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

Iran cover image

Iran

September 26, 2026

Tehran 10:35 pm

26°C

A tugboat guides a ship at the Khor Fakkan Container Terminal, the only natural deep-sea port in the region and one of the major container ports in Sharjah Emirate, along the Gulf of Oman on July 14, 2026.

Analysis

Could Iran's 7-day Hormuz proposal culminate in diplomatic deal?

Iran's proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz in seven days brings into focus the central challenge facing diplomacy with Washington: how to turn military leverage into a negotiated path without giving up too much in return.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

An Iran Air Airbus A300 prepares for boarding at Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran, Iran, Aug. 16, 2016.

‘Free for all or for no one’: Iran warns neighbors over flight bans

Several countries in the region have suspended Iranian flights under US sanctions after Washington warned global companies they would no longer have access to the dollar system if they do business with Iranian airlines.

Hector RETAMAL / AFP via Getty Images

Iran flights continue, UAE route closes on day 2 of US sanctions

All flights by Iranian carriers to the UAE have been canceled, according to Iran's ISNA news agency.

AFP via Getty Images

Iran threatens to expand war to Indian Ocean: What to know

An adviser to Iran's supreme leader has threatened to open a new front in the Indian Ocean if the US resumes its strikes against Iran.

Latest News

Fresh clashes leave 6 dead in Iran's Sistan and Baluchistan: What to know

Iranian security forces stand guard in the capital city on July 03, 2026 in Tehran, Iran.

Rubio: US-Iran talks 'positive,' no breakthrough yet

Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images

Cargo vessel attack in Hormuz kills 1 as world leaders gather at UN

The Marshall Islands-flagged bulk carrier vessel Manta Ursula is pictured moored in Muscat on July 25, 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

Head of Iran's Revolutionary Guards force, General Mohammad Ali Jaafari speaks at a University during Friday prayers in Tehran November 23, 2007. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl (IRAN) - RTX3YZH

IRGC commander: nuclear deal no retreat from 'values'

The commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps says a nuclear agreement will not be a retreat from Iran's revolutionary and Islamic values.

A City worker passes a branch of Iranian owned Persia Bank International in London December 22, 2011. Hit by international sanctions, the Iranian banks in London linger on, unable to take on new business. The pressure on them is rising. Last month, the UK forbid its banks to do any business with Iranian banks after a new report from a nuclear watchdog highlighted further concerns about the possible military dimensions to Iran's nuclear programme. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor (BRITAIN - Tags: BUSINESS POLITICS)

Economist: Iran doesn’t understand sanctions structure

As Iranian officials demand that all sanctions be dropped in a nuclear deal, one Iranian economic analyst explains why this is unlikely and how poorly the complex issue is understood in Iran.

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on leaving the office to report, film or take pictures in Tehran.
Iranian Air Force soldiers march in formation during the Army Day military parade in Tehran April 18, 2011. REUTERS/Caren Firouz (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) - RTR2LCZL

Khamenei says world relies on Iran’s armed forces

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has encouraged young officers to "elevate Iran’s military organization" by taking advantage of the country’s scientific abilities, as "the world counts on" Iran's military.

Iran nuclear deal could be key to resolving region’s conflicts

Iran has signaled a willingness to engage in Iraq and Syria.

Iran official: US proposals in Oman 'back to zero'

The head of Iran's parliamentary nuclear committee said that an eight-page proposal by the United States takes the nuclear talks "back to zero."

A street vendor chews qat, a mild stimulant, as he sits by his vegetable stall at a market place in the Old Sanaa city March 19, 2014. Qat dominates life in Yemen, where most men spend half the day chewing it, even at work, and experts say it is ravaging Yemen's frail economy and sucking up precious water. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah (YEMEN - Tags: SOCIETY ENVIRONMENT) - RTR3HSAZ

Development plan needed for peace in Yemen

The Gulf Initiative has failed to bring peace to Yemen, prompting the need for a new initiative that is more realistic and includes a long-term economic and development plan.

U.S. President Barack Obama makes a statement about an agreement reached with Iran on its nuclear program at the White House in Washington November 23, 2013. Obama said on Saturday that the deal between Iran and six major powers was an important first step toward a comprehensive solution to Iran's nuclear program. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX15QN7

In Iran, some conservatives balk at sanctions 'suspension'

As the nuclear talks' deadline looms, some Iranian conservatives distrust the US political process and fear a potential temporary and reversible suspension of sanctions.

Chairman of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee Robert Menendez (D-NJ)(R) questions Secretary of State John Kerry as Senator Bob Corker (R-TN) looks on during a hearing on "U.S. Strategy to Defeat the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant" on Capitol Hill in Washington September 17, 2014. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTR46NIU

Returning Congress gives Iran a pass — for now

Key lawmakers kept an open mind on a potential extension of nuclear talks with Iran on their first day back after midterm elections.

Iraq's transport minister Hadi al-Amiri (2nd R), head of the Badr Organisation, visits members of the Iraqi security forces after clashes with the predominantly Sunni militants from the radical Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the town of Dalli Abbas in Diyala province, June 26, 2014. Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, the most influential Shi'ite cleric in Iraq, called on the country's leaders on Friday to choose a prime minister within the next four days, a dramatic political intervention that cou

Iran news site profiles head of Iraq’s Badr Organization

Conservative Iranian website Mashregh News has run a glowing profile of the Iraqi Badr Organization's leader, Hadi al-Amiri.

Admiral Ali Shamkhani, Iran?s Supreme National Security Council Director, speaks to the media after his arrival at Damascus airport, September 30, 2014. REUTERS/Khaled al-Hariri (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CONFLICT CIVIL UNREST) - RTR48C04

Iran official: Obama’s letters have been answered

The secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council has said that some of President Barack Obama's letters have received responses.

Rouhani raises concern over falling oil price 'plot'

Hosting Iraq’s Vice President Nouri al-Maliki this week in Tehran, Iran’s president raised the issue of falling oil prices and their implications for the region.

Jon Stewart: My film not meant to demonize Iran

"Rosewater," the first movie by "Daily Show" host Jon Stewart is being released 10 days before the deadline for an Iran nuclear deal and some Iran experts worry that critics of a deal may cite the human rights abuses depicted in the film to try to sabotage an agreement.