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

Iran cover image

Iran

February 26, 2026

Tehran 3:43 am

11°C

Emergency workers check the damage caused to a building from an Iranian missile strike in Beersheba in southern Israel on June 24, 2025. Israel said on June 24 it had agreed to US President Donald Trump's proposal for a ceasefire with Iran, on the 12th day of war between the foes. (Photo by John Wessels / AFP) (Photo by JOHN WESSELS/AFP via Getty Images)

Australia urges diplomats' dependents to leave Lebanon, Israel: What to know

Australia's order comes just a day after the US directed non-essential personnel at its embassy in Lebanon to depart.

Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Oil, markets digest escalation risks ahead of US-Iran talks

With critical US-Iran talks scheduled for Thursday, markets continue adjusting to the risks posed by an escalation in the Middle East should diplomacy falter.

A member of the security forces stands guard during a rally marking the 47th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Tehran on Feb. 11, 2026.

New Zealand slaps 40 Iran officials with sanctions over protest crackdown

New Zealand is the latest country after Australia, the United States, Germany and others to sanction Iran over the crackdown.

Fires are lit as protesters rally on Jan. 8, 2026 in Tehran, Iran.

Analysis

Iran’s student protests enter fourth day as campuses test limits to regime control

Iran's universities have reopened, but things aren't back to normal, as students chant for regime change and assert alternative political visions in plain view.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Latest News

Iran’s IRGC tests new weapons as second US aircraft carrier nears region

ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Israel fears Trump will clear path for partial Iran deal on nuclear standoff

Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

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

Analysis

Iran scrambles to shape endgame amid growing US military pressure

(EDITOR'S NOTE: This Handout image was provided by a third-party organization and may not adhere to Getty Images' editorial policy.) In this handout photo obtained from the U.S. Defence Department, Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) sails alongside Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. (DDG 121) and Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo ship USNS Carl Brashear (T-AKE 7) in the Arabian Sea, Feb. 6, 2026. According to the U.S. government, the Abraham Lincoln

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Analysis

Oil, gas and Iran nuclear impasse: Can business deals sway Trump’s calculus?

AFP via Getty Images

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

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's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani.

Iran nuclear talks make slow progress

Wrapping up the latest round of nuclear talks in Vienna, the two sides are currently making progress — but issues remain.

ALEX HALADA/AFP via Getty Images

'Political decisions' required to close Iran nuclear deal, says EU

Negotiators are returning to their capitals to decide on a revised "final text" following the latest Vienna talks.

Iran nuclear

Analysis

Iran’s long shadow from Vienna to Baghdad and beyond

More may be riding on the JCPOA talks than just the fate of Iran’s nuclear program.

Week in Review

By Week in Review

Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani leaves after talks at the Coburg Palais, the venue of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in Vienna on Aug. 4, 2022.

IAEA report still key sticking point in Iran nuclear talks

Multiple sources report ‘progress’ in Vienna meetings this week.

A picture taken on February 18, 2017, shows a general view of a bridge in the Iranian city of Ahvaz during a sandstorm.

Iranian satellite to help agricultural production, disaster management

Iran experiences water issues due to inefficiency, drought and other factors, and this relates to the agricultural sector as well as sandstorms.

ALEX HALADA/AFP via Getty Images

Iranian negotiators in Vienna as questions remain over IRGC delisting

The removal of the Revolutionary Guards from the US list of foreign terrorist organizations continues to play a central role in the debates surrounding the revival of the Iran nuclear deal.

ALEX HALADA/AFP via Getty Images

Negotiators head to Vienna for Iran nuclear talks

An Iranian lawmaker says recent proposals have grown closer to Iran’s positions.

ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

Iran vows response to US sanctions, ramps up enrichment

In response to new US sanctions, Iran has announced its capability to develop atomic weapons.

Annabelle Chih/Getty Images

Syria, Iran condemn Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan

China is a close ally of both countries but has also made economic inroads recently with US partners in the Middle East.

Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian (R) attends a press conference with Josep Borrell, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (L), at the foreign ministry headquarters in Iran's capital Tehran on June 25, 2022.

Iran nuclear talks in Vienna could resume in days

The EU's policy chief says Iran will receive significant economic and financial dividends from a nuclear deal.

ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

Iran's oil trade hit with new round of US sanctions

Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned the United States will continue targeting Iran's petroleum exports unless the nuclear agreement is revived.

WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images

Iran-Afghanistan border tensions continue

The Islamic Republic and the Taliban have formed a committee to address violence on the border.