Iran-US tensions

Protesters wave Iranian and Palestinian flags in solidarity with the Palestinian people in Gaza during a demonstration in Tehran on Oct. 10, 2025.

Analysis

Iran publicly praises Gaza ceasefire but frets over its isolation and Israel’s gains

Iran has officially welcomed the Gaza ceasefire and has called for accountability over Israeli "genocide." Yet, sidelined from the US-Arab diplomacy, Tehran risks exposing its diminishing regional clout as it weighs the strategic costs of the conflict.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Drones are displayed on the back of a vehicle during an official military parade marking the ninth anniversary of the Houthi takeover of the capital, Sanaa, on Sept. 21, 2023.

US sanctions firms in China, Turkey, UAE over Iran drone network

The entities are accused of facilitating the purchase of American electronic components found in weaponized drones used by Iran-backed groups such as Yemen’s Houthi rebels and Gaza-based Hamas.

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

People walk past a branch of Turkish bank HalkBank on Dec. 1, 2017 in Istanbul, Turkey.

Supreme Court clears path for Turkey’s Halkbank trial over Iran sanctions

The Turkish president personally raised the Halkbank case with US President Donald Trump at the White House, as Ankara pushes for a settlement to avoid a drawn-out legal battle.

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

Latest News

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

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

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

Analysis

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

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

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

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

Khamenei

Khamenei breaks silence on Iran protests, lays blame on US

In his first speech since the outbreak of protests Sept. 16, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accused the United States and Israel of promoting unrest in the country.

AFP via Getty Images

Iran vows to strike back if US destroys more of its drones over Iraq

Iran has vowed to respond to any “hostile actions” after an Iranian drone was reportedly shot down en route to Erbil.

Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), speaks during the IAEA's General Conference at the agency's headquarters in Vienna, Austria on Sept. 26, 2022.

Analysis

Will Iran's shift on IAEA help break deadlock in nuclear talks?

Iranian protesters shift tactics in response to government crackdown.

Week in Review

By Week in Review

Smoke billows following an Iranian cross-border attack in the area of Zargwez.

Breaking | Last Updated: October 14, 2022, 10:29 am

US confirms American citizen killed in Iranian rocket attack in Iraq

Omar Mahmoudzadeh's family confirmed to Al-Monitor that he died in an Iranian strike Thursday in the Iraqi-Kurdish town of Koya.

Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Breaking | Last Updated: September 29, 2022, 6:42 pm

US unveils new sanctions targeting Iran’s oil sales

The Biden administration on Thursday blacklisted entities in China, Hong Kong, Iran, India and the United Arab Emirates over their alleged involvement in Iran’s petrochemical trade.

Iran shop

Iran says enemies causing ‘sedition’ in the country with protests

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi calls recent protests “sedition," and police arrest a former president's daughter.

French President Emmanuel Macron (L) holds a bilateral meeting with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.

Iran nuclear talks' key players converge at UN General Assembly

The Iran deal’s negotiators are in town for the United Nations summit, but expectations are low that the diplomatic flurry will produce a breakthrough.

United Nations

Spokesman says nuclear talks not on agenda for Iran at UN summit

The inclusion of Iran's top nuclear negotiator in the delegation, however, could provide opportunities for Iran and other countries to exchange ideas

EDUARDO MUNOZ/AFP via Getty Images

Ahead of UN address, Iran’s Raisi says ‘no trust’ in US on nuclear talks

Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi has said he would not meet with US President Joe Biden in New York this week.

A man reads the Iranian newspaper Etemad, with the front page title reading in Farsi "The night of the end of the JCPOA ", and cover photos of Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and his deputy and chief nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani, in the capital Tehran on Aug. 16, 2022.

US, EU say decision on Iran deal depends on Tehran

US and EU officials dismiss claims that an Israeli campaign has influenced negotiations, and say the next move is Iran’s.

Iranian drone in Ukraine

Ukraine says it shot down Iranian drone in Kharkiv

Photos posted online by Kyiv appear to confirm the Pentagon's claim that Iran has delivered armed drones to Russia for use in Ukraine.

Russia / Mideast

JOE KLAMAR/AFP via Getty Images

Iran criticizes Europe over nuclear talks comments

Tehran has criticized the three European signatories to the nuclear deal for their recent joint statement questioning Iran's intentions.