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

Iran cover image

Iran

April 30, 2026

Tehran 10:56 am

21°C

Local residents look on from outside a cordoned off area in the Golders Green neighborhood of north London on April 29, 2026, following the stabbing to two people nearby.

Iran-linked group claims stabbing in Jewish area in London: What to know

Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya has been linked to a number of attacks on Jewish targets in Europe, as well as an anti-regime Iranian news outlet.

A pumpjack stands idle in the Huntington Beach oil field, with port cranes visible in the distance, on April 23, 2026, in Huntington Beach, California.

Oil surges past $120 to war-time high as Trump rejects Iran overture

Benchmark Brent crude surpassed $120 per barrel on Wednesday, reaching the highest levels yet seen during the US-Israel-Iran war.

President Donald Trump gives a speech during the State Arrival Ceremony on the South Lawn on April 28, 2026, in Washington.

Trump speaks with Netanyahu, Putin as Iran pressure campaign escalates

President Donald Trump spoke by phone separately with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin, discussing the situation in Iran and the possibility of extending the ceasefire.

An Iraqi money dealer counts Iranian rial banknotes bearing a portrait of the late founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, at an exchange office in Baghdad on Feb. 3, 2012.

Iranian rial hits new record low as blockade, war take toll: What to know

The rial had another collapse in late 2025, triggering massive protests and riots in the country that were ended by a forceful government crackdown.

Latest News

Pentagon: Iran war has cost US estimated $25B so far

In this handout photo provided by the U.S. Navy, Two F/A-18 Super Hornets launch from the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) in support of Operation Epic Fury on March 3, 2026 in the Mediterranean Sea.

Analysis

How long can Iran's economy withstand Trump's naval blockade?

The Ateela 2 oil tanker boat navigates the sea on April 28, 2026, on Qeshm Island, Iran, in the Strait of Hormuz.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Analysis

UAE’s OPEC exit rattles cartel as Gulf alliances shift

GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

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 mourners carry coffins of the victims of a suicide bombing, Kerman, Iran, Jan. 5, 2024.

Iran announces arrest of 14 ISIS members across several provinces

Iran has repeatedly launched arrest campaigns against suspected members of the Islamic State’s regional branch, which has been behind a series of deadly attacks in the Islamic Republic.

Fire sweep over the Marjayoun plain in southern Lebanon near the border with Israel after being hit by Israeli shelling on August 16, 2024, amid the ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (Photo by RABIH DAHER / AFP) (Photo by RABIH DAHER/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

With Sinwar undecided, Israel wary of imminent Lebanon war with Hezbollah

“We are within touching distance of an Israeli attack in Lebanon, which is intended to allow us to return the residents of the north to their homes,” a senior Israeli military source told Al-Monitor this week, even as Iran hesitates on next steps.

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

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian (L) reacts next to his nominee for the foreign ministry cabinet position Abbas Araghchi (R) as the former greets parliament members after giving an address during a session to approve his new cabinet appointments in Tehran on August 21, 2024. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

Araghchi, Nasirzadeh and Khatib: Meet Iran’s new cabinet under Pezeshkian

The new cohort of ministers includes officials from both hard-liner and moderate camps; it also includes the first female minister in over a decade.

One of hundreds of drones made by Iran is displayed in this image, as the country continues to be sanctioned by the US, in this undated image.

Iran flexes drones, missiles at key Russia arms expo

Iran seized the event as a chance to showcase its military prowess, as the region is on edge and expecting an imminent Iranian attack on Israel after the killing in Tehran of Hamas' political leader, Ismail Haniyeh.

Hamburg

Iranian police close German Embassy school in latest row with Berlin

Iranian authorities shut down a German language school on Tuesday in a move widely seen as retaliation for Berlin banning the Hamburg Islamic Center in July.

bbas Araghchi, political deputy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran, speaks to the media after the meeting of the Joint Commission of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) attended by the E3+2 (China, France, Germany, Russia, United Kingdom) and Iran on July 28, 2019 at the Palais Coburg in Vienna, Austria. (Photo by ALEX HALADA / AFP) (Photo by ALEX HALADA/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran's foreign minister nominee vows to prioritize Russia, China ties

Iran's prospective foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, offered a cautious foreign policy pitch ahead of lawmakers' vote on his nomination, saying Tehran's stance toward the JCPOA would remain the same.

Two young Iranian girls, not wearing the mandatory hijab, visit Bame Tehran on Sept. 9, 2023.

Iran hijab laws back in spotlight as police shooting leaves woman paralyzed

In a case reminiscent of Mahsa Amini's, the mother of two struggles against permanent paralysis amid a state-imposed media blackout and pressure on her family to remain silent.

Boys walk on dry bricks to traverse a puddle of sewage water past mounds of trash and rubble along a street in the Jabalia camp for Palestinian refugees, northern Gaza Strip, August 14, 2024.

Analysis

Can progress on Gaza cease-fire talks help US restrain Netanyahu, hold off Iran attack?

A new bridging proposal might allow calmer heads to prevail and lower the temperature in the region.

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

In this handout photo provided by the US Navy, the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), left, the Royal Navy air defense destroyer HMS Defender (D 36) and the guided-missile destroyer USS Farragut (DDG 99)

Analysis

Iran’s delayed retaliation against Israel tests Pentagon’s global strategy

Uncertainty about an Iranian attack could put Pentagon planners in a bind, as they seek to keep high-maintenance US aircraft carriers and fighter squadrons on nimble rotation schedules and out of lengthy Middle East engagements.

Jared Szuba

In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military

LOUAI BESHARA/AFP via Getty Images

Iran says IRGC member killed in coalition strike in Syria

Iranian news outlets blamed the IRGC member’s death on “coalition forces,” but did not offer further details.

Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Qatar to host Gaza cease-fire talks amid Iran-Israel tension: What we know

Hamas says it will not attend the talks, which will take place in Doha.

Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard boats attack a naval vessel during a three-day military drill in the Gulf on April 22, 2010.

Iran’s navy conducts drills in north as Israel, region brace for escalation

The drills come at a time of heightened tensions in the region, amid an expected Iranian attack against Israel over the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.