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May 4, 2026

Tehran 5:50 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.

Latest News

Analysis

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

Ibrahim AMRO / AFP via Getty Images

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

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

Iraq's Vice-President Adil Abdul-Mahdi speaks to reporters at the King Hussein Convention Centre during the World Economic Forum on the Middle East at the Dead Sea May 16, 2009. Hundreds of the world's businessmen gathered on the Jordanian side of the Dead Sea to discuss social and political reforms in the world. REUTERS/Ali Jarekji (JORDAN POLITICS) - RTXHOKM

Former Iraq VP: Terrorism, political conflict behind Anbar crisis

In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, former Iraqi Vice President Adil Abdul-Mahdi speaks about the Anbar crisis, Iranian influence in Iraq and his expectations for the upcoming elections.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry speaks with Qatar's Foreign Minister Khalid al-Attiyah (L) before the opening session of the Syrian Donors Conference at Bayan Palace in Kuwait City January 15, 2014. Kuwait's emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Sabah promised $500 million on Wednesday for U.N. humanitarian efforts in Syria, devastated by almost three years of civil war. The emir made the pledge at an international donor conference intended to help the world body reach a $6.5 billion aid target for the crisis in

Qatar's foreign minister: Iran has 'crucial role' in Syria

In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, Qatari Foreign Minister Khalid bin Mohammad Al-Attiyah calls for a unified Syrian opposition and describes the plight of the Syrian people as "unprecedented."

Israeli soldiers look across the border to Syria in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights August 30, 2013. Israel ordered a small-scale mobilisation of reservists on Wednesday and strengthened its missile defences as precautions against possible Syrian attack should Western powers carry out threatened strikes on Syria. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (MILITARY POLITICS) - RTX131QH

Israel recognizes Assad's staying power

Israel shifts its strategic posture, recognizing that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is staying on and that a jihadist alternative would be even worse.

Russia, Iran set stage for Geneva II; Turkey’s slow turnaround on Syria

Russian and Iranian diplomacy have helped shape the Geneva II agenda to include a cease-fire, humanitarian relief and counterterrorism in Syria.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) passes Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif during their meeting in Moscow's Kremlin January 16, 2014. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin (RUSSIA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX17GFG

Russia plays the Iran card

Moscow believes that Iran's role in the Middle East will only become more prominent in the future, prompting it to further boost relations at the expense of US regional influence.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (R) helps Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to stand during a news conference in Ankara November 1, 2013. Turkey and Iran said on Friday they had common concerns about the increasingly sectarian nature of Syria's civil war, signalling a thaw in a key Middle Eastern relationship strained by stark differences over the conflict. Davutoglu expressed his appreciation to Zarif at the start of the news conference for travelling to Turkey despite suffering from b

Turkey shifts toward Iran on Syria

Turkey is resetting its relations with Iran, including over Syria.

A tourist visits the the Chogha Zanbil Ziggurat near Susa, in Khuzestan province, southwestern Iran September 29, 2011. Picture taken September 29, 2011. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi (IRAN - Tags: SOCIETY TRAVEL) - RTR2S198

Iran’s tourism industry struggles to meet growing demand

While Iranian officials have stated they plan to grow Iran's tourism industry, challenges such as investment, visa requirements and cultural issues must be addressed.

Iranian scholar: nuclear deal key to domestic reforms

In an exclusive interview, Tehran University professor Zibakalam tells Al-Monitor that President Hassan Rouhani has correctly judged that resolving the nuclear crisis will give his administration the opportunity to pursue domestic reforms.

US Deputy Secretary of State William J. Burns listens during a press conference at the US Department of the Treasury July 11, 2013 in Washington, DC. Officials from the United States and China are meeting to discus the two world powers' relationships during the 5th United States and China Strategic and Economic Dialogue. AFP PHOTO/Brendan SMIALOWSKI (Photo credit should read BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images)

Burns to Al-Monitor: 'No illusions' about nuclear diplomacy with Iran

In an exclusive interview, Deputy Secretary of State William Burns discusses leading the US back channel to Iran, the upcoming Geneva II conference on Syria, the role of secret diplomacy and 32 years in the US foreign service.

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (L) attends a joint conference with Lebanon's caretaker Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour in Beirut January 13, 2014. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX17CRS

Zarif trip to Lebanon includes signal to Saudi Arabia

Iran and Hezbollah's abrupt change toward the formation of a Lebanese government might be part of a regional settlement.

Lebanon's President Michel Suleiman (C) meets with members of "March 14" coalition at the presidential palace in Baabda, near Beirut, June 18, 2013. Lebanon's main Sunni Muslim political party pleaded with the presidency on Tuesday to prevent "state collapse", blaming the Shi'ite Hezbollah group for dragging the country into the war in neighbouring Syria. REUTERS/Dalati Nohra/Handout via Reuters (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS) ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY.

Special tribunal may foreshadow agreement on Lebanon government

Various domestic and regional developments, most notably the first session of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon to be held this week, could be the necessary spark for Lebanese factions to finally agree on a government.

Ahmad Jarba, leader of Syria's opposition National Coalition (L-R), French Foreign Affairs Minister Laurent Fabius, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Egypt's Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry attend a news conference at the French foreign ministry during a "Friends of Syria" meeting ahead of Geneva II peace talks, in Paris, January 12, 2014. The "Friends of Syria", an alliance of mainly Western and Gulf Arab countries who oppose Syrian President Bashar al-As

The new pulse of Geneva II

The trend in the Geneva II process shifts to cooperation on humanitarian and counterterrorism issues; Erdogan under fire in Turkey.