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Iran

August 7, 2026

Tehran 12:19 am

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Explainer

Iran-Oman deal spurs Hormuz hopes as Red Sea threats evolve

Iran has signaled that an agreement was reached with Oman establishing a Hormuz shipping route even as Houthi attacks in the Red Sea expand.

Latest News

US stock markets soar to new records amid Hormuz deal hopes

Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

US lifts sanctions on Iraqi airline linked to Iran's IRGC: What to know

A memorial depicting Qassem Soleimani, the slain commander of the "Quds Force" of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), who was killed by a US airstrike in Iraq in 2020, is pictured at Valiasr Square in Tehran on April 6, 2026. Israeli strikes killed the intelligence chief of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, as the Islamic republic on April 6 defied threats from the US President to devastate civilian infrastructure if it does not reopen the Strait of Hormuz. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP via Getty Ima

Trump’s strategy on Iran may pay off as deal appears imminent

President Donald Trump waves as he boards Air Force One at Morristown Municipal Airport on Aug. 2, 2026 in Morristown, New Jersey.

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

Iranian hard-line newspaper falls out of Khamenei's favor

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei seems to be breaking ties with the hard-line Kayhan newspaper, long understood to be his mouthpiece.

Imprisoned 'economic basij' pleads case to Rouhani

Babak Zanjani, the former "economic basij" imprisoned for allegedly using international sanctions to keep $2 billion from the Oil Ministry, has claimed innocence in a letter to President Hassan Rouhani.

U.S. President Barack Obama addresses attendees during the 70th session of the United Nations General Assembly at the U.N. Headquarters in New York, September 28, 2015. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri - RTX1SXTI

Iranian sources confirm Zarif, Obama handshake

Iranian sources have confirmed the handshake between Iran's foreign minister and the US president, although they said it was not planned.

What Rouhani's done to fight corruption

The Rouhani administration has done a great deal to fight pervasive corruption in Iran, and though progress is slow, the removal of sanctions will clear the way for further efforts.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani addresses attendees during the 70th session of the United Nations General Assembly at the U.N. headquarters in New York, September 28, 2015. REUTERS/Mike Segar - RTX1SX63

Rouhani settles into a more 'normal' UN routine

On his third trip to the UN as Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani is eclipsed by Pope Francis, Russian President Vladimir Putin and the deaths of hundreds of Iranian pilgrims in Saudi Arabia.

Why is Jalili pouncing on the nuclear deal?

In Iran, leading conservatives use the platform of a new parliamentary commission to attack the nuclear deal. But why?

The mystery of Iran's missing ambassador

As Saudi sources claim that Iran's former ambassador to Lebanon never entered Saudi Arabia for the hajj, Iranian media outlets are crying foul play.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (L) and Mohammad Nahavandian the Head of Iran Presidential Office (R) arrive for a meeting during the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos January 22, 2014. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse (SWITZERLAND - Tags: POLITICS BUSINESS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTX17PZ0

Rouhani's chief of staff: More US-Iran anti-terrorism cooperation possible

The Iranian president's chief of staff, Mohammad Nahavandian, tells Al-Monitor that the implementation of the nuclear deal will be a test of the West's sincerity.

Congress pursues 'death by 1,000 cuts' strategy against Iran deal

A look at the Middle East issues Congress will be addressing the week of Sept. 28.

President of Iran Hassan Rouhani arrives during the 70th session of the United Nations General Assembly on September 25, 2015, at the United Nations in New York. AFP PHOTO/Dominick Reuter (Photo credit should read DOMINICK REUTER/AFP/Getty Images)

Rouhani blasts Saudi 'ineptitude' for hajj tragedy

In a wide-ranging conversation with senior representatives of US media, Hassan Rouhani said the nuclear deal, if implemented, could be “something to build on” in US-Iran relations and efforts to resolve other regional conflicts, but offered no details.

Iranian officials call for change in hajj administration

After a stampede that killed at least 131 Iranians and with more than 300 still missing, Iranian officials have called for a review to change the administration of hajj pilgrimages for it to be put under the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seen delivering his speech to the U.S. Congress on television screens in an electronics store in a Jerusalem shopping mall March 3, 2015. Netanyahu warned U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday against accepting a nuclear deal with Iran that would be a "countdown to a potential nuclear nightmare" by a country that "will always be an enemy of America". REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4RWX2

What Israel should do about Iran

Israel, if it fully takes into account the Mideast's yawning Sunni-Shiite divide, could benefit from reconsidering its point of view on Iran.