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

Iran cover image

Iran

September 8, 2026

Tehran 8:42 am

26°C

The former chief of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Mohsen Rezaei, takes part in a demonstration against American "crimes" following the killing of IRGC Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani in a US strike on his convoy at Baghdad international airport, Tehran, Iran, Jan. 3, 2020.

Iran to announce new Gulf restricted zone, Hormuz route: What we know

Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said the restricted zone would begin at the point where the US blockade of Iranian ports starts and extend into the Gulf.

A man walks past a mural depicting oil pumps and the Venezuelan flag, with portraits of Venezuelan independence leader Simon Bolivar (L) and former late President Hugo Chavez (R), in Caracas, Venezuela, on Sept. 3, 2026.

Analysis

Could Trump’s oil push in Venezuela upend OPEC’s energy order?

Washington’s growing role in controlling the Latin American country's crude riches could help reshape an energy order centered on OPEC as the Hormuz crisis pressures Gulf exports.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

mural of Iran's slain supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

Analysis

How Iran's campaign against US bases is forging a new Gulf defense network

Iran's targeting of Gulf states is fueling a regional security architecture designed to counter the Islamic Republic.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Amir Yaryab

Who is Amir Yaryab, IRGC’s cyber commander in US crosshairs?

The US State Department has offered up to $10 million for information on Amir Yaryab, who oversees a key part of Iran’s cyber operations.

Latest News

Analysis

Playing for time: Despite US pressure, Israel stalls Lebanon talks until after election

Ammar Ammar / AFP via Getty Images

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

US sanctions Turkey-based bank over Iran ties

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Saudi oil exports hit nine-year low as tanker attacks threaten recovery

A commercial vessel passes through an international shipping lane off Yemen's Hanish Island in the Red Sea on July 27, 2026.

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

Iranian pharmaceutical factory

Surprising economic upside seen for Egypt, Morocco and Iran

Reports this month by the IMF and the US intelligence community also underscore troubling trendlines.

Zarif and Lavrov

Taliban, Assad continue to unite Russia, Iran

While Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov discussed ways to salvage the 2015 nuclear deal in his visit to Tehran this week, the topics of Syria and Afghanistan also featured prominently on the agenda.

Russia’s governor to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Mikhail Ulyanov, is interviewed as he leaves after the Iran nuclear talks on April 6, 2021, in Vienna, Austria. Representatives from the United States, Iran, the European Union and other participants from the original Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) are meeting both directly and indirectly over possibly reviving the plan.

Russia describes latest Iran nuclear talks as 'positive'

The talks in Vienna come less than a week after a suspected Israeli attack on an Iranian nuclear facility.

In this handout provided by the EU Delegation in Vienna, Representatives of the European Union, Iran and others attend the Iran nuclear talks at the Grand Hotel on April 15, 2021, in Vienna, Austria.

Iran says it's capable of enriching uranium with 90% purity

The Iranian president said his country possesses the know-how to enrich uranium at the weapons-grade 90% level, but he declared that Tehran is not in pursuit of nuclear bombs.

A man walks past a mural painted on the outer walls of the former US Embassy in the Iranian capital, Tehran, on Sept. 29, 2020.

Iran not backing down in Middle East, US intel report says

The Trump administration's maximum pressure campaign did not stop Tehran's ambitions in the region, ODNI report suggests.

Men view the covers of local newspapers laid out at a stall in the Shemiran district of Iran's capital, Tehran, on April 14, 2021. Iran warned it would start enriching uranium up to 60% purity after an explosion it blamed on archenemy Israel hit its key nuclear facility in Natanz.

Iran says 60% uranium enrichment an answer to attack

President Hassan Rouhani says the recent decision to enrich uranium to 60% is in response to the alleged Israeli attack on Iran's Natanz nuclear facility.

Britain's Foreign Secretary and First Secretary of State Dominic Raab (R) walks from the Foreign Office toward 10 Downing Street in central London on Jan. 6, 2020. The leaders of Germany, France and Britain on Sunday urged Iran to drop measures that go against the 2015 nuclear deal after Tehran announced it would no longer abide by a limit on enrichment.

European powers voice 'grave concern' over Iran's uranium enrichment plan

Following the alleged Israeli attack on Iran's Natanz nuclear facility, Tehran has announced it will enrich uranium to 60% purity.

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (L) meets with European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell (R) in the capital, Tehran, on Feb. 3, 2020.

EU blacklist of Iran commanders strikes a nerve in Tehran

Tehran said the European Union cannot preach human rights and announced a halt in cooperation with the bloc on fighting terrorism and narcotics after the latter sanctioned Iranian commanders over human rights violations.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif speaks during a press conference at the International Conference on the Legal-International Claims of the Holy Defense in the capital Tehran on Feb. 23, 2021.

Iran's foreign minister calls attack on nuclear site 'bad gamble'

Mohammad Javad Zarif said Sunday's explosion at the Natanz nuclear facility will "strengthen" Iran amid ongoing indirect talks with the United States on the nuclear deal.

Iranians holding national flags and pictures of the Islamic republic's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, take part in a pro-government demonstration in the capital, Tehran's, central Enghelab Square on Nov. 25, 2019, to condemn days of "rioting" that Iran blames on its foreign foes. In a shock announcement 10 days ago, Iran raised the price of petrol by up to 200%, triggering nationwide protests in a country whose economy has been battered by US sanctions.

Iran's authorities reopen wounds of 2019 deadly crackdown

One and a half years after they crushed the November 2019 protests with an iron fist, Iranian authorities are not just dodging responsibility, but they are also adding insult to injury.

Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami speaks during a pro-government rally in the capital, Tehran's, central Enghelab Square on Nov. 25, 2019. In a shock announcement 10 days ago, Iran had raised the price of petrol by up to 200 %, triggering nationwide protests in a country whose economy has been battered by US sanctions.

EU hits Iranian officials with sanctions over human rights abuses

The eight individuals sanctioned include the head of the Revolutionary Guards and the commander of the Basij forces.

Majid Saeedi/Getty Images

US denies involvement in attack on Iran's Natanz nuclear site

Iran has blamed Israel for the attack on its Natanz nuclear site.