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

Iran cover image

Iran

April 29, 2026

Tehran 11:01 pm

20°C

President Donald Trump gives a speech during the State Arrival Ceremony on the South Lawn on April 28, 2026, in Washington.

Trump speaks with Netanyahu, Putin as Iran pressure campaign escalates

President Donald Trump spoke by phone separately with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin, discussing the situation in Iran and the possibility of extending the ceasefire.

An Iraqi money dealer counts Iranian rial banknotes bearing a portrait of the late founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, at an exchange office in Baghdad on Feb. 3, 2012.

Iranian rial hits new record low as blockade, war take toll: What to know

The rial had another collapse in late 2025, triggering massive protests and riots in the country that were ended by a forceful government crackdown.

In this handout photo provided by the U.S. Navy, Two F/A-18 Super Hornets launch from the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) in support of Operation Epic Fury on March 3, 2026 in the Mediterranean Sea.

Breaking | Last Updated: April 29, 2026, 2:24 pm

Pentagon: Iran war has cost US estimated $25B so far

A supplemental request won’t be delivered to Congress until the Pentagon fully assesses the war’s cost, a top budget official told House lawmakers.

The Ateela 2 oil tanker boat navigates the sea on April 28, 2026, on Qeshm Island, Iran, in the Strait of Hormuz.

Analysis

How long can Iran's economy withstand Trump's naval blockade?

Iranian authorities are denouncing US seizures of the country's oil tankers as piracy, but mounting disruptions to maritime trade are exposing economic fragility beneath Tehran's claims of control and resilience.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Latest News

Analysis

UAE’s OPEC exit rattles cartel as Gulf alliances shift

GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

First LNG tanker transits Strait of Hormuz since Iran war began

Yuichi YAMAZAKI / AFP via Getty Images

Iran floats ‘plan B’ to defuse Hormuz standoff, delay nuclear talks

Iranian walks past a giant billboard reading "The Strait of Hormuz remains closed" at the Revolution Square in Tehran on April 22, 2026.

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

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on their ability to film or take pictures in Tehran.
Motorists travel on a highway in Tehran as the city is covered in dust July 6, 2009. The government closed private educational centres, state offices, industrial units and military bases for two days and raised its pollution alert status due to the dust, which an official from Tehran's environment office attributed the source to dust from dried marshland in Iraq blown towar

Iran may turn to biofuels amid worsening pollution

As pollution increases in Iran, Iran may finally turn to biofuels, despite previous failed attempts to do so.

Iranian Revolutionary Guard Commander Qassem Soleimani uses a walkie-talkie at the frontline during offensive operations against Islamic State militants in the town of Tal Ksaiba in Salahuddin province March 8, 2015. Picture taken March 8, 2015. REUTERS/Stringer (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT POLITICS) - RTR4TU0N

Will Qasem Soleimani enter politics?

With all of the media attention Qasem Soleimani is getting, it raises the possibility the Quds Force commander will go into politics.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (2nd L) holds a negotiation meeting with Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (R) over Iran's nuclear programme in Lausanne March 18, 2015. Also at the negotiating table is political director of the European Union's External Action Service Helga Schmid (4th L). REUTERS/Brian Snyder (SWITZERLAND - Tags: POLITICS ENERGY) - RTR4TU76

Iran, P5+1 tackle final hurdles to accord

While progress has been made, Iran negotiators are looking to resolve differences with the P5+1 on the issues of research and development and lifting of UN Security Council resolutions.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (L) and his Turkmen counterpart Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov take part in a joint press conference following their meeting in Ashgabat on March 11, 2015. Hassan Rouhani is on his first state visit to Turkmenistan. AFP PHOTO / IGOR SASIN (Photo credit should read IGOR SASIN/AFP/Getty Images)

Does Iran have a 'bridge' to Central Asia?

If Iran maintains its policy of not pushing an Islamist agenda on the secular Central Asian countries, there is potential for increased economic and political cooperation.

Shi'ite fighters from Hashid Shaabi forces launch a rocket during clashes with Islamic State militants on 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) - RTR4TCBR

Rouhani adviser summoned over Iraq comments

Despite clarification by Pesident Hassan Rouhani's adviser, conservative critics of Ali Younesi are asking him to step down.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L) holds a meeting with Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif (front R) over Iran's nuclear program in Lausanne March 17, 2015. Also at the negotiating table is U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz (C). REUTERS/Brian Snyder (SWITZERLAND - Tags: POLITICS ENERGY) - RTR4TMTE

'Roller coaster' Iran talks show progress

US officials expect talks may have to resume next week to conclude a political accord on an Iran nuclear deal by the end of the month.

French Union of Democrats and Independents (UDI) deputy Meyer Habib delivers a speech during a debate on Palestine status at the National Assembly in Paris November 28, 2014. French lawmakers are set to hold symbolic parliamentary votes over the next month on whether the government should recognise Palestine as a state, a move likely to anger the Jewish state. France does not classify Palestine as a state, but says it could extend recognition if it believed doing so would help promote peace between the Pale

US, E3 lawmakers pen joint warning on Iran

Lawmakers from the United States, France, United Kingdom and Germany warn that bad deal will result in more sanctions "without fail."

A protester carries a Bahraini flag as they clash with riot police in the village of Bilad Al Qadeem south of Manama, February 6, 2015.
Protesters clashed with riot police demanding for the release of Bahraini opposition leader Sheik Ali Salman. Sheik Salman, head of the al-Wefaq Islamic Society was arrested on December 28, 2014 after leading a protest rally against elections in November which his party boycotted. REUTERS/ Hamad I Mohammed (BAHRAIN). - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR4OIT8

Does Iran have a card to play in Bahrain?

While protests in Bahrain have remained largely peaceful, does Iran have any influence among the various Bahrain opposition groups?

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 lawmaker Ali Motahari speaks in the Iranian parliament in Tehran November 15, 2009. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl (IRAN POLITICS) - RTXQR8X

Was Iran MP attacked by rogue security service?

The attack on an Iranian parliament member by plainclothesmen may be related to the upcoming parliamentary elections.

An Iraqi woman walks past a giant poster showing Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tahrir Square in central Baghdad on February 05, 2015. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has ordered an end to a years-old nightly curfew in the Iraqi capital in a bid to ease restrictions on daily life despite persistent violence, officials said. The army and police checkpoints across Baghdad cause massive traffic jams that are a major source of irritation for Iraqis and often follow lax security procedures

Iran gathers power in Iraq as US further sidelined

Iran has succeeded in expanding its influence in Iraq by supporting the Shiite paramilitary forces there, a move that the United States has avoided since 2003.

Iran's nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi (bottom L) and other Iranian negotiators talk outside the Beau-Rivage hotel, following a meeting between U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif over Iran's nuclear program, in Lausanne, March 16, 2015. REUTERS/Brian Snyder (SWITZERLAND - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4TJ9L

Signs of hope for Iran accord

Negotiators expressed cautious optimism that a political accord could emerge from intensive talks underway in Lausanne, Switzerland, but US officials caution that Iran still has important decisions to make to prove its program peaceful.

An Iranian woman jumps over a bonfire in southern Tehran on March 19, 2013 during the Wednesday Fire feast, or Chaharshanbeh Soori, held annually on the last Wednesday eve before the Spring holiday of Noruz. The Iranian new year that begins on March 20 coincides with the first day of spring during which locals revive the Zoroastrian celebration of lighting a fire and dancing around the flame. AFP PHOTO/BEHROUZ MEHRI (Photo credit should read BEHROUZ MEHRI/AFP/Getty Images)

Ancient, modern Iran clash over fire festival

Iranians will take to the streets to celebrate an ancient Iranian holiday, despite warnings by officials who are uncomfortable with this pre-Islamic holiday.