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

Iran cover image

Iran

September 6, 2026

Tehran 2:21 am

26°C

mural of Iran's slain supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

Analysis

How Iran's campaign against US bases is forging a new Gulf defense network

Iran's targeting of Gulf states is fueling a regional security architecture designed to counter the Islamic Republic.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Amir Yaryab

Who is Amir Yaryab, IRGC’s cyber commander in US crosshairs?

The US State Department has offered up to $10 million for information on Amir Yaryab, who oversees a key part of Iran’s cyber operations.

Ammar Ammar / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Playing for time: Despite US pressure, Israel stalls Lebanon talks until after election

Ahead of the eighth round of talks in Rome, the Israeli military reported clearing Hezbollah's underground stronghold at Ali al-Taher after besieging the ridge for months.

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

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

US sanctions Turkey-based bank over Iran ties

The Treasury Department said Golden Global Bank was facilitating transactions for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Latest News

Saudi oil exports hit nine-year low as tanker attacks threaten recovery

A commercial vessel passes through an international shipping lane off Yemen's Hanish Island in the Red Sea on July 27, 2026.

US expands Iran campaign with strikes on oil tankers

A women stands overlooking the water as ships are seen anchored in the Strait of Hormuz on Aug. 10, 2026, off the coast of Bandar Abbas, Iran.

Iran vows continued military action amid renewed hostilities with US

In this picture obtained by AFP from the Iranian news agency Tasnim on September 2, 2026 a destroyed vehicle is pictured at the site of an overnight strike in Kuhestak, Sirik County, in Iran's southern Hormozgan province on September 2, 2026. Iranian forces said on September 2 that they launched attacks on US military targets in the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain and other countries in the region, vowing "severe" consequences for renewed American attacks on the Islamic republic. (Photo by Masoud Moha

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

Antony Blinken

Blinken vows ‘collective response’ for ship attack blamed on Iran

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States is confident that Iran carried out the attack on the Israeli-linked oil tanker.

ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

Iran's outgoing health minister asks for military-enforced lockdown

Iran's health minister asked for a two-week lockdown to be enforced by the military to stop the spread of COVID-19.

GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images

UK, Romania summon Iranian ambassadors over ship attack

Iran, which has denied involvement in the attack on the Israeli-linked oil tanker, responded by summoning the British chargé d'affaires in Tehran.

A nurse stands by the CIRA-03 robot prototype built as part of a self-funded project to assist physicians in running tests on suspected COVID-19 coronavirus patients.

Middle East economic outlook hinges on vaccinations

Five countries to watch: Tunisia, Iran, Iraq, Egypt and Oman.

An undated image of Liberian flagged tanker MT Mercer Street.

Two reported dead in attack on Israeli-operated ship near Oman

Iran was suspected in the attack on the UAE-bound Mercer Street, which is connected to an Israeli billionaire businessman.

Iranian boys ride their bicycles in Adimi village in Hamoon wetland near the Zabol town in southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan, bordering Afghanistan, Feb. 2, 2015.

Top Sunni cleric laments Iran's discrimination against minorities

In his scathing criticism, Mawlawi Abdul-Hamid also recognized the ongoing protests in Khuzestan province, which in his view, should not be reduced to the water crisis.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a joint-press conference with Kuwaiti foreign minister in Kuwait City on July 29, 2021.

Blinken: Iran nuclear talks ‘cannot go on indefinitely’

Secretary of State Antony Blinken's comments came as negotiations over the landmark accord remain stalled.

A police officer patrols in front of banners put up by members of the National Council of Resistance of Iran.

US condemns violence against protesters in Iran

The US condemnation comes as rights groups accuse Iranian authorities of a violent crackdown on protests that erupted earlier this month over severe water shortages in the southwestern province of Khuzestan.

Khamenei

Iran's supreme leader says 'cowardly' US cannot be trusted

As Iran awaits a new president set to take office Aug. 3, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that the West cannot be relied upon in future negotiations.

Ghalibaf

Iran protests gain momentum despite deadly crackdown

The protests that rocked the oil-rich province of Khuzestan have spread to other areas despite the government's iron-fist response and severe internet disruptions.

Iranians use internet at a cybercafe in the center of the Iranian capital Tehran on May 14, 2013.

Iran's parliament suspends controversial internet bill

Iran's parliament has decided to temporarily suspend a controversial bill that would block Iranians from major social media websites.

Muweis canal of Nile River in northern Egypt

How water has become a flashpoint in the Middle East

Al-Monitor reporting shows the increased risks and relevance of water security for Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia; Iran and Iraq; and Israel and Jordan.