Iran - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Iran cover image

Iran

May 7, 2026

Tehran 8:59 pm

26°C

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi of Iran meeting with Foreign Minister Wang Yi of China in Beijing on May 6, 2026. Credit: Telegram

Analysis

China shores up Iran support as Trump seeks exit

China understands how badly Trump wants an exit from the conflict. But timing is critical: if no agreement is reached before Trump arrives in China on Thursday, Beijing would be better positioned to set the agenda.

Joyce Karam

An Iranian woman holds up an image of Iran's new supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei.

Iran president says he held official meeting with Mojtaba Khamenei: What to know

The president’s announcement marks the first public confirmation of a meeting between a senior official and Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not been seen publicly since the start of the war.

Latest News

Iran, China discuss Hormuz reopening amid potential US-Iran talks

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, second right, talks to his Iranian Counterpart Abbas Araghchi, left, during the bilateral meeting in Beijing, Wednesday, May 6, 2026.

Rubio warns Iran of 'total defeat' if it refuses deal

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks during a press conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on May 5, 2026 in Washington, DC.

Analysis

Iran's Gulf gambit: Attacking the UAE to shift US calculations

A billboard with the image of the late Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei wraps the front of a building in Tehran on May 5, 2026.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

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

Grossi

UN says Iran advances nuclear enrichment amid Vienna talks

Iran's latest violation of the 2015 nuclear agreement comes three days into a resumption of long-stalled negotiations in Vienna aimed at reviving the deal.

Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid meets with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris, Nov. 30, 2021.

The Takeaway: Israel’s military threats shadow Iran nuclear talks

Erdogan digs in on lira; Egypt, Ethiopia tensions rise again over Nile Dam; Assassins "carefully planned" attack on Iraqi PM; Iraqi Shiite scholars ponder post-Sistani era; Children become breadwinners in besieged Idlib; The return of Mohammed Ali Pasha’s palace … all in less than 1,200 words.

HOSHANG HASHIMI/AFP via Getty Images

Iranian forces, Taliban clash over Afghan 'border misunderstanding'

Iranian media denied reports that several Iranian border checkpoints fell to the Taliban on Wednesday.

Iran nuclear

Europe seeking to end latest round of Iran nuclear talks

According to sources quoted in Iranian media, the European delegation is seeking to end the current talks and consult with the United States.

Iranians gather during a protest to voice their anger after their province's lifeblood river dried up due to drought and diversion, in the central city of Isfahan, on Nov. 19, 2021.

Iran's crackdown risks blinding protesters

Amid rising alarm about protesters held incommunicado, medics and activists fear injury and even permanent blindness from birdshot fired by security forces.

Iran protest

Iran's new administration faces accusations of nepotism

The issue has even caused dissatisfaction among members of President Ebrahim Raisi's own hardliner camp

Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani arrives at the Coburg Palais, the venue of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) meeting, in Vienna on Nov. 29, 2021.

Iran, world powers resume nuclear talks in Vienna

The return to negotiations will be the first talks with Iran under new President Ebrahim Raisi.

Iranians gather during a protest to voice their anger after their province's lifeblood river dried up due to drought and diversion, in the central city of Esfahan, Iran, Nov. 19, 2021.

Iran riot police 'forcibly' sweep water protest site

During the pre-dawn raid in the city of Esfahan, baton-wielding security forces set protest tents on fire and pushed farmers out of the dried river basin, the site of more than two weeks of public demonstrations.

Iran nuclear

UN nuclear agency chief leaves Iran with no agreement

IAEA chief is concerned time could be running out regarding inspections of Iran’s nuclear facilities.

EVERT ELZINGA/ANP/AFP via Getty Images

Iran executes man jailed for murder as minor

Arman Abdolali was sentenced to death after what Amnesty International said was a "grossly unfair trial" that relied on "torture-tainted confessions" he later withdrew.

Iranian diplomat and political deputy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran Ali Bagheri Kani.

Iran's deputy foreign minister pledges 'new chapter' in Iran-UAE relations

Iran's deputy foreign minister, Ali Bagheri Kani, met with senior Emirati officials in Dubai on Wednesday.

(R to L) Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian shakes hands with Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi.

IAEA chief holds 'intense' talks in Tehran amid uncertainties

Aimed at encouraging Iranian cooperation, Rafael Grossi’s visit could play central to the trajectory of the upcoming talks on the revival of the nuclear deal, which has been in tatters since the US withdrawal in 2018.