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

Iran cover image

Iran

August 31, 2026

Tehran 1:25 pm

36°C

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian

Analysis

Can Iran turn postwar vulnerability into a regional security pact?

After a war that demonstrated both the reach and the limits of Iran's military deterrence, Iran's leadership is on the quest for security arrangements beyond the battlefield.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Ali Saeedi/Getty Images

Oil prices fall after Iran steps up truce efforts, US says Hormuz mines cleared

Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said in an interview on Thursday that Iran was preparing a list of conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

Abbas Araghchi and Sheikh Mohammed al-Thani

Qatar PM meets Pezeshkian, Rezaee as Doha seeks US-Iran mediation

Iran has recently signaled a desire to re-engage with the US but is hampered by internal divisions, said one expert.

Latest News

Qatar PM heads to Tehran amid flurry of regional diplomacy

Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed al-Thani

Iraq summons Iran envoy over 'Persian Gulf' post, Baghdad name origins: What to know

Fred TANNEAU / AFP via Getty Images

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

Christopher Nodine/US Navy via Getty Images

Pentagon aims to use Marines to defend commercial tankers from Iran

Iran’s retaliation for US seizures of sanctioned oil shipments has drawn the military back into the Persian Gulf, but will the Biden administration authorize it to engage?

United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan arrives at the Elysee Palace for a working lunch with France's President, in Paris, on July 18, 2022. - Emmanuel Macron welcomes the United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, nicknamed MBZ, at the Elysee Palace on July 18, 2022, whose state visit "will confirm the strong ties" between France and the rich Gulf oil country, the Elysee Palace announced on July 14, 2022. (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / AFP) (Photo by LUDOVIC MA

Iran president Raisi invites UAE's MBZ to visit Tehran

The invite was extended on the same day that Iran conducted a naval drill on Abu Musa Island, which is disputed with the UAE.

United Arab Emirates

Iranian women walk in the street on a rainy day in the capital Tehran, on December 4, 2022. - Iran has scrapped its morality police after more than two months of protests triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini following her arrest for allegedly violating the country's strict female dress code, local media said Sunday.women (Photo by Atta KENARE / AFP) (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

11 Baluchi men executed in Iran as morality police returns to streets

The executions are seen as a way to intimidate the public, while the morality police resumed its work to enforce Iran’s strict Islamic dress code.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi (L) and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni (R) shake hands during his state visit to Uganda at the State House in Entebbe, Uganda, on July 12, 2023. (Photo by BADRU KATUMBA / AFP) (Photo by BADRU KATUMBA/AFP via Getty Images)

In turnaround, Iran eyes economic opportunity in African ties

Tehran is diversifying its international ties and learning to secure small benefits from relationships instead of looking for big benefits from world powers.

Bijan Khajehpour

Bijan Khajehpour

In Vienna, reporting on Iranian politics

Mideast heat

Culture

From Egypt to Iran, heatwave compounds Middle East electricity problems, climate change burdens

Countries like Iraq are particularly susceptible to climate change, as recurring blackouts make it harder to stay cool indoors.

MEHDI MARIZAD/FARS NEWS/AFP via Getty Images

Iran's IRGC holds military drills at disputed UAE islands

Iran held war games as a top oil official said the Islamic Republic will not give up “one iota” of its rights to the disputed Durra gas field in a potential sign of tension with Arab Gulf states.

A man rinses his face with water from a bottle to cool off during a heat wave in Tehran on July 11, 2023.

Iran: Unprecedented heat wave triggers emergency holidays

The high temperatures have widely been linked to the overall impacts of climate change, which is hitting Iran twice harder than global averages, according to official data.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko (L) meets Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi in Tehran on March 13, 2023.

Iran, Belarus sign defense MOU as they explore cooperation on drones

Belarus may start playing a bigger role in Russia’s use of Iranian drones in the war on Ukraine.

This aerial photo taken on August 4, 2019 shows tugboats berthing an oil tanker at Qingdao port in Qingdao in China's eastern Shandong province. - China's good shipments abroad beat expectations to rise in July while its purchases continued to shrink, official data showed on August 8. (Photo by AFP) / China OUT (Photo by STR/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran's oil shipments to China triple in 3 years despite sanctions

Iran’s strengthening ties to China have prompted some senators to call for more sanctions.

Iranians walk past Iran's Shahed 129 drone during celebrations in Tehran to mark the 37th anniversary of the Islamic revolution on February 11, 2016. Iranians waved "Death to America" banners and took selfies with a ballistic missile as they marked 37 years since the Islamic revolution, weeks after Iran finalised a nuclear deal with world powers. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran drones venture into South America market with Bolivia as new customer

Iran was seen attempting to expand its sway in Latin America after Bolivia expressed interest in purchasing Iranian drones and reports said the Venezuelan navy had started using Iran-made attack boats that could be mounted with ballistic missiles.

US President Joe Biden is welcomed by Mecca province governor Prince Khaled al-Faisal (white robe) and Princess Reema bint Bandar Al-Saud (L), Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Washington, at the King Abdulaziz International Airport in the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah, upon his arrival from Israel, on July 15, 2022.

Analysis

Iran should be catalyst for Israel-Saudi normalization

Saudi-Israeli diplomatic relations could also give a financial and political boost to the moribund two-state solution.

Week in Review

Andrew Parasiliti

By Week in Review , Andrew Parasiliti

Shia muslims attend the "Ashura" to commemorate the death of Shia Imam Husayn ibn Ali (a grandson of Muhammad) who died during the Battle of Karbala in 680 AD, in Istanbul on July 28, 2023. (Photo by YASIN AKGUL / AFP) (Photo by YASIN AKGUL/AFP via Getty Images)

Shiite Muslims across Middle East mark Ashura amid tensions with West

Muslim countries in the region have criticized Sweden and most recently Denmark for allowing incidents of Quran burnings to happen on their soil.