Iran-US tensions

People ride motorcycles past a large billboard showing portraits of Iran's late supreme leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (L), and slain supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (R) in central Tehran on June 8, 2026.

Analysis

From Beirut to Bab el Mandeb, Iran tests new deterrence strategy

Tehran views its latest clash with Israel as a watershed moment and proof that any attack on its regional allies can trigger direct and immediate retaliation.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Aamir QURESHI / AFP via Getty Images

Explainer

Turkey names new envoys to Iran, Oman, Qatar in regional reshuffle

Turkey’s latest ambassadorial changes mark a partial return to career diplomacy in Tehran and the Gulf as Ankara maintains a balancing act amid the Iran war.

Jalaa MAREY / AFP via Getty Images

Breaking | Last Updated: June 9, 2026, 2:48 pm

Trump blames Iran for downing US helicopter off Oman, vows response

The alleged shoot-down came hours after a US fighter jet fired on a Palau-flagged commercial tanker accused of attempting to outrun the US blockade of Iran.

US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrive to speak to journalists during a joint press conference at Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, on December 29, 2025. US President Donald Trump hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Florida on December 29 for crucial talks on moving to the next stage of the fragile Gaza truce plan.The two leaders also discussed Iran, with Trump saying that if Tehran rebuilt its nuclear facilities the United States wo

Analysis

'We are already hearing the bus': Israeli insiders fear Netanyahu is losing Trump’s backing on Iran

“He couldn’t afford a confrontation with Trump, who was the last asset he had left,” a Netanyahu associate told Al-Monitor, describing the prime minister’s struggle to balance pressure for retaliation against Iran with the need to preserve his alliance with the US president.

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

Latest News

Explainer

Saudi Arabia, Turkey advance plans to revive historic Hejaz Railway

An old locomotive sits outside the Hejaz rail station in old Damascus on February 23, 2010. The Hejaz railway ran from Damascucs to Medina in Saudi Arabia and was part of the Ottoman railway network. AFP PHOTO/LOUAI BESHARA (Photo credit should read LOUAI BESHARA/AFP via Getty Images)

Vance says US and Israel's 'interests diverge' on Iran nuclear issue: What to know

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Bahrain bans mourning of Iran's Khamenei as Gulf reels from attacks

Ashura

US military helped Israel intercept Iran's missiles: What to know

Rocket trails are seen in the sky above the Israeli coastal city of Netanya on June 7, 2026.

The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) transits the Strait of Hormuz as an MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter from the Nightdippers of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 5 lifts off from the flight deck November 19, 2019. The Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations in support of naval operations to ensure maritime stability and security in the Central Region, connecting the Mediterranean and the Pacific through the western Indian Ocean and three strateg

Congress doubles down on Middle East defense architecture in NDAA markups

To counter China's influence and Iran activities, lawmakers want to expand cybersecurity, maritime and air and missile defense support to Middle East allies and enable Israeli Air Force pilots as Arab leaders begin to engage with Iran.

UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (R) met today met with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian (L) in Abu Dhabi, June 22, 2023.

Iran rushes regional thaw in UAE as it hopes for sanctions relief

Iran's foreign minister was in the United Arab Emirates to pursue the Islamic Republic's reproachment drive, while his deputy was on a parallel mission in neighboring Qatar in a quest for sanctions relief through indirect diplomacy with the United States.

United Arab Emirates

photo of Shahab Dalili courtesy of the family

Family fears US resident jailed in Iran will be left out of prisoner deal

As Iran and the United States appear closer to a potential prisoner exchange, Shahab Dalili’s Virginia-based family is urging the Biden administration not to leave him behind.

Kuwait's Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Sabah (R) meeting with Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian (L), in Kuwait City

Iran's FM visits Kuwait, then UAE in latest Gulf charm offensive

Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian arrived in Oman on Tuesday to meet with Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi as part of his Gulf tour that began in Doha.

United Arab Emirates

Ukraine drone

UK launches probe into British colleges accused of helping Iran develop drones

British leader Rishi Sunak confirmed the inquiry into UK universities' cooperation with Iran in the House of Commons on Wednesday.

Oman's Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamood Albusaidi (R) meets with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in Muscat, on April, 25, 2023. (Photo by AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran’s FM visits Qatar, Oman as indirect talks with US see momentum

Qatar and Oman have maintained communications with Iran and Saudi Arabia, also playing a mediating role between Washington and Tehran.

The official welcoming ceremony of the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev to the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Iran, Uzbekistan ink major deals during rare visit by Uzbek president

The Islamic Republic offered to share its "experience" in overcoming international sanctions in the first visit by an Uzbek leader to Tehran in 20 years, marked by multiple trade and energy agreements.

Women walk along a mural painting behind which appears a giant billboard bearing a picture of the 'Fattah' hypersonic missile, in Tehran on July 7, 2023. Iran's Revolutionary Guards unveiled an intermediate range ballistic missile on June 6 capable of travelling at hypersonic speeds of up to 15 times the speed of sound, state television reported. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

In new purge, Iran expels independent, Reformist professors

Iran's hard-line government is forcing its own critics out of universities.

Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan arrives at Damascus airport, on April 18, 2023. - Bin Farhan's is the first visit to Syria's capital by a Saudi official since the start of the country's civil war in 2011. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP) (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA/AFP via Getty Images)

Saudi FM to visit Iran in first after China deal, Iranian press reports

The visit will be the first in years during which Saudi Arabia and Iran were locked in a bitter conflict that has been felt across the region.

Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr al-Busaidi.

Interview

Oman FM says US, Iran 'close' on prisoner deal

Oman's foreign minister told Al-Monitor that the two sides are ironing out the details on a deal to release the prisoners.

Sayyid Badr Albusaidi

Sayyid Badr Albusaidi

Foreign Minister of Oman

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi (L) receives a commemorative decoration from Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, after a joint press statement at Miraflores Presidential Palace in Caracas, on June 12, 2023.

Iran's Raisi hails 'new world order' in meeting with Maduro in Venezuela

Iran and Venezuela talked business as their economies continue to be battered by sanctions from abroad and skyrocketing inflation at home.

Iran drones

US: Iran drone factory in Russia could be operational next year

Iran has already been shipping drones via the Caspian Sea to Russia for use in the war in Ukraine, White House says.