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

Iran cover image

Iran

March 3, 2026

Tehran 4:43 pm

9°C

TEHRAN, IRAN - MARCH 2: A plume of smoke rises after an explosion on March 2, 2026 in Tehran, Iran. Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was confirmed killed after the United States and Israel launched a joint attack on Iran on February 28. Iran retaliated by firing waves of missiles and drones at Israel, and targeting U.S. allies in the region. (Photo by Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)

Analysis

Israel-US offensive devastates Iran’s military, can Tehran sustain long war?

Tehran is under near-constant bombardment, senior commanders are dead and regional tempers are rising just days into the fighting.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Staff from Qatar Airways help assist people with questions at their empty check-in area at London Heathrow Airport in west London on March 1, 2026, as flights are severely disrupted following the US and Israel's strikes on Iran.

State Department urges Americans in Middle East to leave immediately

The latest travel advisory applies to nearly the entire region and comes as the US Embassy in Jordan evacuated all personnel due to an unspecified threat.

A man rides a motorbike past a billboard of Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in Tehran on March 2, 2026.

Analysis

As Iran weighs Khamenei’s successor, some question future of role

Iran faces uncertainty as the process of choosing Khamenei’s successor unfolds, with some experts saying that wartime conditions and the lack of a clear heir could prompt debate over whether the supreme leader’s office should continue in its traditional form.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Small boats loaded with merchandise sail past the St. Kitt's and Nevis-flagged container ship Marsa Victory in the waters of the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Khasab in Oman's northern Musandam Peninsula, on June 25, 2025.

Hormuz traffic slows as Iran threatens to set 'ships on fire'

Maritime intelligence company Lloyd’s List reported on Sunday that no traceable passages have been made by major crude tankers through the Strait of Hormuz since Saturday night.

Latest News

Analysis

From oil to data centers, US-Iran war takes key Mideast infrastructure offline

A food delivery bike drive close to a plume of smoke rising from the Zayed Port following a reported Iranian strike in Abu Dhabi on March 1, 2026. Iran's retaliatory missile and drone campaign in the Gulf has killed three people and wounded 58 in the United Arab Emirates since it began, Emirati authorities said on March 1, the day after the US and Israel launched a nationwaide attack on Iran killing its supreme leader. (Photo by Ryan Lim / AFP via Getty Images)

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

With Gulf partners under fire from Iran, will Europe step up its defense?

Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Meet Alireza Arafi, a Khamenei confidant on Iran’s Leadership Council

Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, a member of Iran’s interim leadership council.

Trump pledges 'whatever it takes,' signals Iran war could last weeks

US President Donald Trump arrives for a Medal of Honor Ceremony in the East Room of the White House on March 2, 2026, in Washington.

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 ambassador to France arrives in a car to attend the New Year wishes ceremony of French President to the diplomatic corps on January 12, 2017 at the Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris. / AFP / STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN (Photo credit should read STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN/AFP via Getty Images)

EU countries summon Iranian ambassadors over human rights concerns

Iran's ambassadors to three European countries have been summoned this week over Tehran's human rights practices.

A nurse prepares to inoculate volunteer Ilya Dubrovin, 36, with Russia's new coronavirus vaccine in a post-registration trials at a clinic in Moscow on September 10, 2020. - Russia announced last month that its vaccine, named "Sputnik V" after the Soviet-era satellite that was the first launched into space in 1957, had already received approval. The vaccine was developed by the Gamaleya research institute in Moscow in coordination with the Russian defence ministry. (Photo by Natalia KOLESNIKOVA / AFP) (Phot

Iran, Russia discuss producing COVID-19 vaccine

Russia’s sovereign wealth fund has been in talks over manufacturing the vaccine with Iran and a number of other countries.

Senate Democrats say Trump administration policy has empowered Iran

The State Department also announced new sanctions on Iran including on the judge who purportedly ordered the execution of famed wrestler Navid Afkari.

Zarif says Iran open to more prisoner exchanges

Iran says it is ready for more prisoner exchanges with the United States via Swiss mediation.

Iran reportedly loading Venezuelan oil for sale abroad

Bloomberg reported that an Iranian ship reached the South American country last week. The United States is trying to stop fuel transfers between the two countries.

TOPSHOT - Members of a student organisation, mask-clad due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, stand before a wall showing the names of donors at Nojavanan school in Iran's capital Tehran on the first day of schools re-opening on September 5, 2020. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

Third COVID-19 wave overwhelms Iranian hospitals

A third wave of coronavirus infections is bringing Iran's medical infrastructure to its knees as the country’s health minister points to a lack of financial support.

Rouhani says Iran isn’t a ‘bargaining chip’ in US elections

Iran's president told the UN General Assembly that any future administration must "surrender" to Iran.

An Iranian woman walks past a mural on the wall of the former US embassy in the Iranian capital Tehran on May 8, 2018. - US President Donald Trump is due to make his decision on whether to rip up the 2015 nuclear deal and reimpose sanctions on Iran. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

Intel: Russia to pursue military cooperation with Iran once arms embargo expires

Iran's foreign minister, who mocked US efforts to renew the embargo, is headed to Moscow Thursday.

TOPSHOT - An Iranian, wearing a t-shirt with a picture of slain commander Qasem Soleimani, takes part in a demonstration in the capital Tehran on January 3, 2020 against the killing of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards top commander in a US strike in Baghdad. - Iran warned of "severe revenge" and said arch-enemy the United States bore responsiblity for the consequences after killing one of its top commanders, Qasem Soleimani, in a strike outside Baghdad airport. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo by ATTA K

Zarif says retaliation for Soleimani killing still to come

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohmmad Javad Zarif described the former IRGC commander as a "hero for the region" as Iranian leaders make vague threats of retaliation.

Benny Gantz (C), A former IDF Chief and the head of Israeli Resilience party speaks to supporters during an election campaign event in Tel Aviv. Israelis will vote in a parliamentary election on April 9, choosing among party lists of candidates to serve in the 121-seat Knesset

In Washington, Gantz all about US snapback sanctions on Iran

Israel’s Defense Minister Benny Gantz is in Washington today busily encouraging the administration to move ahead with its snapback sanctions move.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during a news conference to announce the Trump administration's restoration of sanctions on Iran, on September 21, 2020, at the US State Department in Washington,DC. - Standing behind Pompeo are (L-R), National security adviser Robert O'Brien, Defense Secretary Mark Esper and US Ambassador to the United Nations Kelly Craft. The United States said Monday it was imposing sanctions on Iran's defense ministry and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro under a UN authority w

US imposes sweeping new Iran sanctions as Security Council ignores snapback attempt

Nearly every UN Security Council member state says the United States lacks the legal authority to reimpose sanctions on Iran.

Rouhani calls US snapback push ‘final point of failure’

The Trump administration, meanwhile, is preparing a new package of sanctions on Iran.