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

Iran cover image

Iran

February 21, 2026

Tehran 11:30 pm

13°C

(EDITOR'S NOTE: This Handout image was provided by a third-party organization and may not adhere to Getty Images' editorial policy.) In this handout photo obtained from the U.S. Defence Department, Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) sails alongside Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. (DDG 121) and Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo ship USNS Carl Brashear (T-AKE 7) in the Arabian Sea, Feb. 6, 2026. According to the U.S. government, the Abraham Lincoln

Analysis

Iran scrambles to shape endgame amid growing US military pressure

With Washington tightening deadlines and deploying assets, Tehran is mounting a rapid diplomatic campaign while preparing for what is increasingly seen as some level of unavoidable confrontation.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Oil, gas and Iran nuclear impasse: Can business deals sway Trump’s calculus?

As Iran-US nuclear negotiations continue, Tehran has been pushing the idea of striking business deals rather than military sites, with proposals spanning oil and gas to aviation.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stands amid debris outside the Soroka Hospital in the southern city of Beersheba, after it was hit by a missile fired from Iran on June 19, 2025. Israel's defence minister warned that Iran's supreme leader "can no longer be allowed to exist" after a hospital was hit in an Iranian missile strike on June 19, spiking tensions in the week-old war. (Photo by Marc Israel SELLEM / POOL / AFP) (Photo by MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Despite warnings from Israel's defense elite, Netanyahu pushes for Iran strike

Although Israeli advisers warn against appearing to drag the US into war, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not hidden his desire to help topple the Islamic Republic.

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

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi looks on upon his arrival to deliver a speech during a session of the United Nations Conference on Disarmament, on the sideline of a second round of US-Iranian talks with Washington pushing Tehran to make a deal to limit its nuclear program, in Geneva, on Feb. 17, 2026.

Iran's FM says US didn’t demand zero enrichment in nuclear talks

The top Iranian diplomat said the two sides have instead discussed “confidence-building measures" related to its nuclear program.

Latest News

Iran, Russia hold naval drills as Araghchi briefs Saudi FM on nuclear talks

This handout photo made available by the Iranian Army Office on March 11, 2025 shows the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy guided-missile destroyer Baotou (133) during joint military drills between Iran, Russia, and China in the Gulf of Oman.

US readies warships, jets, tankers for potential weekslong Iran war

DENMARK-NORWAY-US-FRANCE-NATO-ARMY-DEFENCE-EXERCISE Picture taken on September 24, 2025 from the French Navy frigate Bretagne shows F-18 fighter jets on the deck of the the world's largest aircraft carrier USS Gerald R Ford as both ships are taking part in the NATO Neptune Strike 2025 exercise in the North Sea. According to NATO, more than 10,000 sailors, soldiers, aviators and marines from 13 allied nations took part in the large-scale multinational enhanced Vigilance Activity, running from September 22 to

As Hezbollah vows to defend Iran, Lebanon braces for potential spillover

Joseph EID / AFP via Getty Images

Israel steps up Iran war preparations, keeps plans within small inner circle

Members of the Israeli security forces check the apparent remains of an Iranian ballistic missile lying on the ground in the Golan Heights, Northern Israel, on Thursday, June 19, 2025. (Photo by Michael Giladi / Middle East Images via AFP) (Photo by MICHAEL GILADI/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

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

People wait at a gas station as fuel distribution across more than 70% of gas stations is disrupted, Tehran, Iran, Dec. 18, 2023.

Iran says ‘enemy conspiracy’ behind outage at 70% of gas stations

The Oil Ministry’s Shana news agency reported that operations will be running again as normal within “a few hours” and until then fuel is being distributed offline.

Policemen stand guard outside Sweden's embassy in Tehran on June 30 2023, during a demonstration denouncing the burning of Islam's holy book.

Iran Sunni province awaits crackdown after militant attack

Iran's past pledges to give a "decisive" response to similar militant attacks in Sistan-Baluchistan have effectively meant widespread local raids, a rise in executions and stricter security controls in the already restive region.

People wave Hezbollah and Iranian flags at a rally in Baalbek, Lebanon, May 13, 2022.

Britain hits Iran and its foreign proxies with fresh sanctions

The measures, coordinated with the United States, also target Iran's shipping sector and drone exports.

KHALIL MAZRAAWI/AFP via Getty Images

Iran slams US' planned maritime force in Red Sea

The Iranian threats come amid repeated attacks against vessels in the area, mostly claimed by the Iran-backed Houthi group.

Signs criticizing the Iranian Islamic Regime's use of the death penalty are seen in Trafalgar Square on Sept. 16, 2023, in London, England.

Iran executions rise as world busy with Israel-Hamas war

A man accused of killing a powerful senior cleric was executed in Iran, as rights groups warn of a rising number of executions.

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) military personnel are participating in the Ela Beit Al-Moghaddas (Al-Aqsa Mosque) military rally in Tehran, Iran, Nov. 24, 2023.

Iran holds military drill near Iraqi border to counter ISIS infiltration

The stated goal of the exercise appeared as a shift from Iran's older official line, in which it had declared and taken credit for a "full eradication" of the Islamic State (ISIS).

A truck carries Iranian drones during the annual military parade marking the anniversary of the outbreak of the devastating 1980-1988 war with Saddam Hussein's Iraq, Tehran, Iran, Sept. 22, 2023.

Iran unveils new Karrar drones upgraded with air-to-air missiles

Iran’s drone fleet has raised concerns among the United States and its allies.

CNN's Becky Anderson interviews Iran's Minister of Foreign Affairs Hossein Amir Abdollahian over a videocall during the Doha Forum in the Qatari capital on December 11, 2023. (Photo by SALIM MATRAMKOT / AFP) (Photo by SALIM MATRAMKOT/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran’s FM confirms US messages on Iraq, dodges questions on protests

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said Washington has been dispatching weekly messages to Iran to rein in militants in Iraq and Syria attacking its forces.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi hold a meeting in Tehran on July 19, 2022.

Despite visits, deals, Russia's Putin does not acquiesce to Iran's Raisi on Gaza

The Iranian leadership is finding global sentiments for Gaza civilians as a unique opportunity it shouldn't miss to weaken and corner Israel, the sworn enemy.

Raisi and Putin

After Su-35 deal, Putin hosts Iran’s Raisi as Russia looks East

Iran and Russia, both facing growing sanctions by the West, have deepened their relations in the past year.

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps speedboats cruise past an oil tanker off the port of Bandar Abbas, southern Iran, on July 2, 2012.

Iran says it seized ships in Gulf for alleged fuel smuggling

The seizure and arrest of the foreign crew members occurred south of the disputed Abu Musa island, according to Iranian state media.

TOPSHOT - Protesters hold pictures of Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani, during a demonstration outside the US consulate in Istanbul, on January 5, 2020, two days after top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani was killed by a US drone strike. - A US drone strike killed top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani at Baghdad's international airport on January 3, dramatically heightening regional tensions and prompting arch enemy Tehran to vow "revenge". (Photo by Yasin AKGUL / AFP) (Photo by YASIN AKGUL/AFP via Getty

Iran court orders US to pay $49 billion over Soleimani assassination

Qasem Soleimani led Iran’s elite Quds Force until he was assassinated by the United States in Baghdad in 2020 in response to attacks on US forces in Iraq.