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

Iran cover image

Iran

September 8, 2026

Tehran 8:12 pm

27°C

TOPSHOT - Explosions from projectile interceptions by Israel's Iron Dome missile defence system are pictured over Tel Aviv on February 28, 2026. The United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran on February 28, with Israel's public broadcaster reporting that the Iranian supreme leader had been targeted, as the Islamic republic retaliated with barrages of missiles at Gulf states and Israel. (Photo by Jack GUEZ / AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Israel braces for Iran attack as Trump’s economic squeeze on Tehran intensifies

Skeptical about the effectiveness of the American economic blockade on Tehran to weaken the regime, Israel is preparing for the possibility that Iran could decide to strike the Jewish state during the upcoming high holidays.

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

A picture take on September 14, 2017 shows an Airbus A340 of Mahan Air at the tarmac at Dubai's International Airport. (Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE / AFP) (Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images)

US hits 27 Iranian airlines with latest sanctions

The targets include Iranian airlines and operators in Malaysia, Turkey, Kazakhstan and the United Arab Emirates, including Mahan Air.

The former chief of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Mohsen Rezaei, takes part in a demonstration against American "crimes" following the killing of IRGC Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani in a US strike on his convoy at Baghdad international airport, Tehran, Iran, Jan. 3, 2020.

Iran to announce new Gulf restricted zone, Hormuz route: What we know

Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said the restricted zone would begin at the point where the US blockade of Iranian ports starts and extend into the Gulf.

A man walks past a mural depicting oil pumps and the Venezuelan flag, with portraits of Venezuelan independence leader Simon Bolivar (L) and former late President Hugo Chavez (R), in Caracas, Venezuela, on Sept. 3, 2026.

Analysis

Could Trump’s oil push in Venezuela upend OPEC’s energy order?

Washington’s growing role in controlling the Latin American country's crude riches could help reshape an energy order centered on OPEC as the Hormuz crisis pressures Gulf exports.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Latest News

Analysis

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

mural of Iran's slain supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

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

Amir Yaryab

Analysis

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

Ammar Ammar / AFP via Getty Images

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

US sanctions Turkey-based bank over Iran ties

Chip Somodevilla/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

A picture taken on February 15, 2018 shows a Turkish military convoy driving through Syria's northwestern Idlib province.

/ AFP PHOTO / OMAR HAJ KADOUR (Photo credit should read OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP/Getty Images)

Turkish army's Idlib action 'riskiest cross-border operation' to date

Experts list the possibility of confrontation between Turkey and Syria, a new influx of refugees and activity by radical groups as potential hazards of Turkey’s deployment into Idlib.

Pompeo’s speech unites Iranian media, politicians

Iranian media and officials roundly rejected and ridiculed demands made on Tehran by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a speech.

Iraq elections: Will Sadr seek a new beginning with Turkey?

Ankara is welcoming Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr’s stand against foreign intervention and military presence — as long as it doesn't apply to Turkey.

Iraqi politicians look to calm tensions in wake of US withdrawal from Iran deal

The US withdrawal from the Iranian nuclear deal poses questions about the role of the Iran-backed Shiite armed factions in bringing the US-Iranian confrontation into Iraq.

Can Iraq's Sadr swing nonsectarian government?

Muqtada al-Sadr, whose alliance got the most votes in the May 12 elections, has been meeting with leaders of other alliances in the hope of forming form a nonsectarian "national" government that includes all components of Iraqi society.

Morocco-Algeria tensions flare over claims of Hezbollah support to Polisario

Morocco’s accusation that Hezbollah and Iran are plotting against it with the Polisario Front has escalated tension with Algeria.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo walks with Saudi's Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir upon his arrival in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia April 28, 2018. Saudi Press Agency/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY - RC1F96F4FE60

America’s hawkish turn on Iran threatens Gulf alliance

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s new Iran policy announcement could have repercussions on US efforts to save the Gulf Cooperation Council.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivers remarks on the Trump administration's Iran policy at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, U.S. May 21, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RC1DC92DF460

Pompeo outlines ‘maximum pressure’ plan for Iran

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the United States would rally the world to impose crippling economic pressure on Iran to persuade it to submit to a broad set of demands, or face regime change.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif meets with European Commissioner for Energy and Climate, Miguel Arias Canete, in Tehran, Iran May 20, 2018. REUTERS/Alissa de Carbonnel - RC1C675026A0

Iranian MP: Fate of Iran deal determined in coming weeks

The EU’s energy chief traveled to Tehran to meet with Iranian officials regarding saving the nuclear deal.

Iranian women sit on street bench in Tehran, Iran, August 2, 2017. Nazanin Tabatabaee Yazdi/TIMA via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC1A3741D5D0

After Iran deal exit, average Iranians worried about the future

Uncertainty in the aftermath of the US withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action is fueling pessimism about the future among ordinary Iranians.

A Turkish military armoured vehicle guards on the border line located opposite the Syrian town of Atimah, Idlib province, in this picture taken from Reyhanli, Hatay province, Turkey October 10, 2017. REUTERS/Osman Orsal - RC117E0C0980

Turkey’s de-escalation efforts around Idlib come with risks

Turkey has erected its final observation post in the Idlib region, but many unknowns and potential hazards remain.

What did Putin mean by withdrawing 'foreign armed forces' from Syria?

Netanyahu leaves his troubles behind.