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

Iran cover image

Iran

November 12, 2026

Tehran 10:00 am

8°C

Iraqi President Nizar Amede (R) greets Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian (L) on the sidelines of COP31 in Antalya, Turkey, on Nov. 11,2026. Iraqi Presidency

Iranian, Iraqi presidents meet after border closure, militia row: What to know

It was the first meeting between the countries’ leaders since Iraq shut the Sheeb border crossing with Iran in late October, a move a senior Iraqi official later tied to pressure from Washington.

Shoppers enter a SuperValu store in Haggardstown, Dundalk, Ireland on November 2, 2026. Grocery stores in at least six European countries saw temperatures in their cold cases soar on Monday, with several confirming they had been hit by a cyberattack similar to one three weeks ago in France. Supermarkets in Ireland, Belgium, Estonia, Finland, Luxembourg and Sweden were among those affected in the latest hacker attack. (Photo by Arthur CARRON / AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Iran's alleged cyberattacks in France raise fears of wider confrontation

Iran's wartime threats are increasingly reaching beyond the Middle East, exposing vulnerabilities in Europe's civilian infrastructure and raising questions about Tehran's use of deniable operations to pressure its adversaries.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Iranian-made Zolfaghar missiles

Iran unveils new underground 'missile city': What to know

Iran has moved much of its missile stockpile underground as the threat of a new war looms.

Latest News

Hormuz LNG shipments hit wartime high, but Qatar lags

PATRICK MEINHARDT / AFP via Getty Images

GCC to build military command center in Kuwait as region simmers: What to know

ANDY BUCHANAN / AFP via Getty Images

France blames Iran for supermarket fridge hack, seeks EU sanctions

This photograph shows empty fresh-food refrigerators at an Intermarche supermarket in Nevez, France, on Oct. 12, 2026, following a cyberattack that caused its refrigerators to defrost.

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

U.S. President Barack Obama (R) speaks to Israel's Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor at a plenary session during the Nuclear Security Summit at the Convention and Exhibition Center (COEX) in Seoul March 27, 2012. The man at centre at an unidentified member of the U.S. delegation. REUTERS/Larry Downing (SOUTH KOREA - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) - RTR2ZXN6

Former Israeli intel minister says US-Israel ties critical in dealing with Iran

In an interview with Al-Monitor, former Minister of Intelligence and Atomic Energy Dan Meridor says Israel should join the global campaign against Iran rather than attacking the first-step agreement.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a statement at his office in Jerusalem November 24, 2013. Netanyahu on Sunday denounced the world powers' nuclear agreement with Iran as a historic mistake that left the production of atomic weapons within Tehran's reach. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX15R0G

Netanyahu plays the Iran card in Israeli politics

Can Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu adjust to the possible change offered by the agreement with Iran?

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C) and army chief Lieutenant-General Gabi Ashkenazi (L) observe a military exercise at Elyakim military base near the northern city of Haifa May 11, 2010. QUALITY FROM SOURCE. REUTERS/Eran Yuppy Cohen/Pool (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) - RTR2DQUY

Netanyahu's alarm about Iran balanced by military chiefs

Contrary to the alarmist stance of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, past and present chiefs of Israel's Defense Establishment do not reject the agreement signed with Iran.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan addresses members of parliament from his ruling AK Party (AKP) during a meeting at the Turkish parliament in Ankara November 26, 2013. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX15TO8

Iran nuclear accord requires secular 'reset' of Turkey's foreign policy

In the aftermath of Iran's nuclear accord, Turkey can only play an effective regional role if it adopts a secular foreign policy.

UNDATED FILE PHOTO - Hamas political leaders Khaled Meshal (R), Mousa Abu Marzouk (C) and Mohammad Nazal. Jordan will announce November 20 a decision to expel three jailed leaders of the militiant Palestinian group Hamas, after efforts to secure their release failed.

AJ - RTRSKTV

Hamas mixed on Iran nuclear deal

Senior Hamas official Mousa Abu Marzouk has criticized Iran for signing a nuclear deal with the West, but some of his colleagues believe the deal will have a positive effect on Hamas.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry speaks to the media about the deal that has been reached between six world powers and Iran at the International Conference Centre of Geneva in Geneva November 24, 2013. Iran and six world powers reached a breakthrough deal early on Sunday to curb Tehran's nuclear programme in exchange for limited sanctions relief, in what could be the first sign of an emerging rapprochement between the Islamic state and the West. REUTERS/Carolyn Kaster/Pool (SWITZERLAND - Tags: POLITICS EN

Obama going big in the Middle East

The "first step agreement" with Iran is a giant step toward recasting the strategic landscape in the Middle East for the better, including for US allies Israel and Saudi Arabia.

A view of the city of Arbil, capital of the autonomous Kurdistan region, about 350 km (217 miles) north of Baghdad, September 20, 2013. Parliamentary elections for the Kurdish regional administration will be held on September 21. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani (IRAQ - Tags: CITYSCAPE ELECTIONS POLITICS) - RTX13SPJ

Sulaimaniyah scene of power struggle among Iraqi Kurdish parties

Infighting and growing polarization between leaders in Erbil and Sulaimaniyah have raised concerns about the unity of Iraqi Kurdistan.

Young Iranian women attend a ceremony to mark World HIV/AIDS Day at a cultural centre in Tehran December 1, 2005. On World AIDS Day, ways of having "healthy and safe sexual life" were explained to Iranians, who live in a country where having illicit sexual relationships is a crime. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl

Geneva accords pledge to ease humanitarian transactions for Iranians

The P5+1 is still trying to figure out how to keep its promise to facilitate Iranian purchases of food and medicine and other humanitarian trade.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu take part in a joint news conference in Moscow's Kremlin November 20, 2013. Putin said after talks that both sides hoped a "mutually acceptable resolution" could soon be found over Iran's nuclear ambitions. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov (RUSSIA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX15M33

Netanyahu's nuclear blind spot

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's reaction to the Iran nuclear deal shows a blind spot in his thinking — and a bit of hypocrisy.

$Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan addresses the media next to Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (R) at Esenboga Airport in Ankara November 21, 2013. A feud between Erdogan and an influential Islamic cleric, Fethullah Gulen, has spilled into the open months ahead of elections, highlighting fractures in the religiously conservative support base underpinning his decade in power. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS RELIGION) - RTX15NGG$

Iran deal may encourage more humble Turkish foreign policy

The nuclear agreement between the six world powers and Iran may be a wake-up call for Turkey to recast its own foreign policy after its failures in Syria.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a statement at his office in Jerusalem November 24, 2013. Netanyahu on Sunday denounced the world powers' nuclear agreement with Iran as a historic mistake that left the production of atomic weapons within Tehran's reach. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX15R07

Netanyahu is wrong on Iran deal

Iran is going beyond its IAEA commitments in the six-month agreement reached in Geneva.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C) attends the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem November 24, 2013. Netanyahu on Sunday denounced the world powers' nuclear agreement with Iran as a historic mistake that left the production of atomic weapons within Tehran's reach. REUTERS/Abir Sultan/Pool (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX15QWE

Netanyahu risks Israeli isolation over Iran deal

The success of the P5+1 in closing a deal with Iran might encourage the body to take part in the Israeli-Palestinian talks and fill the diplomatic space left by the Middle East Quartet.