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September 27, 2026

Tehran 3:23 pm

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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

People attend a rally called "We are together" to support the annexation of Ukraine's Crimea to Russia in Red Square in central Moscow, March 18, 2014. Russian President Vladimir Putin, defying Ukrainian protests and Western sanctions, signed a treaty on Tuesday making Crimea part of Russia but said he did not plan to seize any other regions of Ukraine. The flags display portraits of Russia's President Vladimir Putin and read "We are together!" REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov (RUSSIA - Tags: POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF T

US-Russia confrontation could drift to Mideast

The question is whether Iran, Egypt, or Saudi Arabia, in particular, will change their policies in the context of the US-Russia standoff.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan addresses the crowd during an opening ceremony of a new metro line in Ankara March 13, 2014. A defiant Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, already battling a damaging corruption scandal weeks ahead of elections, cast the latest unrest as part of a plot against the state. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS TRANSPORT CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3GWD4

Will Erdogan apologize to Turkey's Shiites?

Turkey’s high political tensions finally engulfed the Turkish Shiites (Jaafaris) who are furious with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan for calling Shiites “liars, slanderers and hate mongers.”

A girl with a flag draped over her shoulders watches as people gather for a demonstration over the capture of senior al Qaeda figure Abu Anas al-Liby by U.S. authorities, in Benghazi October 11, 2013. Libyan citizen Al-Liby, whose real name is Nazih al-Ragye, is a suspect in the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania that killed 224 civilians. Since his capture in Tripoli last week, he has been held aboard a Navy ship in the Mediterranean where an elite team of American interrogators is quest

Israel addresses terrorist threat from Africa

Israel cannot actively fight extreme Muslim terror groups in Africa, but it can join the global development policy designed to combat poverty and the spread of these groups in the long term.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (R) shakes hands with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov before their meeting at Winfield House, the home of the U.S. ambassador in London March 14, 2014. The United States and Russia will find it formidably difficult to make progress on Ukraine at talks in London today, British Foreign Minister William Hague said on Friday. REUTERS/Brendan Smialowski/pool (BRITAIN - Tags: POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR3H3AB

Al-Monitor Congress Pulse expands Syria, Russia-Ukraine-Mideast coverage

Congress Pulse and "Trendlines" delve into the implications of Ukraine for US policy in the Middle East.

Ukraine crisis could strengthen Russia-Iran-China ties

Iran will officially remain neutral on Ukraine, but the outcome of the crisis could mean a strengthening of ties with Russia, as both countries share many strategic interests.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) meets with Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Moscow's Kremlin January 16, 2014. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin (RUSSIA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX17GFB

Iran weighs 'active neutrality' in Ukraine

Iran’s strategic priorities remain a comprehensive nuclear agreement and a political solution in Syria.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan steps off from his plane as he arrives in Elazig for an election rally of his ruling AK Party March 6, 2014. Turkey will hold municipal elections on March 30. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR3G4AH

Erdogan's silence shows absence of moral compass

Why has Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan not yet expressed contrition or condolence for the death of Berkin Elvan?

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to the media in front of a display of M302 rockets, found aboard the Klos C ship, at a navy base in the Red Sea resort city of Eilat March 10, 2014. Netanyahu, displaying on Monday what Israel said were seized Iranian-supplied missiles bound for militants in Gaza, called on the West not to be fooled by Tehran's diplomatic outreach over its nuclear programme. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3GGS8

Netanyahu gets bounce from Iranian arms shipment

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's media campaign over the capture of the weapons shipment passed unnoticed by the foreign press, but reinforced his status in Israeli public opinion as "Mr. Security."

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) and Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon sit in front of a display of M302 rockets, found aboard the Klos C ship, at a navy base in the Red Sea resort city of Eilat March 10, 2014. Netanyahu, displaying on Monday what Israel said were seized Iranian-supplied missiles bound for militants in Gaza, called on the West not to be fooled by Tehran's diplomatic outreach over its nuclear programme. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3GGUG

Israel fears it has lost world attention on Iran

Israeli defense officials estimate that Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps are behind the weapons vessel captured last week.

U.S citizens returning from Libya arrive at Ataturk international airport in Istanbul February 25, 2011. The United States announced on Friday it would soon impose sanctions on Libya and bluntly said the legitimacy of longtime Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi had been "reduced to zero." REUTERS/Osman Orsal (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR2J4AK

Still banned from Turkey

For the second time since 2007, Turkey denied an Al-Monitor contributor entry because of his work as a journalist on Kurdish issues.

Ismail Haniyeh, prime minister of the Hamas Gaza government, prays before delivering a speech in Gaza City October 19, 2013. Haniyeh urged rival Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to speed up the implementation of the faltering Egyptian-brokered unity deal to heal six years of political rifts. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX14GN2

Hamas debates technocrat government in Gaza

The loss of financial support from Iran has reportedly contributed to Gaza's current crisis, according to Hamas sources.

M302 rockets found aboard the Klos C ship are displayed at an Israeli navy base in the Red Sea resort city of Eilat March 10, 2014. The ship seized by the Israeli navy on suspicion of smuggling arms from Iran to the Gaza Strip docked on Saturday in Israel, which planned to put the cargo on display in hope of denting Tehran's rapprochement with the West. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY CIVIL UNREST TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR3GG0P

Iranian weapons shipment no 'tiebreaker'

The rollout of Israel's seizure of a ship carrying Iranian arms may have disappointed Israeli leaders looking for a public relations windfall.