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

Iran cover image

Iran

September 6, 2026

Tehran 4:45 am

27°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

Zarif says US setting up ‘pretext’ for war

As tensions between Iran and the United States escalate, Iran’s foreign minister claims the United States is trying to fabricate evidence for war.

New Iran-Pakistan border crossing has implications beyond trade

The opening could indicate a tilt toward China by Iran and comes at a time when there have been small tensions in Islamabad’s relations with Riyadh.

US again sends B-52 bombers to deter Iran as tensions peak

The deployment is the third flight of nuclear-capable Stratofortresses to the region in less than two months

Rouhani: Iran reserves right to avenge Soleimani death

President Hassan Rouhani said Iran will avenge the US assassination of its top commander Qasem Soleimani and will continue to seek the ouster of American forces from the region.

A health worker prepares an injection for a woman during the first trial phase of a locally-made Iranian vaccine for COVID-19 coronavirus disease in Iran's capital Tehran on December 29, 2020. (Photo by - / AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran begins trials for domestically produced vaccine

Iran is also reportedly importing the Pfizer vaccine amid pressure from citizens as the virus continues to spread.

Hamas leader Mahmud Zahar speaks during an interview with AFP at his house in Gaza City on December 15, 2010. The Arab League meeting on the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process was nothing more than "a cover for the failure" of the Palestinian Authority, Zahar said. AFP PHOTO/MAHMUD HAMS (Photo credit should read MAHMUD HAMS/AFP via Getty Images)

Hamas leader recounts how Soleimani handed him cash-filled suitcases

A top Hamas official revealed details about one batch of Iran’s financial assistance to his group, when slain commander Qasem Soleimani handed his delegation suitcases stuffed with millions of dollars.

A picture taken on November 22, 2016 shows an Israeli army Dolphin-class submarine sailing at Israel's Naval port in the Mediterranean city of Haifa. / AFP / JACK GUEZ (Photo credit should read JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Israeli, American submarine activity suggests show of force against Iran

Israel reportedly dispatched a submarine to the Suez Canal and the Red Sea in what has been taken as a clear warning to Iran not to escalate tensions at this sensitive time of transition.

KIRKLAND, WA - DECEMBER 28: Pharmacists prepare doses of COVID-19 vaccines at the Life Care Center of Kirkland on December 28, 2020 in Kirkland, Washington. The Life Care Center of Kirkland, a nursing home, was an early epicenter for coronavirus outbreaks in the U.S. (Photo by Karen Ducey/Getty Images)

US approves Iranian funds transfer to buy COVID vaccines, says Iran central bank chief

Iranian officials have argued US sanctions have hampered their ability to make payments for overseas vaccines.

Iran to receive 150,000 Pfizer vaccines

Amid a controversy over Iran's ability to purchase the coronavirus vaccine, Tehran is set to receive 150,000 doses from US donors.

Lebanese men watch the head of the country's Shiite Muslim movement Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah during a televised speech, at a coffee shop in the southern suburbs of the capital Beirut, on August 30, 2020, on the tenth day of the month of Muharram which marks the peak of Ashura. - Ashura is a 10-day period of mourning in remembrance of the seventh-century martyrdom Imam Hussein, who was killed in the battle of Karbala in modern-day Iraq, in 680 AD. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP) (Photo by ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Ge

Nasrallah says Hezbollah would not be part of Iran nuclear talks

The Shiite party's leader also said Hezbollah has doubled its missile supplies.

Women, mask-clad due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, walk along a street in Iran's capital Tehran on November 8, 2020. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

Iranians increase pressure on government to purchase vaccines

Puzzled by their government’s reluctance to purchase coronavirus vaccines, Iranians launched campaigns for their “basic right to live” at a moment when the pandemic is raging and neighboring countries have started vaccinating their citizens.

Iranians hold their national flag and posters bearing portraits of Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (R) and the founder of Iran's Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (L) during a rally in Tehran's Azadi Square (Freedom Square) to mark the 36th anniversary of the Islamic revolution on February 11, 2015. Iranians gathered in cities and villages all over the country to mark the 36th anniversary of the revolution which transformed the country from a US-backed monarchy into a cleric-ruled republi

Does Iran have a plan for a successor to Khamenei?

Recent rumors regarding a decline in Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s health have led to renewed speculation about who will succeed him.