Newsletter: Business & Tech Trump pivots from Hormuz tolls as US-Iran fighting resumes Oil prices remain far below their early May peak of nearly $115 a barrel, but the renewed hostilities have pushed them well above the roughly $70 level seen before the war. By Jack Dutton In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech
Ahmadinejad denies alleged Mossad plot to install him as Iran leader: What to know The former president, who was a virulent critic of Israel while in office, was reportedly part of a Mossad plan to replace the current Iranian leadership. Iran
Newsletter: Daily Briefing Why Iran, US are drifting back to conflict Trump hosts Iraqi PM Zaidi; Bahrain sentences 3 to life in prison over ties to Iran's IRGC; and more. By Ezgi Akin In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO
Interview Why Strait of Hormuz no longer rattles oil markets as much: IMF The fund's Middle East director, Jihad Azour, told Al-Monitor that the big Gulf energy producers now have more capacity to absorb the shock. Jihad Azour Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the International Monetary Fund
Analysis How UK's IRGC designation raises stakes for Iran and Europe By A correspondent in Tehran In Tehran, reporting on politics
Top Iran security official retracts comments on talks with US The powerful politician had faced piling pressure from hard-liners over suggesting that Iran could at some point directly engage with the United States if a “good deal” was within reach. Iran
Ex-UN officials, rights experts urge probe of Iran's 1988 mass killings More than 450 people signed an open letter calling for the UN human rights office to investigate the Iranian president's involvement in the1988 massacre, which Ebrahim Raisi denies. Iran
Iran state broadcaster hacked with images of dissident group The faces of Mujahedin-e-Khalq leaders Massoud and Maryam Rajavi briefly disrupted state TV programming. Iran
Iranian press calls direct talks with US a 'trap' The merits of talking with the United States are being debated in Iranian media after recent comments by the foreign minister. Iran
Iran signals readiness for direct talks with US Amid reported piecemeal progress toward a potential deal, the Iranian government says it has been offered direct talks with the United States in the course of the ongoing multilateral nuclear negotiations in Vienna. Iran
Iran lauds 'good progress' on return to nuclear deal Iran says that the nuclear talks are headed in the right direction, particularly on guarantees against another US exit. Iran
Iran insists prisoner swap not precondition for nuclear deal Iran's comments came after US special envoy for Iran Robert Malley said a nuclear deal was unlikely without the release of four unjustly held Americans. Iran
Blinken: Iran nuclear talks reach 'decisive moment' US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters in Geneva on Friday that the window is closing for negotiators in Vienna to reach a deal. Iran
Iran’s Raisi attacks US during speech to Russian parliament The Iranian president addressed Russian lawmakers on the second day of his visit to Moscow, a “landmark” trip at a critical juncture for the revival of the Iran nuclear deal. Iran
Iran to host joint naval exercises with Russia, China US foreign policy appears to be pushing its major adversaries into each others' hands. Iran
Putin, Raisi look to boost trade, regional cooperation in Moscow talks Ebrahim Raisi's trip to Moscow is unlikely to further elevate relations between the two countries. Russia
The Takeaway: Can US guarantee Iran nuclear deal? From our regional correspondents: Turkey and Syria; Idlib’s rival factions; Egypt and Sudan; Israel’s ultra-orthodox and vaccines; and Iraq’s Islamic cemetery — the largest in the world. Iran
