.

Stefan Rousseau/Getty Images

Trump's deal-making tested as Israel, Iran trade blows

The Trump administration is hoping that Israel's bombardment will ultimately force nuclear concessions out of Iran.

Fire and smoke rise into the sky after an Israeli attack on the Shahran oil depot, Tehran, Iran, June 15, 2025.

Analysis

Will Trump cave to Netanyahu and join Iran strikes or will US stay out?

While the Israeli military campaign has dealt substantial blows to Iran’s nuclear program and military infrastructure, it is far from winning the war against the Islamic Republic.

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