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

Iran cover image

Iran

May 2, 2026

Tehran 4:34 am

18°C

Soldiers from Iran's land, navy, air force and special forces parade on the occasion of National Army Day in Tehran, capital of Iran on April 18, 2025, in Tehran, Iran.

Analysis

How Iran is rebuilding its bruised military as ceasefire masks recalibration

Iran is using the fragile truce to recover by blending redeployment and reverse engineering into broader preparedness for renewed conflict.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent testifies during a Senate Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on April 22, 2026 in Washington, DC.

US sanctions Iran’s shadow banking channels moving oil proceeds from China

The latest sanctions come as the Trump administration weighs Iran's latest proposal to end the war.

Ibrahim AMRO / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Without exit strategy, Israel faces emboldened Hezbollah, limited options on Iran

While President Donald Trump remains undecided on striking Iran again, the Israeli military is sinking deeper into its Lebanon quagmire with a reinforced Hezbollah.

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

This photo obtained by AFP from the Iranian news agency Tasnim shows an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) boat allegedly taking part in an operation to seize ships attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz, on April 21, 2026.

Trump faces three paths ahead in Iran war as Hormuz standoff intensifies

As the Hormuz standoff threatens a global economic chill, Trump must choose between military escalation, seeking a partial deal with Iran, or waiting out the pressure campaign.

Latest News

In defiant message, Iran’s Khamenei threatens US but appeals to Gulf

AFP via Getty Images

US blockade tests Iran's limits, but will global pain force Trump’s hand?

QESHM ISLAND, IRAN - APRIL 28: Boats navigate the sea on April 28, 2026 on Qeshm Island, Iran in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's latest proposal for ending its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz calls on the United States to end its naval blockade of Iran's ports, and sets aside questions about what to do with Iran's nuclear program. The United States has not formally responded to the latest proposal, which was delivered by Iran's foreign minister to Pakistan two days ago. (Photo by Asghar Besharati/Getty Images

Iran-linked group claims stabbing in Jewish area in London: What to know

Local residents look on from outside a cordoned off area in the Golders Green neighborhood of north London on April 29, 2026, following the stabbing to two people nearby.

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

TEHRAN, IRAN: Conservative Hassan Rouhani, deputy speaker of the parliament and secretary of Iran's top security body, the Supreme National Security Council, addresses thousands of pro-regime demonstrators who gathered 14 July 1999 at Tehran University, the main focus of six days of student protests which have shaken Iran's Islamic regime. Rouhani said the students arrested during the past two days of violent protests will be tried as "counter-revolutionaries". (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Get

Rouhani responds to controversial documentary about him

Iran's president has obliquely responded to an unauthorized documentary about his career by condemning "us[ing] the public treasury to destroy an administration elected by the people."

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visits the holy shrine of Imam Abbas in Kerbala, 110 km (68 miles) south of Baghdad, July 19, 2013. REUTERS/ Ahmed al-Husseini /Pool (IRAQ - Tags: RELIGION POLITICS) - RTX11SBV

Ahmadinejad denies return to politics

Former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has rejected the idea of re-entering politics and said that he would remain silent on current issues.

People walk past a poster of presidential candidate and former army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi at one of his campaign headquarters in central Cairo April 16, 2014. Egyptians will vote on May 26-27 in a presidential election where Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is expected to win easily. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR3LLFJ

Egyptians still in search of political messiah

Despite their hopes, Egyptians will not find a leader with the power to effect the deep structural reform Egypt needs to move forward.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan arrives during a ceremony at the Constitutional Court in Ankara April 22, 2010. Armenia's ruling coalition on Thursday said it had decided to freeze the ratification in parliament of accords with Turkey aimed at normalising ties between the historic foes. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR2D3ZW

Erdogan surprises with condolence message to Armenians

What is the calculation behind Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s unprecedented statement of condolence to Armenians?

Senior Hamas leader Moussa Abu Marzouk (R) hugs senior Hamas leader Mahmoud Al-Zahar in Gaza City April 21, 2014. Abu Marzouk arrived at the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip on Monday to take part in unity talks with rival Fatah movement of President Mahmoud Abbas, which are planned for Tuesday, Hamas officials said. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR3M230

Senior Hamas leader discusses Iran, Syria, Palestinian politics

Senior Hamas figure Mahmoud al-Zahar tells Al-Monitor’s Palestine Pulse that Hamas is "ready at any moment" to resume reconciliation talks with Fatah.

Ahmadinejad’s return may be boost for Rouhani

The former Iranian president seeks to capitalize on the frustration of conservatives with Rouhani’s economic and foreign policies.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) shakes hands with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during their meeting in Moscow's Kremlin November 20, 2013. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov (RUSSIA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX15LV1

Israel takes strategic alliance with US for granted

Israel’s neutrality toward the crisis in Ukraine is a dangerous precedent in Israel's relations with the US, when taking into account that it can exist without Russia’s help, but not without American support.

Social media help young Iranian fashion designers

Iranian fashion designers use word of mouth and social media to promote their work to middle-class women.

Palestinians are seen through a car window which Hamas police said was damaged in an Israeli strike on a workshop in the northern Gaza Strip April 4, 2014. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR3JW08

Hamas in overdrive to restore regional ties

Hamas is pursuing a policy of neutrality while it reaches out to regional capitals to end its crippling isolation.

Shoppers walk in Grand Bazaar in Istanbul April 26, 2008. For hundreds of years Istanbul has lured intrepid travellers in search of the exotic carpets, jewelry and fabrics which filled the ancient alleways of the city's Grand Bazaar. Istanbul's shops are now more likely to entice customers with the wares of Nike, Samsung and GAP as shopping malls sprout across the city at a dizzying pace - a phenomenom which strikingly illustrates Turkey's emerging prosperity. To match Feature TURKEY-MALLS/ REUTERS/Osman

Can Turkey work miracle on current account deficit?

Turkey’s battle against its gaping current account deficit appears to be going well, but dependence on foreign energy supplies remains a major stumbling block.

Oman's Sultan Qaboos bin Said (R) walks with Iran's President Hassan Rouhani upon Rouhani's arrival in Muscat March 12, 2014. REUTERS/Sultan Al Hasani (OMAN - Tags: POLITICS ROYALS) - RTR3GQAH

Gulf states should form regional bloc with Iran

Arab Gulf states can no longer ignore Iran’s vital role in bringing stability to the Gulf region, and should work on establishing a security and economic arrangement with Tehran.

NAJAF, IRAQ: An Iraqi Shiite scholar (2nd L) lectures a student while another one (R) reviews his lesson at a religious school for clerics, known in Arabic as Haouza, in the holy city of Najaf, 160 kms (100 miles) south of Baghdad, 05 August 2006. The teaching method at the clerical school in Najaf has not radically changed since its establishment in 1056 AD, with the exception of adding natural sciences subjects to the curriculum. AFP PHOTO/ALI AL-SAADI (Photo credit should read ALI AL-SAADI/AFP/Getty I

Najaf's Shiite seminaries enter 21st century

Throughout its history, the Shiite seminaries in Najaf, Iraq, have witnessed massive changes in curricula, with an expansion in the number and scope of subjects offered.