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

Iran cover image

Iran

April 22, 2026

Tehran 11:06 am

19°C

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi speaks to the press during a visit to the shrine of slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut's southern suburbs on Jan. 8, 2026.

Analysis

As Iran's power struggle deepens, US talks stall, who’s calling the shots in Tehran?

Ultraconservative figures and security officials have intensified their criticism of the negotiating team, accusing it of jeopardizing Iran’s gains.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

President Donald Trump walks toward reporters before answering questions before boarding Air Force One on April 10, 2026, at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland.

Trump extends ceasefire with Iran ‘until discussions concluded’

Trump also said he directed the US Navy to continue its blockade of Iranian ports.

A picture shows the Ras Laffan Industrial City, Qatar's principal site for production of liquefied natural gas and gas-to-liquid, administrated by Qatar Petroleum, some 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of the capital Doha, on Feb. 6, 2017.

Analysis

Gulf energy deals face Iran war stress test as global expansion meets oil shock

ADNOC, Aramco and QatarEnergy have aggressively expanded their international portfolios in recent years, a strategy facing new constraints as the US-Israel-Iran war impacts Gulf production and exposes structural risks.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

ATTA KENARE / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Israel sees chance of US-Iran deal as almost 'non-existent,' readies for war

As US President Trump makes contradictory statements regarding his intentions toward Iran and the ongoing negotiations, Israel is preparing for the possibility of resuming military operations.

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

Latest News

US boards Iran-linked tanker in Indian Ocean, vows pursuit of 'ghost fleet'

TOWNSVILLE, AUSTRALIA - JULY 14: A US Navy Seahawk helicopter takes off from the deck of the USS Ronald Reagan on July 14, 2017 in Townsville, Australia. USS Ronald Reagan is a 1,092- foot aircraft carrier which carries a crew of 4,539 around 60 aircraft. Exercise Talisman Sabre is the largest combined military exercise undertaken in Australia. The biennial exercise is the principal Australian and U.S. military training activity. (Photo by Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images)

Interview

Olmert: Only Israel-Lebanon deal can curb Hezbollah, occupation 'unviable'

Olmert

Two Iranians face US court in sanctions, arms trafficking cases: What to know

Commuters make their way past a giant billboard of slain Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at Valiasr Square in Tehran on April 19, 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

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a welcoming ceremony in Beijing, China, February 14, 2023. Iran's President Website

Iran official sacked as fears of China's economic influence grow

While the comment infuriated the sitting government, to many it was an honest slip of the tongue about the extent of the crisis in Iran's cash-strapped economy, stirring up also speculation on Chinese "colonial-style" influence.

Israel's Defence Minister Yoav Gallant (L).

Israel's defense chief: Iran has enough uranium for five nuclear bombs

On an official visit in Greece, Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warns against Iran’s continued efforts to advance its nuclear program.

LOUAI BESHARA/AFP via Getty Images

Iran's president meets Palestinian Hamas, Islamic Jihad leaders in Syria

The meeting between Raisi and Palestinian officials comes days after Palestinian militants fired dozens of rockets from the Gaza Strip toward southern Israel in response to the death of Islamic Jihad prisoner Khader Adnan.

The Tahbaz and Shargi families demonstrating in front of the White House on May 3, 2023.

Prisoners’ families appeal to Biden as Iran tensions heat up

Their families’ pleas come as tensions between Iran and the United States remain high over Tehran’s rapidly accelerating nuclear program, its violent protest crackdown and supply of armed drones to Russia.

Iranian employees of Saipa auto plant assemble a Tiba (Gazelle) car in the central city of Kashan on May 9, 2010. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad inaugurated the largest automobile factory in the Middle East with a capacity of producing 150,000 cars a year, creating 4,000 jobs directly and 20,000 indirectly in the region. The Saipa factory will produce a new small car called Tiba costing between 80 and 90 million Rials (8,000 to 9,000 USD) for lower-middle class population. AFP PHOTO/ISNA/ALIREZA SOTA

Iran's SAIPA signs $497 million car deal with Russia, Belarus

Iranian carmaker SAIPA will export vehicles to Belarus and Russia following a similar agreement with Venezuela.

This US Navy handout screenshot of a video shows fast-attack craft from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy swarming Greek-owned oil tanker Niovi as it transits the Strait of Hormuz

Iran's IRGC seizes second oil tanker in Gulf waters in six days, says US Navy

The incident happened off UAE coast of Fujairah and involved a Panama-flagged Niovi vessel.

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, on the right, received his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi at the presidential palace in Damascus on May 3, 2023

Iran's President Raisi meets Assad in Syria, first such visit in 13 years

The two countries are expected to sign several economic agreements in a show of friendship.

India's National Security Advisor Ajit Doval (L) and Jammu and Kashmir state governor Satya Pal Malik (R) attend a ceremony to celebrate India's 73rd Independence Day, which marks the end of British colonial rule, in Srinagar on August 15, 2019. (Photo by Tauseef MUSTAFA / AFP) (Photo credit should read TAUSEEF MUSTAFA/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran-India meeting in Tehran focuses on de-dollarization, averting sanctions

Iran urged India to launch a rial-rupee mechanism in bilateral trade, as the Islamic Republic pursues the "look to the East" policy as a strategy to mitigate the onerous impacts of US sanctions on its oil-dependent economy.

A woman walks past a mural in the Iranian capital Tehran, on October 11, 2022. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran steps up hijab crackdown on women, shuttering businesses

In Iran's capital Tehran, some 150 such shops have been forced to close by authorities in the past two weeks alone.

Families of wrongfully detained Americans hold a demonstration on May 4, 2022, in Washington, DC.

Iran IRGC unit hit with US sanctions for hostage-taking

The sanctions on Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Intelligence Organization come as several Americans remained unlawfully jailed in the country.

Lebanon Prime Minister Najib Mikati (R) and Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian meet in Beirut on October 7, 2021. (Photo by anwar amro / AFP) (Photo by ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran FM in Lebanon, urges vote on president without 'foreign interference'

Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian held talks with Lebanese officials as the country faces a deepening political and economic crisis.

This photograph taken on Feb. 8, 2023, shows a large banner with a portrait of Belgian aid worker Olivier Vandecasteele.

Belgium looking into Iran's request for prisoner swap

Belgium and Iran seemingly advance toward a prisoner exchange deal, though Brussels is warning that contrary to Tehran’s statements this could take time.