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Iran

April 23, 2026

Tehran 2:18 am

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Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi speaks at a candidates' registration office in Tehran on May 30, 2024, during the first day of registration ahead of the country's presidential election.

Who is Ahmad Vahidi, IRGC chief and hard-liner against nuclear compromise?

A longtime Revolutionary Guard insider with strong ties to Iran’s security apparatus and proxy network, Ahmad Vahidi has taken over the IRGC at a moment of crisis, with some reports suggesting he is playing an outsized role in the country’s decision-making.

BAY ISMOYO / AFP via Getty Images

How are Iran-linked tankers still moving through Hormuz blockade?

At least 19 Iran-linked tankers have passed through the US blockade on the strait to exit the Gulf while at least 15 have entered, according to the cargo-tracking group Vortexa.

Fishing and cargo ships and ferries are pictured in the Gulf off the Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas, which is the main base of the Islamic Republic's navy and has a strategic position on the Strait of Hormuz, on April 29, 2019.

Iran seizes two cargo ships in Hormuz after Trump extends ceasefire

The IRGC Navy’s seizure of two cargo vessels follows US Navy interdictions of two Iran-linked crude oil tankers in the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean earlier this week.

Mahdi Farid, who was convicted of espionage for Israel’s Mossad, was executed after his death sentence was upheld by Iran’s Supreme Court, Tehran, Iran, April 22, 2026.

Iran executes 14th person since war over alleged Mossad ties: What to know

Iran has carried out multiple executions since the outbreak of the war with the United States and Israel, as it intensifies a crackdown on individuals accused of spying for Israel.

Latest News

Analysis

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

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.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Trump extends ceasefire with Iran ‘until discussions concluded’

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

Analysis

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

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.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Analysis

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

ATTA KENARE / 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

Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif (L) talks with China's President Xi Jinping (R), ahead of the Belt and Road Forum, in Beijing on May 13, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / POOL / JASON LEE (Photo credit should read JASON LEE/AFP via Getty Images)

Pakistan sees opportunities, questions in China's Iran-Saudi deal

Having often been caught in the middle between the rivals, Pakistan is looking forward to calmer Saudi-Iran relations and reaping economic benefits through its partner, China.

ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images

In Iran, 'death to Khamenei' chants on Nowruz as leader gives victorious speech

On the new Iranian year, when Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei hailed the Islamic Republic's triumph over the public uprising, many Iranians marked the event with death slogans against him.

The US Treasury building in Washington, DC, on Dec. 19, 2021.

US imposes fresh sanctions over Iran drone procurement

The US Treasury Department designated four entities and three people, including one based in Turkey, accused of aiding Iran's drone and weapons programs.

JOSEPH EID/AFP via Getty Images

Culture

2023 Mideast happiness rankings: UAE, Israel happiest as Lebanon hits bottom

The Middle East and North Africa region remains the least happy region after sub-Saharan Africa globally, but several regional nations have become happier in comparison to the previous period.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken testifies before a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing.

Breaking | Last Updated: March 20, 2023, 4:57 pm

US outlines Iran abuses including torture in annual report

Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged the international community to confront Iran's violent clampdown on protests.

Iran's Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Shamkhani (L).

Iran, Iraq sign security deal boosting border cooperation

The deal follows the Islamic Republic escalating its attacks on Kurdish groups in Iraq amid the ongoing protests in Iran.

An Iranian man walks past banners at a street exhibition by Iran's army and paramilitary Revolutionary Guard force to celebrate "Defence Week", marking the 41th anniversary of the start of 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war, at the Baharestan Square in Tehran, on September 25, 2021. (Photo by Atta KENARE / AFP) (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

EU, UK slap new sanctions on Iran's IRGC leadership

Shortly after the British Foreign Ministry announced more sanctions against Iranian officials, the European Union added its own new sanctions on Iranian individuals and entities.

A member of the US Airforce looks on near a Patriot missile battery at the Prince Sultan air base in Al-Kharj, in central Saudi Arabia on February 20, 2020.

US officials skeptical of China's deal but concerned about deterring Iran

China’s diplomatic reach into heart of Middle East was an unmistakable signal to Washington. Read more in the weekly security-focused newsletter from Al-Monitor’s Pentagon Correspondent Jared Szuba.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi leaves Downing Street after a meeting with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on October 22, 2020 in London, England. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Explainer: How Iraq planted the seeds for China's Saudi-Iran deal

Iran and Saudi Arabia finalized their negotiations in Beijing after five sessions of mediation in Baghdad since 2019.

OSCAR DEL POZO/AFP via Getty Images

Iran committed 'horrific acts of torture' against detained children says Amnesty

The London-based organization says Iranian intelligence and security forces used brutal torture methods against children as young as 12 who were arrested in the crackdown on the country’s protests.

Ali Shamkhani with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed

Top Iran official meets UAE's Mohammed bin Zayed after Saudi thaw

On his trip to Abu Dhabi, Iran's Ali Shamkhani spoke of "constructive" engagement as Tehran is exhausting all channels to push back on its growing isolation.

IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi arrives for the IAEA Board of Governors meeting on March 06, 2023 in Vienna, Austria.

IAEA’s Grossi expects Iran’s cooperation as technical team readies visit