Iran-US tensions

US soldiers patrol in Syria's northeastern city Qamishli, in the Hasakeh province, mostly controlled by Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), on Jan. 9, 2025.

How the US drawdown in Syria is expected to play out

Senate Foreign Relations Chair Jim Risch called the US troop presence in Syria "critical" to contain ISIS and urged a Russian withdrawal, as sources said US troops are expected to eventually draw down to a single base in Hasakah province.

A security guard stands below a giant screen showing news footage of China's President Xi Jinping speaking virtually to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization meeting, which was being held in India, at a shopping mall in Beijing on July 4, 2023.

Analysis

Looking East: How Iran is leveraging Asia ties to offset Western pressure

With sanctions still in place and nuclear talks stalled, Iran is using its SCO membership to forge economic and strategic ties across Central and South Asia.

Sabena Siddiqui

By Sabena Siddiqui

In Karachi, reporting on South Asia, Middle East, Iran

Iranian motorcyclist pass by a banner of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, placed next to a ballistic missile in Baharestan Square in Tehran, Iran, on September 26, 2024 on the sideline of an exhibition which marks the 44th anniversary of the start of Iran-Iraq war.

Analysis

As US nuclear talks stall, Iran ups military planning, turns to China for missile fuel

Amid uncertainties in the recent US-Iran nuclear diplomacy, Tehran is gearing up for a showdown with Israel, reportedly rebuilding its missile capabilities and threatening Israel with a devastating response.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

US President Donald Trump (R) attends a meeting with Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, during the G20 summit in Osaka on June 28, 2019.

Analysis

Russia's Putin offers Trump help on Iran, likely with strings attached

As Iran weighs the US proposal for a nuclear deal, Russia has volunteered to play a role facilitating future talks.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

Latest News

US green-lights $325 million in sustainment for Kuwait’s M1 Abrams tanks

A picture taken on Feb. 21, 2020 shows M1 Abrams Fighting tanks of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, as US military equipment arrives to the Port of Bremerhaven the United States for the Defender 2020 international military exercises.

Analysis

US' Syria pullout continues amid looming Iran clash

US soldiers patrol in Syria's northeastern city Qamishli, in the Hasakeh province, mostly controlled by Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, on January 9, 2025. (AFP via Getty Images)

Jared Szuba

In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military

Trump travel ban bars entry from Iran, Libya, Sudan, Yemen

US President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on May 23, 2025.

Iran oil exports to China fall sharply amid US sanctions, weakened demand

An oil tanker unloads imported crude oil at Qingdao port in China's eastern Shandong province on May 9, 2022.

Men ride scooters past a billboard depicting (L to R) the late commander of the Popular Mobilization Units Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Qassem Soleimani, Baghdad, Iraq, June 13, 2021.

Iraqi PM condemns former US administration for killing Soleimani

At a ceremony marking the anniversary of the assassination of Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani condemned the former US administration for carrying out the strikes.

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Iraq judicial chief highlights arrest warrant for Trump over Soleimani killing

The 2020 US airstrike that killed Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad continues to be a sore point between the US and Iraqi governments.

A picture shows a newspaper stall with a view of Etemad newspaper's front page bearing a title reading in Farsi "The night of the end of the JCPOA ", and cover photos of Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian his deputy and chief nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani, in the capital Tehran on August 16, 2022. - The European Union and United States said they were studying Iran's response to a "final" draft agreement on reviving a 2015 nuclear accord with major powers the EU presented at talks in Vien

Analysis

Iran deal becomes latest casualty of Russia's war in Ukraine

US, European and Iranian diplomats explain how the negotiations on a return to the Iran nuclear deal have been eclipsed by Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Ali Hashem

In Doha, reporting on Iran, regional politics, conflict

Lt. Gen. Michael E. Kurilla testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Washington, Feb. 8, 2022.

Analysis

US top Middle East commander tests new model of deterring Iran

As the Pentagon shifts focus to China and Russia, CENTCOM’s chief is banking on experimentation with unmanned surveillance and artificial intelligence to offset a smaller US footprint in the Middle East.

Jared Szuba

In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military

Iraq's Hashed al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilisation Forces) paramilitaries supporters raise pictures depicting their late slain commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, and the slain top commander of the Iranian revolutionary guard corps (IRGC) Qasem Soleimani with whom he was killed in a US air strike, as they gather in Iraq's central holy shrine city of Karbala on September 16, 2022. (Photo by MOHAMMED SAWAF/AFP via Getty Images)

UK relations with Iran take nosedive ahead of IRGC designation

The designation will put the IRGC in a similar legal category as al-Qaeda and the Islamic State in the eyes of the UK government, outlawing membership in, financial dealings with and encouraging support for the paramilitary organization.

Al-Monitor Staff

By Al-Monitor Staff

A member of Iraq's Hashed al-Shaabi stands guard in front of a banner depicting slain Iraqi commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis (L) and Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander Qasem Soleimani, near Baghdad's International Airport on January 2, 2023. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images)

Iraq's pro-Iran militias plan mass demonstrations on anniversary of Soleimani's killing

The PMU had set up a monument of Qassim Soleimani and Abo Mahdi Mohandas on Baghdad's airport boulevard this year, something that the former Iraqi government had blocked

DEBBIE HILL/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Will Biden, Netanyahu find common ground on Iran in 2023?

EU Foreign Policy Chief meanwhile says ‘no alternative’ to JCPOA to prevent an Iranian nuclear weapon.

Week in Review

By Week in Review

Israeli right-wing Knesset member Itamar Ben-Gvir (R) chats with incoming Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L).

Netanyahu puts Iran, Saudi Arabia at top of agenda

Incoming Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated several times that he aspires to normalize ties with Saudi Arabia, but with his pro-settler right-wing partners, the chances of that happening are slim to none.

Former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (C) raises his hands toward cheering supporters while standing next to Venezuela's Foreign Minister Elias Jaua (R) as he enters the funeral for Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez at the Military Academy on March 8, 2013 in Caracas, Venezuela. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

What's behind Ahmadinejad's awkward silence on Iran's protests?

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s silence since the beginning of the protests in Iran on Sept. 16 is curious and exposes his possible intentions to remain an establishment loyalist rather than falling out of grace with the ruling clerics.

US Central Command Commander Gen. Michael Kurilla speaks at the 18th IISS Manama Dialogue, Manama, Bahrain, Nov. 19, 2022.

US working with Saudi Arabia on strategic military plans, general says

The Biden administration is leveraging the Pentagon to quietly rebuild trust with Riyadh in the wake of a very public dispute.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy receives from US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) (L) a US national flag.

Iran says patience running thin with Zelenskyy's accusations over Ukraine war

Iran and Ukraine appeared to be entering a new phase in their war of words, triggered by evidence of Tehran's shipment of deadly combat drones to Moscow.

The Department of the Treasury building is seen in Washington, DC, on Aug. 29, 2022.

Breaking | Last Updated: December 21, 2022, 6:31 pm

US targets Iran's prosecutor general, military officials with new sanctions

The US Treasury Department also designated a company manufacturing riot gear for Iran's law enforcement.