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

Iran cover image

Iran

April 12, 2026

Tehran 3:42 am

17°C

People gather under a large portrait of Iran's new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, during a memorial to mark the 40th day since his father, Ali Ayatollah Khamenei, was killed in US-Israeli joint strikes, on April 9, 2026, in Tehran, Iran.

Analysis

Ceasefire without relief: How Iranians are grappling with post-war repression

Despite the ceasefire, pressure is mounting inside Iran: arrests are rising, the internet remains largely shut down, and millions face deep economic uncertainty.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

A woman walks past a digital screen displaying news of US-Iran peace talks along a road in Islamabad on April 10, 2026.

In Islamabad, US set to face a more defiant Iran at negotiating table

Iran's widening ambitions after the war include a bid to exercise permanent control over the Strait of Hormuz.

TOPSHOT - Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli strike that targeted an area in Beirut on April 8, 2026. Israel launched a series of strikes on Beirut on April 8, the most violent attack on the Lebanese capital since the start of war. The strikes came as Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah, which drew Lebanon into the Middle East war by attacking Israel on March 2, claimed it was close to a "historic victory". (Photo by Dylan COLLINS / AFP via Getty Images) /

Analysis

Ahead of Washington talks, Israel has little choice but to accept ceasefire in Lebanon

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had little choice but to agree to direct talks with Beirut as it became clear that Hezbollah is unlikely to be quickly disarmed.

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

Latest News

Analysis

Sanctions relief, Pakistan role propel China backing of Iran-US ceasefire

Fu Cong, China's permanent representative to the UN, speaks during a UN Security Council meeting regarding the situation in the Middle East on April 7, 2026, in New York City. A vote on a resolution in the Security Council introduced by Bahrain focusing on reopening the Strait of Hormuz failed after opposition from Russia and China. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Joyce Karam

By Joyce Karam , Rosaleen Carroll

UAE says no more 'niceties' with Iran, seeks clarity on fragile truce terms

TOPSHOT - People watch from a street as a tall smoke plume billows following an explosion in the Fujairah industrial zone on March 3, 2026. Iran's strikes on Gulf neighbours since February 28, following the US-Israeli attack, forced the UAE to shut its airspace, blindsiding travellers who thought they were headed to one of the region's safest holiday destinations. (Photo by Fadel SENNA / AFP via Getty Images)

United Arab Emirates

Lebanon rejects Iran negotiating on its behalf, PM says only Beirut handles talks

This picture taken on April 9, 2026, shows the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the Basta neighbourhood of Beirut the day before. Calls were mounting for the ceasefire between the US and Iran to be extended to Israel's war with Hezbollah, after a massive wave of Israeli strikes on Lebanon killed more than 200 people. (Photo by FADEL itani / AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Ceasefire or strategic pause? How Iran is framing war narrative amid deep mistrust

Iranians hold national flags as they gather in Tehran's Revolution Square after the United States and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire, on April 8, 2026 in Tehran, Iran.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

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

Supporters carry campaign posters for Iranian presidential candidate Saeed Jalili on the streets of Tehran June 12, 2013. Picture taken June 12, 2013. REUTERS/ISNA/Mehdi Ghassemi (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS PICTURE IS DISTRIBUTED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS - RTX10M61

What Will Happen on Election Day In Iran?

Iran has set procedures for conducting elections, but this year a new committee, composed of allies of the supreme leader, will oversee counting the votes.

Iraq's Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari (R) welcomes Iran's Supreme National Security Council Secretary Saeed Jalili (C) at the headquarters of the foreign ministry in Baghdad, August 8, 2012. REUTERS/Mohammed Ameen (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR36FB9

Iran Focused on Elections, Syria, Not Iraq

Baghdad has some breathing room as Iran has been preoccupied with elections and the war in Syria.

Iran's Supreme National Security Council Secretary and chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili listens during a news conference in Almaty February 27, 2013. Iran said nuclear talks with world powers were a "positive step", after two days of negotiations that ended in Almaty on Wednesday. REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov (KAZAKHSTAN - Tags: POLITICS ENERGY) - RTR3EC8O

Why Iran’s Supreme Leader Wants Jalili for President

With his loyalty to the supreme leader and lack of ties to established groups, Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili appears to have Khamenei’s backing.

Babara pix.jpg

Iranian Activism Abroad Mirrors Low-Key Election Campaign

Iranians in the US and Europe try to mobilize support for free and fair elections to highlight restrictions in Iran's June 14 presidential vote.

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on leaving the office to report, film or take pictures in Tehran.
A man looks at the headline of a newspaper at a news stand in Tehran March 4, 2012. Hardliners allied with Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei maintained their lead in the country's parliamentary vote, with partial results on Sunday showing supporters of the president trailing behind. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR2YT

Does Khamenei Have A Favored Candidate?

The perception of being Khamenei's candidate could mean 12 million votes in Iran’s presidential election.

Iranians sit next to electoral posters of Hassan Rohani (L) and Mohsen Rezai (C) in the religious city of Qom some 130 kilometres south of the capital on June 9, 2013. Iran elects on June 14 a successor to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose eight years in office have been marked by stiff Western sanctions over Tehran's controversial nuclear drive and the economic turmoil they have caused. AFP PHOTO/BEHROUZ MEHRI (Photo credit should read BEHROUZ MEHRI/AFP/Getty Images)

Iranian Press Mostly Quiet In Run-up to Election

The crackdown on the media which started five months before the election has effectively stifled critical press inside Iran.

A general view of the Bushehr nuclear power plant, some 1,200 km (746 miles) south of Tehran October 26, 2010. Iran has begun loading fuel into the core of its first nuclear power plant on Tuesday, one of the last steps to realising its stated goal of becoming a peaceful nuclear power, state-run Press TV reported on Tuesday. REUTERS/IRNA/Mohammad Babaie (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS ENERGY) - RTXTUIA

Iran’s Next President and The Third Nuclear Strategy

US President Barack Obama and Iran’s next president should expand the nuclear talks to include regional security matters, including Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria.

Nabilloah Bagheriha of Iran's Persepolis (L) fights for the ball with Rivaldo Vitor Borba Ferreira of Uzbekistan's Bunyodkor during their AFC Champions League soccer match at Tehran's Azadi stadium May 27, 2009. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi (IRAN SPORT SOCCER) - RTXOLC7

Sports an Issue in Iran's Elections

Iran's sports clubs have become politicized in recent years and are an issue in the presidential contest.

Iran's former chief nuclear negotiator Hassan Rohani attends a meeting of Iran's Assembly of Experts in Tehran on March 5, 2013. Iran's Assembly of Experts is an 86-seat body that selects the supreme leader and supervises his activities and holds sessions twice a year. AFP PHOTO/ ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)

New Poll on Iranian Election Shows Rouhani as Front-Runner

Iran's presidential candidate Hassan Rouhani's outspokenness on important issues could propel him to the presidency at the last minute.

Rouhani's Biopic Surprises Iranian Voters

Presidential candidate Hassan Rouhani's 30-minute documentary on state TV has captured voters' attention.

Lebanon's Hezbollah supporters wave Palestinian and Hezbollah flags during a demonstration, organised by Lebanese and Palestinian factions, against Israel's military operation in Gaza, in front of the U.N. headquarters in Beirut November 17, 2012. Israeli aircraft bombed Hamas government buildings in Gaza on Saturday, including the prime minister's office, after Israel's cabinet authorised the mobilisation of up to 75,000 reservists, preparing for a possible ground invasion. REUTERS/Jamal Saidi (LEBANON - T

Hamas-Hezbollah Ties Deteriorate Over Syria

The second segment of a three-part series on Hamas reveals a sharp deterioration in its ties with a former close ally, Hezbollah.

Iranian former Vice-President Mohammad Reza Aref flashes the sign of victory as he registers his candidacy for the upcoming presidential election at the interior ministry in Tehran on May 10, 2013. Iran began a five-day registration period for candidates in Iran's June 14 presidential election, with a string of conservative hopefuls in the running but with key reformists yet to come forward, media reports said. AFP PHOTO/ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)

Iranian Candidate’s Wife An Electoral Asset

Hamideh Moravvej, wife of reformist presidential candidate Mohammad Reza Aref, is pushing boundaries in her frequent campaign appearances and style of dress.