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Iran

July 2, 2026

Tehran 7:55 am

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Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian listens during a joint press conference alongside Armenia's Prime Minister in Yerevan on August 19, 2025.

Analysis

Why Iran's Pezeshkian is facing an uphill battle in postwar diplomacy

As President Masoud Pezeshkian's administration advances dialogue with Washington, its fiercer contest is in the corridors of power within the Islamic Republic itself.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Latest News

Analysis

For Israel, Lebanon deal 'historic' despite fears Hezbollah will rebuild

Shia Muslim devotees gather for a mourning ritual near the shrine of Hassan Nasrallah, the slain leader of the Lebanese Shia movement Hezbollah who was killed in a 2024 Israeli-airstrike, in Beirut's southern suburbs on June 26, 2026 at the peak of Ashura, a 10-day period commemorating the seventh century killing of Prophet Mohammed's grandson Imam Hussein. (Photo by JOSEPH EID / AFP via Getty Images)

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

3 IRGC members killed in twin attacks as Iran intensifies Kurdish crackdown

Members of the crowd wave Iranian flags during a funeral procession held for IRGC Navy Chief Alireza Tangsiri.

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

From left: Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and European Union Foreign Policy chief Josep Borrell, hold a joint press conference in Brussels on April 5, 2024. (Photo by Johanna Geron / POOL / AFP) (Photo by JOHANNA GERON/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

As EU courts Armenia, Iran and US are bound to clash in South Caucasus

Yerevan’s pivot to the West is a challenge for Tehran, yet Iranian authorities and media kept mum on a high-level trilateral EU-US-Armenia meeting last week.

Iranian attend the funeral procession for seven Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps members killed in a strike in Syria, which Iran blamed on Israel, in Tehran on April 5, 2024.

Iran’s delicate balance between striking Israel, avoiding full-blown war

The Islamic Republic has been assessing the potential consequences of its much-expected retaliation against Israel, as speculation is growing that an attack is imminent yet will be limited.

This US Navy photo released Jan. 15, 2015 shows an MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter from the Red Lions of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 15 as it prepares to land on the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) on Jan. 13, 2015 in the Gulf.

Pentagon shifts forces to Middle East ahead of expected Iran attack on Israel

The threat of Iranian retaliation has thrust the Biden administration into a precarious balancing act, as it seeks to help defend Israel while avoiding a wider conflict with Iran and its proxies.

Emergency and security personnel gather at the site of strikes which hit a building next to the Iranian embassy in Syria's capital Damascus, on April 1, 2024.

Analysis

Iran can’t win in response to Israeli killing of IRGC leaders

Also Al-Monitor must-read reporting from Syria, Israel, Gaza and Washington.

Week in Review

Andrew Parasiliti

By Week in Review , Andrew Parasiliti

Emergency and security personnel search the rubble at the site of strikes which hit a building annexed to the Iranian embassy in Syria's capital Damascus, on April 1, 2024.

Flurry of US calls to China, EU, Gulf as threat of Iranian attack on Israel looms

The calls occurred as the region prepares for a possible response to the suspected Israeli strike on the Iranian Consulate in Syria that killed seven members of the IRGC.

Lufthansa aircraft parked in front of a hangar during a nationwide strike of Lufthansa ground employees, Frankfurt Airport, March 7, 2024.

Lufthansa extends Tehran flights ban as Iran-Israel tensions flare

The Middle East remains on high alert after a suspected Israeli airstrike killed seven senior Iranian commanders in Damascus April 1.

A large billboard depicting Iranian missiles with writing in Hebrew and in Persian, which reads "prepare your coffins," hangs on the side of a building in Tehran on Jan. 16, 2024, after Iran's overnight missile attacks on multiple targets in Syria and in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region.

Analysis

Israel, US on high alert as Iran vows ‘punishment’ for Syria strike

As Iran threatens retaliation for a strike on its consulate in Syria last week and Israel vows to respond in kind, potentially caught in the middle are thousands of US troops at bases throughout Iraq, Syria and Gulf states.

Jared Szuba

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

TEHRAN, IRAN - MARCH 01: Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (R) arrives to cast his ballots during the parliamentary and key clerical body elections at a polling station on March 1, 2024 in Tehran, Iran. Iranians are voting in parliamentary elections and will also cast ballots for the Assembly of Experts, which selects and nominally oversees the work of Iran's supreme leader. (Photo by Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)

Iran’s Khamenei says Israel ‘will be punished’ for Syria consulate bombing

Khamenei's remarks come as the region awaits a response to the suspected Israeli strike on the Iranian Consulate in Damascus.

An Iranian Navy warship takes part in the "National Persian Gulf day" in the Strait of Hormuz, on April 30, 2019.

Iran naval chief calls Israeli presence in UAE 'threat,' seeks Islamic army coalition

During the course of the Gaza war, Iran has been critical of some Islamic countries for their refusal to sever ties with Israel, and it's hoping that the war will shelve Arab-Israeli normalization plans.

A Pakistani police officer stands guard outside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad on Jan. 18, 2024.

Iran: At least 5 security forces killed in latest Jaish al-Adl attack in Baluchistan

The Baluchi Islamist group Jaish al-Adl has escalated its attacks against Iranian forces in the Sistan and Baluchistan province, a region that suffers from poverty and neglect, and where the unrest has complicated relations with neighboring Pakistan.

Syria's Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad (R) and his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, talk to reporters at the Foreign Ministry in Damascus on Feb. 11, 2024.

In Syria, Iran FM says Israel ‘will be punished’ for consulate strike

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian is on a regional tour, visiting Oman and Syria after the suspected Israeli strike that killed several IRGC officers near the Iranian Embassy in Damascus.

Iranians attend the funeral of seven Revolutionary Guard Corps members killed in a strike on the country's consular annex in Damascus.

Iran buries officers killed in suspected Israeli strike but seems in no rush to retaliate

Despite the harsh slogans in the state-organized funerals for the slain officers, Iran appeared to be exercising "patience" and calibrating any potential reprisal against Israel.