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

Iran cover image

Iran

May 6, 2026

Tehran 9:47 pm

26°C

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, second right, talks to his Iranian Counterpart Abbas Araghchi, left, during the bilateral meeting in Beijing, Wednesday, May 6, 2026.

Iran, China discuss Hormuz reopening amid potential US-Iran talks

China’s foreign minister told his Iranian counterpart that “persisting in negotiations is particularly important.”

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks during a press conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on May 5, 2026 in Washington, DC.

Rubio warns Iran of 'total defeat' if it refuses deal

Secretary of State Marco Rubio called for Iran "to make a sensible choice" and resume negotiations.

A billboard with the image of the late Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei wraps the front of a building in Tehran on May 5, 2026.

Analysis

Iran's Gulf gambit: Attacking the UAE to shift US calculations

Tehran is escalating pressure on the United Arab Emirates through strikes and rhetoric, signaling a strategy to widen the conflict and indirectly force Washington to ease its blockade on Iranian ports.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Latest News

Iran’s Araghchi heads to China as US presses Beijing over Hormuz: What to know

Parker Song / Getty Images

EU says energy costs tied to Hormuz crisis have surged past $35B

Lionel BONAVENTURE / AFP via Getty Images)

Few ships pass Hormuz despite US efforts to break Iran's hold

Tankers are seen at the Khor Fakkan Container Terminal in the Sharjah Emirate, along the Strait of Hormuz on June 23, 2025. (Photo by Giuseppe CACACE / AFP) (Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Israel fears Trump seeking Hormuz win while sidestepping Iran nuclear issue

Amirhossein KHORGOOEI / ISNA / AFP via Getty Images

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

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

Iran and Turkey Have DifferencesOn Syria, But Not a Crisis

Iran's ambassador in Ankara, Alireza Bikdeli, says if the Iranian and Turkish differences on Syria were between two other countries, it would have led to serious problems.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani (L) speaks during a news conference in New York September 27, 2013. New Iranian President Rouhani said on Friday he wanted talks with major powers on Iran's nuclear program to yield results in a short period of time and that the improved mood in U.S.-Iranian relations could lead to better ties. REUTERS/Adrees Latif (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS ENERGY) - RTX142CF

The Honor Games: Netanyahu vs. Rouhani

Despite the “post-honor world” we live in, national pride still plays a key role in the relations between Israel and Iran, a zero-sum game that could lead to an abyss.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu points to a red line he has drawn on the graphic of a bomb as he addresses the 67th United Nations General Assembly at the U.N. Headquarters in New York, September 27, 2012. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR38I6N

Israel's Hypocritical Attack On Rouhani

While Israel accuses Iran of buying time with its charm offensive, it is doing exactly the same with the Palestinians as negotiations stall and settlements continue.

Presidential candidate Saeed Jalili (C) casts his ballot during the Iranian presidential election in Tehran June 14, 2013. Millions of Iranians voted to choose a new president on Friday, urged by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to turn out in force to discredit suggestions by arch foe the United States that the election would be a sham. REUTERS/Fars News/Armin Karami (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FO

Collapse of US-Iran Negotiations Will Result in Return of Extremists

Collapse of the negotiations between Presidents Barack Obama and Hassan Rouhani will mean the return of Iranian extremists.

U.S. President Barack Obama talks with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani during a phone call in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington September 27, 2013. U.S. President Barack Obama and new Iranian President Hassan Rouhani held the historic phone call on Friday, in the highest level conversation between the estranged nations in more than three decades. Speaking to reporters at the White House, Obama said both men had directed their teams to work expeditiously toward an agreement on Iran's nuclear

Obama-Rouhani Phone Call Thaws Relations

The phone call between Presidents Barack Obama and Hassan Rouhani is a beacon for future US-Iran relations.

Iran's President Hassan Rohani laughs as he speaks during an event hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations and the Asia Society in New York, September 26, 2013. REUTERS/Keith Bedford (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX14198

Call With Obama Caps Rouhani's UN Charm Offensive

Hassan Rouhani, Iran’s new president, says his first visit to the United States exceeded his expectations, but he leaves many who met him puzzled about what he is really prepared to do.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad wears 3-D glasses to watch a programme about an Iranian rocket during a visit to the control centre for Iran's space programme near Tehran February 4, 2008. Iran launched a rocket on Monday designed to send its first homemade research satellite into orbit in the next year, state television said, a move likely to add to Western concerns about Tehran's nuclear plans. REUTERS/Fars News (IRAN) also see GF2DXFSYXNAA - RTR1WNQL

Ahmadinejad’s Legacy Lingers In Iran’s Happiness Report

Iran ranked low on the World Happiness Report, but that may be changing under President Hassan Rouhani.

Can Turkey, Iran Cooperate on Syria?

Working with Iran could help end Turkey’s growing isolation over the Syrian civil war.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to the media after a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry at the prime minister's office in Jerusalem September 15, 2013. Kerry briefed Netanyahu on Sunday on a U.S.-Russian deal to remove Syria's chemical weapons, an accord that drew a guarded response from the Israeli leader. REUTERS/Larry Downing (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX13M58

Netanyahu Swimming Upstream After Iran's Diplomatic Flurry

US President Barack Obama, Palestinian President Abu Mazen and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's told the UN: Israel must compromise on Palestine, while Iran compromises on its nuclear program.

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on leaving the office to report, film or take pictures in Tehran.

A woman leaves an exchange office at a shopping centre in northern Tehran October 24, 2011. Iranian media reported last week that monetary authorities had reversed a six-month-old decision to cut interest on bank deposits, aiming to mop up excess cash in the economy and halt a dangerous rise of inflation. The news made sense to economists, who said April's int

Iran Should Reconsider Foreign Exchange Policy

Iran would benefit from a shift to a single exchange rate.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L) and Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (R) are seated during a meeting of the foreign ministers representing the permanent five member countries of the United Nations Security Council, including Germany, at UN Headquarters in New York September 26, 2013. Iran's new government began its first talks on its nuclear program with the United States and five other world powers on Thursday, with the Iranian foreign minister taking a seat next to U.S. Secretary of St

US, Iran Officials Make Diplomatic History

US Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif took the first step to reaching a deal by speaking together for half an hour yesterday.

Iranian women walk past a mural showing an interpretation of the Statue of Liberty bearing the face of a skull on the wall of the former US embassy in Tehran on September 25, 2013. Leaders from Iran and the United States have not met since the 1979 Islamic Revolution brought often open hostility to their contacts, particularly over Iran's contested nuclear program. AFP PHOTO/ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)

Iran’s 'Guidance Patrols' Stir Controversy

A rise in street confrontations over morals violations raises new questions about Iran's enforcement of morality laws.