Iran-US tensions

Iran's president, Masoud Pezeshkian, addresses members of parliament in Tehran on March 2, 2025.

Analysis

Reeling from Israel war, Iran expands espionage law, bans Starlink use

Iran has officially enacted a sweeping new espionage law imposing harsher measures — including the death penalty — for collaboration with Israel, as rights activists decry what they say is a new campaign of arbitrary arrests and deeper repression.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

A woman walks past a deactivated Kheibar Shekan ballistic missile in front of a picture of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran's Bahrestan Square on Sept. 27, 2025, as part of an exhibit to mark the "Sacred Defense Week" commemorating the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war.

US targets Iran's military tech with sanctions after allies trigger snapback

New sanctions aim to increase pressure on Iran to restrict the IRGC’s relentless development of ballistic missiles and military aircraft, but risk pushing Tehran further into the orbits of Russia and China.

BAGHDAD, IRAQ - MAY 30: A U.S. Army soldier looks onto Baghdad from a guardhouse on the perimeter of the International Zone on May 30, 2021 in Baghdad, Iraq. Coalition forces based in Baghdad's International Zone are part of the U.S.-led Military Advisor Group of 13 nations supporting the Iraqi Security Forces. The United States currently maintains 2,500 military personnel in Iraq as part of Operation Inherent Resolve. Alpha Company 769th brigade Engineer Battalion, Louisiana National Guard is providing for

US troops in Iraq shift to Erbil to focus on ISIS in Syria

The US mission against the Islamic State is relocating its headquarters and most of its troops from Baghdad to Erbil as the prime minister's coalition faces reelection in November.

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi (C) welcomes Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov (L) and Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazeem Gharibabadi.

Analysis

How far will China, Russia go in shielding Iran from UN sanctions?

Iran is lobbying states to resist enforcement of UN sanctions — looking particularly to China and Russia to blunt the impact, even as questions remain about the limits of their willingness to act.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Latest News

Analysis

How Afghanistan's Bagram base became focal point of US-China-Iran rivalry

Taliban military vehicles parade to celebrate the third anniversary of Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan, at the Bagram Air Base, in Bagram, Parwan province on Aug. 14, 2024.

Sabena Siddiqui

By Sabena Siddiqui

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

Analysis

UN snapback sanctions deepen Iran’s 'sense of siege,' fuel fears of reprisal

Iranians walk past shops in the Grand Bazaar in Tehran on Aug. 13, 2025.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

US, Saudi Arabia wrap up drone drill after Iran’s top security chief visits Riyadh

A US Army Mobile Low, Slow, Unmanned Aircraft Integrated Defeat System (MLIDS) vehicle equipped with counter-drone sensors and weapons. Similar systems were fielded during the Red Sands 2025 exercise in Saudi Arabia.

Russia’s energy minister in Iran to discuss stalled natural gas deal: What to know

NIKITA BORISSOV/AFP via Getty Images

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is briefed by Professor Alon Chen, President of the Weizmann Institute of Science, as he visits the facility's site which was hit by an Iranian missile barrage, in the central city of Rehovot on June 20, 2025. (Photo by Jack GUEZ / POOL / AFP) (Photo by JACK GUEZ/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Euphoric Netanyahu’s push for Iran regime change after US strikes risks ‘anarchy’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is ecstatic over the Americans striking Iran, but experts are warning the attack might not have fully eliminated Tehran’s nuclear project.

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

An Iranian woman lifts a national flag during a rally protesting the US attack on Iran in Enghelab Square in Tehran on June 22, 2025.

US 'must now await' response, Iran warns, downplaying nuclear damage

Islamic Republic officials acknowledged limited damage to nuclear sites following the American strikes and vowed to attack the United States and Israel in response.

ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA - JUNE 22: U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks during a news conference at the Pentagon on June 22, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. U.S. President Donald Trump gave an address to the nation last night after three Iranian nuclear facilities were struck by the U.S. military. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Iran's missile systems 'did not see us': Pentagon says nuclear capabilities destroyed at Fordow

Largest-ever USAF B-2 bomber mission involved multiple feints — Iran’s air defenses did not fire a shot, top Pentagon general says.

Commuters drive past an anti-Israel billboard in Tehran, on June 22, 2025. President Donald Trump said the US military carried out strikes on June 22 on three Iranian nuclear sites and that Tehran "must now agree to end this war", following days of speculation over whether the United States would join its ally Israel's bombing campaign. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

Turkey airs 'deep concern' as Saudi Arabia, Russia condemn US strikes in Iran

Iranian-backed proxies, including Hamas and the Houthis, condemned the attack, with the Yemeni militants saying retaliation is only a "matter of time."

Smoke rises from locations targeted in Tehran amid the third day of Israel's waves of strikes against Iran, on Sunday, June 15, 2025. (Photo by Khoshiran / Middle East Images via AFP) (Photo by KHOSHIRAN/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

Trump: US dropped bombs on Iran's Fordow, Natanz, Isfahan nuclear sites

Donald Trump now calls for peace after the United States' "very successful attack on three nuclear sites in Iran including Fordow, Natanz and Esfahan."

PASADENA, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 01: The B-2 "Spirit" Stealth Bomber flys over the 136th Rose Parade Presented By Honda on January 01, 2025 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Jerod Harris/Getty Images)

US B-2 stealth bombers on the move as Israel-Iran war rages

B-2 Spirit stealth bombers out of Whiteman Air Force Base headed out over the Pacific Saturday amid reports that the United States could launch high-stakes strikes against Iran.

Jared Szuba

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

Retired Israeli general and Executive Director of Tel Aviv University's Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) Amos Yadlin attends a session at the Manama Dialogue security conference in the Bahraini capital on December 5, 2020. (Photo by Mazen Mahdi / AFP) (Photo by MAZEN MAHDI/AFP via Getty Images)

Interview

Amos Yadlin: Israel's goal to enable Trump to reach better Iran deal than 2015

In an interview with Al-Monitor, former head of the Israeli military intelligence directorate Amos Yadlin talks about the extent of the damage Israel has thus far inflicted on Iran and the strategic goals of the war.

Amos Yadlin

Amos Yadlin

Former head of Israeli military intelligence

A drone flies beside a damaged building following a strike by an Iranian missile in the Israeli city of Bat Yam, south of Tel Aviv, early on June 15, 2025.

Analysis

Israel's war in Iran redefining AI’s warfare role: The Gulf is taking notes

Israel’s AI-driven assault on Iran signals a new era of warfare in the Middle East, and Gulf states are watching closely.

Francesco Schiavi

By Francesco Schiavi

In Bologna, reporting on security, defense, economy, governance

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi speaks to the media after his meeting with the E3 group of European ministers on June 20, 2025, in Geneva, Switzerland.

Analysis

As Iran courts Europe, can diplomatic blitz help avert Trump strikes?

As the Israel-Iran war entered its second week, Tehran was exhausting diplomatic channels in a bid to dissuade the United States from entering the fray — and ultimately to secure a ceasefire in a conflict that is rapidly eroding its defensive capabilities.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi (C) gives a statement during his visit to the mausoleum of slain Lebanese Hezbollah's Leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli air strike in September 2024, in Beirut's southern suburbs on June 3, 2025.

EU FMs hold talks with Iran's Araghchi as US mulls strike: What to know

The meeting in Geneva follows President Donald Trump saying on Thursday that he will decide within two weeks whether to involve the United States directly in the Israel-Iran conflict.

A view of the Dubai skyline, May 12, 2025.

Analysis

Gulf growth forecast bright but Israel-Iran war threatens to derail outlook

The World Bank had predicted economic growth among Gulf Cooperation Council states to increase in 2025 and 2026, but experts are skeptical due to the regional conflict.

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

Smoke rises from locations targeted in Tehran amid the third day of Israel's waves of strikes against Iran, on Sunday, June 15, 2025.

Analysis

As Netanyahu pushes Trump to join Iran war, will Israel strike Fordow alone?

Israel needs the United States to join its attack on Iran in order to destroy the nuclear facility at Fordow, but it's also preparing contingency plans.

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