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

Iran cover image

Iran

March 17, 2026

Tehran 8:45 pm

15°C

Ali Larijani, former Iranian parliament speaker, addresses the media following his registration at the elections registration office, ahead of the country's election of a new president next month, Tehran, Iran, May 31, 2024.

Iran’s security chief Ali Larijani killed in Israeli strike: Katz

Israel announced that it killed Iran’s top security official, Ali Larijani, in an overnight strike in Tehran.

A smoke plume rises from an ongoing fire near Dubai International Airport in Dubai on March 16, 2026.

Analysis

Why Iran sees UAE as attractive target in war against US, Israel

As the war enters its third week, the Gulf state has come under heavier Iranian missile and drone fire than its neighbors — and even more than Israel.

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

Black smoke rises following an airstrike, as Iranians take part in the Al-Quds (Jerusalem) Day rally, a commemoration in support of the Palestinian people on the last Friday of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, in Tehran on March 13, 2026.

No ceasefire in sight as Trump claims Iran wants a deal

President Donald Trump continues to offer mixed messages about how long the war, now in its third week, might continue.

A cargo ship is pictured off coast city of Fujairah, in the Strait of Hormuz in the northern Emirate, on Feb. 25, 2026.

As Trump presses allies on Hormuz support, reopening hurdles mount

Key European allies have balked at Trump’s request to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, raising doubts about how quickly the US can secure the waterway from Iranian missile and drone threats.

Latest News

State Department says second American 'wrongfully detained' by Iran

Kamran Hekmati

Iran war hits Gulf aluminum exports, risking nearly 10% of global supplies

Aluminum ingots in the Aluminium Dunkerque plant of the American Industrial Partner group on Jan. 13, 2022, in Loon-Plage, near Dunkirk, France.

Iran detains over 500 accused of spying for Israel, US: What to know

Funerals are held for members of Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and other military figures at Enghelab Square on March 11, 2026 in Tehran, Iran.

IEA's Asian members begin deploying emergency oil reserves

A fuel pump is seen while refuelling a car at a gas station on March 13, 2026 in Kobe, Japan. Japan will release oil reserves to address the rise in gasoline and other petroleum products prices starting next Monday, said Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae. The International Energy Agency (IEA) stated that its member countries agreed to release the largest volume of emergency oil reserves in its history, responding to the disruption in energy markets caused by the Middle East War. (Photo by Buddhika Weerasinghe/G

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

An Iranian-Kurdish female fighter stands behind a sand berm during a battle with Islamic State militants in Bashiqa, near Mosul, Iraq November 03, 2016. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah - S1BEUKSWXTAD

Assassinations mount as Iranian Kurdish militants clash with Tehran

Tension builds in northern Iraq as the conflict between Iranian-Kurdish militants and Tehran seems to escalate.

Iraqi-Kurdistan

Iran's Agriculture Minister, Mahmoud Hojjati (C) walks past agricultural equipment during the Sommet de lElevage livestock show at Cournon dAuvergne near Clermont-Ferrand, central France, on October 5, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / Thierry Zoccolan (Photo credit should read THIERRY ZOCCOLAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Iranian MPs move to impeach three of Rouhani’s ministers

Iranian members of parliament move to impeach three ministers in President Hassan Rouhani's government.

French Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian attends the questions to the government session at the National Assembly in Paris, France, February 20, 2018. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes - RC1C077C0AF0

Iran rejects French FM's call to curb missile program

The French foreign minister seemingly failed to persuade Iranian officials to negotiate over their country’s missile program.

Rouhani’s visit a reality check for Iran-India relations

Trade connectivity overtakes energy as Tehran and New Delhi move to forge closer cooperation.

Iran's Rouhani mocks his opponents, again

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who has welcomed criticism in the past, is under fire for mocking his critics once again.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sits in the audience ahead of a planned address at the Muni World 2018 conference in Tel Aviv, Israel February 14, 2018. REUTERS/Nir Elias - RC1B832C7E70

How could Bibi lose by offering 'ultimate deal' with Iran?

Israel Pulse columnist Akiva Eldar calls for direct Iran-Israel talks; Ali Akbar Velayati opposes Sadr-Communist bloc; Has Islamic State returned to Hawija?

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks via a video link from Israel to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) policy conference in Washington, U.S., March 27, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts - RC1F228F8BE0

Pro-Israel lobby struggles to bring parties together ahead of annual conference

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee hasn’t made much headway on key issues such as the Iran nuclear deal and anti-boycott legislation.

Iranian rial banknotes bearing a portrait of the late founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, sit on the stand of an Iraqi money dealer on June 19, 2014, in Arbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq. President Hassan Rouhani said on June 18 Iran would do whatever it takes to protect revered Shiite shrines in Iraq against Sunni militants fighting the Baghdad government. AFP PHOTO/KARIM SAHIB (Photo credit should read KARIM SAHIB/AFP/Getty Images

Iranian lawmakers block cuts to cash handouts

Iran's parliament has dramatically weakened the administration's proposed plan to end cash subsidy payments in a politically motivated backlash against the cost-saving effort.

Turkish-Iranian trade revived amid growing cooperation in Syria

Turkey and Iran have reversed a four-year downturn in bilateral trade as collaboration in Syria increases, but the possibility of a setback remains real.

Mideast braces for war: Israel vs. Iran-backed Hezbollah

Israel is threatening a new war against Hezbollah and its weapons plants in Lebanon and Syria.

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on their ability to film or take pictures in Tehran.
Motorists travel on a highway in Tehran as the city is covered in dust July 6, 2009. The government closed private educational centres, state offices, industrial units and military bases for two days and raised its pollution alert status due to the dust, which an official from Tehran's environment office attributed the source to dust from dried marshland in Iraq blown towar

Iran prepares to boost jobs, clean air by revamping auto fleet

The vast fleet of dilapidated vehicles on Iranian roads may disappear sooner than thought, though not everyone is optimistic about Tehran's latest attempt to get it done.

Russia's UN veto sign of warming ties with Iran says Khamenei adviser

Russia’s veto of a UN Security Council resolution condemning Iran in Yemen’s civil war is a sign of the growing ties between Tehran and Moscow, according to a top adviser to the supreme leader.