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Iran

May 4, 2026

Tehran 12:49 pm

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Crops of wheat and barley in Terbol village on May 10, 2022, in Bekaa Valley, Lebanon.

Analysis

MENA wheat importers face food security risks as Hormuz crisis festers

Home to many of the world's largest wheat importers, the Middle East and North Africa face acute food security risks as the US-Israel-Iran war disrupts global fertilizer flows and pushes up prices.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

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

Latest News

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

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.

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

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

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan addresses the crowd during an opening ceremony of a new metro line in Ankara March 13, 2014. A defiant Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, already battling a damaging corruption scandal weeks ahead of elections, cast the latest unrest as part of a plot against the state. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS TRANSPORT CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3GWD4

Will Erdogan apologize to Turkey's Shiites?

Turkey’s high political tensions finally engulfed the Turkish Shiites (Jaafaris) who are furious with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan for calling Shiites “liars, slanderers and hate mongers.”

A girl with a flag draped over her shoulders watches as people gather for a demonstration over the capture of senior al Qaeda figure Abu Anas al-Liby by U.S. authorities, in Benghazi October 11, 2013. Libyan citizen Al-Liby, whose real name is Nazih al-Ragye, is a suspect in the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania that killed 224 civilians. Since his capture in Tripoli last week, he has been held aboard a Navy ship in the Mediterranean where an elite team of American interrogators is quest

Israel addresses terrorist threat from Africa

Israel cannot actively fight extreme Muslim terror groups in Africa, but it can join the global development policy designed to combat poverty and the spread of these groups in the long term.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (R) shakes hands with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov before their meeting at Winfield House, the home of the U.S. ambassador in London March 14, 2014. The United States and Russia will find it formidably difficult to make progress on Ukraine at talks in London today, British Foreign Minister William Hague said on Friday. REUTERS/Brendan Smialowski/pool (BRITAIN - Tags: POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR3H3AB

Al-Monitor Congress Pulse expands Syria, Russia-Ukraine-Mideast coverage

Congress Pulse and "Trendlines" delve into the implications of Ukraine for US policy in the Middle East.

Ukraine crisis could strengthen Russia-Iran-China ties

Iran will officially remain neutral on Ukraine, but the outcome of the crisis could mean a strengthening of ties with Russia, as both countries share many strategic interests.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) meets with Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Moscow's Kremlin January 16, 2014. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin (RUSSIA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX17GFB

Iran weighs 'active neutrality' in Ukraine

Iran’s strategic priorities remain a comprehensive nuclear agreement and a political solution in Syria.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan steps off from his plane as he arrives in Elazig for an election rally of his ruling AK Party March 6, 2014. Turkey will hold municipal elections on March 30. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR3G4AH

Erdogan's silence shows absence of moral compass

Why has Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan not yet expressed contrition or condolence for the death of Berkin Elvan?

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to the media in front of a display of M302 rockets, found aboard the Klos C ship, at a navy base in the Red Sea resort city of Eilat March 10, 2014. Netanyahu, displaying on Monday what Israel said were seized Iranian-supplied missiles bound for militants in Gaza, called on the West not to be fooled by Tehran's diplomatic outreach over its nuclear programme. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3GGS8

Netanyahu gets bounce from Iranian arms shipment

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's media campaign over the capture of the weapons shipment passed unnoticed by the foreign press, but reinforced his status in Israeli public opinion as "Mr. Security."

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) and Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon sit in front of a display of M302 rockets, found aboard the Klos C ship, at a navy base in the Red Sea resort city of Eilat March 10, 2014. Netanyahu, displaying on Monday what Israel said were seized Iranian-supplied missiles bound for militants in Gaza, called on the West not to be fooled by Tehran's diplomatic outreach over its nuclear programme. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3GGUG

Israel fears it has lost world attention on Iran

Israeli defense officials estimate that Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps are behind the weapons vessel captured last week.

U.S citizens returning from Libya arrive at Ataturk international airport in Istanbul February 25, 2011. The United States announced on Friday it would soon impose sanctions on Libya and bluntly said the legitimacy of longtime Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi had been "reduced to zero." REUTERS/Osman Orsal (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR2J4AK

Still banned from Turkey

For the second time since 2007, Turkey denied an Al-Monitor contributor entry because of his work as a journalist on Kurdish issues.

Ismail Haniyeh, prime minister of the Hamas Gaza government, prays before delivering a speech in Gaza City October 19, 2013. Haniyeh urged rival Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to speed up the implementation of the faltering Egyptian-brokered unity deal to heal six years of political rifts. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX14GN2

Hamas debates technocrat government in Gaza

The loss of financial support from Iran has reportedly contributed to Gaza's current crisis, according to Hamas sources.

M302 rockets found aboard the Klos C ship are displayed at an Israeli navy base in the Red Sea resort city of Eilat March 10, 2014. The ship seized by the Israeli navy on suspicion of smuggling arms from Iran to the Gaza Strip docked on Saturday in Israel, which planned to put the cargo on display in hope of denting Tehran's rapprochement with the West. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY CIVIL UNREST TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR3GG0P

Iranian weapons shipment no 'tiebreaker'

The rollout of Israel's seizure of a ship carrying Iranian arms may have disappointed Israeli leaders looking for a public relations windfall.

Iranian activists say celebrating Women's Day is 'not enough'

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has appointed women to his cabinet, but his administration must do a lot more to address discrimination against women in Iran.