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Iran

April 23, 2026

Tehran 5:33 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

china saudi iran

Iran, Saudi Arabia to resume relations in China-brokered deal

The deal to resume diplomatic ties was brokered by China and follows Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s visit to Beijing.

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi (C) waves to his supporters during a roadshow ahead of the BJP national executive meet in New Delhi on January 16, 2023. (Photo by SAJJAD HUSSAIN/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran-India ties strained by geopolitics, buoyed by economics

This decision by Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian to boycott a conference in India is a reminder of political, economic and military tensions between the two South Asian countries.

Barbara Leaf (L), US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, and Dana Stroul (C), US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence (DASD) for the Middle East, join a media roundtable in Kuwait City on October 19, 2022. (Photo by YASSER AL-ZAYYAT / AFP) (Photo by YASSER AL-ZAYYAT/AFP via Getty Images)

US will 'protect' its technology against China theft in Middle East: Leaf

Barbara Leaf, top Middle East official at the State Department told Al-Monitor that the Syrian government is participating in the drug trade, and blamed Iran for the failure of the nuclear deal.

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin meets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on March 9, 2023.

In Israel, US defense chief Austin warns of heightened Iran-Russia cooperation

US defense chief Lloyd Austin said Biden administration officials are "especially disturbed" by Israeli settler violence against Palestinians, but vowed nothing would get in the way of Washington's support for Israel's security as it faces threats from Iran.

An undated image of Shahid Mahdavi.

Iran unveils warship, missile launchers amid regional tensions

With the 2,100-ton vessel added to its fleet along with nearly 100 missile-launching boats, Iran appears to be flexing its muscles at sea.

Iranian Women in handmaiden costumes march along Whitehall as a peaceful protest for womens rights on International Womens Day on March 8, 2023 in London, England. Protests continue internationally in solidarity with Iranian women in their struggle for full gender equality and to have the freedom to choose how they want to dress and live their lives without fear, assault or intimidation. (Photo by Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images)

EU, UK sanction Iran, Taliban entities on International Women's Day

Marking International Women’s Day, the European Union and the British government each decided to sanction individuals and entities for violating human rights, particularly sexual and gender-based violence.

An exterior view of the building of US Department of the Treasury is seen on March 27, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Olivier DOULIERY / AFP) (Photo by OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images)

Breaking | Last Updated: March 8, 2023, 2:41 pm

US issues new Iran sanctions over violence against women, girls

Among those sanctioned were two senior officials in Iran’s prison system accused of serious human rights abuses against women and girls.

ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey, Syria, Iran to hold 'technical talks' in Russia next week

The technical meeting is aimed at achieving progress in the stalled high-level dialogue process between Ankara and Damascus.

Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu (R) and his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian pose.

Iran's top diplomat to visit Turkey in post-disaster diplomacy

The top Iranian and Turkish diplomats are also expected to discuss the Syrian, Nagorno-Karabakh and bilateral files during their meeting.

Ali Shamkhani (R), Iran's secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, meets with Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed al-Nahyan (L).

Iran says it signed 'aviation cooperation' memo with UAE

The UAE and Iran have cordial economic and political relations, despite being on opposite sides of some regional rivalries.

Iranian high school students sit for their university entrance examination in Tehran on June 25, 2009.

Protests across Iran as schoolgirl poisonings spread nationwide

The chain of suspected poisoning attacks on girls' schools continued unabated, prompting furious Iranians to chant against authorities who are scrambling for answers.

Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Mohammad Eslami (R).

IAEA Iran visit opens window to restart nuclear diplomacy

The nuclear watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency meets Tuesday, as an EU official says an agreement could be "positive” for Iran nuclear talks.