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

Iran cover image

Iran

April 12, 2026

Tehran 8:29 am

19°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

A youth holds a picture of Iran's late leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini during a ceremony to mark Khomeini's death anniversary at his tomb at Tehran's Behesht-Zahra cemetery June 3, 2011. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS ANNIVERSARY RELIGION) - RTR2N9KQ

Who Are Iran's Voters?

While we have an idea of who will be among the candidates for Iran's presidency, what do we know about Iran's voters?

Iraqi Shi'ite al Hawza cleric Sheikh Jassim Al-Saidi prays in a Baghdad
mosque June 3, 2003 after being released from detention by U.S. forces.
Al-Saidi said that he had been accused of instigating violence towards
American forces occupying Iraq. REUTERS/Faleh Kheiber REUTERS

CLH/ - RTROS2A

Competition Heats Up Between Qom, Najaf

The long-standing competition for influence between Shiites' two holiest cities is growing.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attend a news conference at the Bocharov Ruchei state residence in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, May 14, 2013. Putin said on Tuesday it was important to avoid actions that might aggravate Syria's civil war, a veiled warning against foreign military intervention or arming anti-government forces. REUTERS/Maxim Shipenkov/Pool (RUSSIA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTXZLY7

Will Israel Take Out The Russian Missiles in Syria?

Israel considers its options if Russia goes ahead with its plan to sell S-300 missiles to Syria.

Iran's Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi (L) talks with his Jordanian counterpart Nasser Judeh during their meeting in Amman May 7, 2013. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed (JORDAN - Tags: POLITICS) - RTXZDG7

Why Did Iran's Foreign Minister Visit Jordan?

Did Jordan's King Abdullah II charge Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi with sending a "friendly message" to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad?

An Israeli Air Force F-15I jet is seen in the background as Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon (3rd R) speaks to reporters while standing next to Israel's armed forces chief Major-General Benny Gantz (R) and commander of Israel's Air Force Major-General Amir Eshel (4th R) during a presentation at Hatzerim air base in southern Israel April 30, 2013. Israel on Tuesday launched its first targeted attack on a militant in Gaza since a war in November, killing a Palestinian jihadist in an air strike that put f

Israel’s Mistake in Attacking Syria

Israel’s air strikes on Syria have set back its interests in the region.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin (R) speaks to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (C) as Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov listens during their meeting in Moscow, May 7, 2013. Kerry told Putin on Tuesday the United States and Russia share common interests in Syria, including promoting regional stability and preventing the spread of extremism. REUTERS/Mikhail Klimentyev/RIA Novosti/Pool (RUSSIA - Tags: POLITICS)

ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, E

US Should Heed Russia, Include Iran in Syria Talks

Russia is asking the US to include Iran in the upcoming "Geneva II" conference on Syria, a move that could also benefit the stalemated nuclear talks.

Rise of Radical Jihadists Setback for Syria

US military intervention would not have prevented, and will not prevent, radical jihadism in Syria.

Iranian anti-narcotics policemen demonstrate their weapons skills during a ceremony concluding anti-narcotics maneuvers in Zahedan, 1,605 kilometers (1,003 miles) southeast of Tehran May 20, 2009. The head of the U.N. crime agency praised Iran during a visit on Wednesday for curbing the flow of smuggled heroin from Afghanistan and helping keep the drug off Western streets. REUTERS/Caren Firouz (IRAN CRIME LAW POLITICS SOCIETY) - RTXKMGD

Tehran Battles Drugs, Addiction And Crime

An inside report on rising drug addiction and crime in Iran’s capital.

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on leaving the office to report, film or take pictures in Tehran.

Former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani gives the opening speech during Iran's Assembly of Experts' biannual meeting in Tehran March 8, 2011. Rafsanjani lost his position on Tuesday as head of an important state clerical body after hardliners criticised him for being too close to the reformist opposition. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi (IRAN - Tags: POLITIC

Gaming Iran’s Presidential Election

The signs point to a tight race between former Iranian President Hashemi Rafsanjani and Tehran Mayor Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.

Iranian supporter of presidential candidate Rafsanjani puts US bill in front of pre-election poster outside Tehran's bazaar. An Iranian supporter of presidential candidate Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani puts a US$100 bill in front of his pre-election poster outside Tehran's bazaar June 7, 2005. Tehran's bazaar is a bastion of conservative power in the Islamic Republic and played a leading role in the 1979 Islamic revolution. But merchants know their traditional trading methods are threatened by attempts to mode

Can Rafsanjani Save Iran’s Economy?

Whoever wins the Iranian presidential election will face a daunting economic challenge.

A supporter of the Shi'ite al-Houthi rebel group shouts slogans during a demonstration in Sanaa, against the deportation of Yemeni labourers from Saudi Arabia, April 5, 2013. Saudi Arabia has begun deporting thousands of Yemeni labourers following new regulations requiring foreigners to work only for their sponsors, a Yemeni official said on Monday, a move that could "significantly damage" the poor country's economy. Some two million of Yemen's 25 million citizens work abroad, more than half of them in larg

Iran's Angle in Yemen

What is the relationship between Iran and Yemen's Houthi community?

U.S. President Barack Obama (7th R) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (6th R) pose with members of Israel's defense force as he views an Iron Dome Battery at Ben Gurion International Airport Airport in Tel Aviv March 20, 2013. Obama said at the start of his first official visit to Israel on Wednesday that the U.S. commitment to the security of the Jewish state was rock solid and that peace must come to the Holy Land. REUTERS/Jason Reed (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) - RTR3F84T

Can the Israeli Defense Budget Be Cut In Half?

A veteran Israeli Defense Forces general claims the threats to Israel today do not require a massive military or huge air force.