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

Iran cover image

Iran

September 17, 2026

Tehran 1:32 am

26°C

AFP via Getty Images

China presses Iran, US to reopen Hormuz as disruptions threaten oil supply

Conflicts in the region are disrupting two key routes for oil bound for China, with Iranian crude affected by the Strait of Hormuz and Saudi shipments facing growing risks in the Red Sea.

Fighters loyal to the Houthi authorities, brandish their weapons during a rally to recruit more fighters, in Sanaa on September 10, 2026. The country relapsed into war in July after years of calm, drawn into the regional conflict triggered by the US-Israeli offensive against Iran that began at the end of February. (Photo by Mohammed HUWAIS / AFP via Getty Images)

Exclusive

Lacking deterrence, Israel’s security establishment opposes attacks on Houthis

Senior Israeli intelligence sources told Al-Monitor that Israel seeks to avoid involvement in the conflict between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia, despite concerns that Yemen could further unravel and that Iran is backing the group.

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

Houthi fighters marching

Analysis

How far will Iran push Houthis against Saudi Arabia amid raging conflict?

As Iran-backed Houthis broaden attacks on Saudi Arabia, Tehran's delicate calculation is exploiting the current conflict without being dragged into an escalation of its own making.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Latest News

Analysis

Why Saudi Arabia's balancing act with US, Iran, Houthis risks collapse

Fighters loyal to the Houthi authorities shout slogans during a rally to recruit more fighters, in Sanaa, Yemen, on Sept. 10, 2026.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Exclusive

Houthi top diplomat says no intention to shut down Red Sea shipping, group open to talks

Houthi

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

US hits major Russian bank VTB with Iran-linked sanctions

VTB Bank in Moscow

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 killed in Iraq subject of 2009 controversy

An Iranian killed in Iraq was incorrectly labelled a Lebanese Hezbollah commander by activists during the 2009 election protests, and some news reports of his death still contain the error.

Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud sits before a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry at the Royal Palace in Jeddah September 11, 2014. The United States signed up Arab allies on Thursday to a "coordinated military campaign" against Islamic State fighters, a major step in building regional support for President Barack Obama's plan to strike both sides of the Syrian-Iraqi frontier. After talks in Saudi Arabia's summer capital Jeddah, Kerry won backing from 10 Arab countries - Egypt, Iraq,

Some Shiites link Saudi king's health to end-times

Some Shiite scholars believe that the Saudi king's death will signal the resurrection of the Mahdi and the beginning of the end-times.

Speaker of the House John Boehner addresses the members of the 114th Congress after being re-elected as the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives at the start of the 114th Congress at the U.S. Capitol in Washington January 6, 2015. REUTERS/Jim Bourg (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4KAI9

US House preps its own Iran sanctions bill

The lower chamber says it won't just pass whatever bill the Senate comes up with.

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on leaving the office to report, film or take pictures in Tehran.

An Iranian woman stands in a currency exchange shop in northern Tehran January 3, 2012. The Iranian rial fell to a record low against the dollar on Tuesday following U.S. President Barack Obama signing a bill on imposing fresh sanctions against the country's central bank. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl (IRAN - Tags: BUSINESS POLITICS) - RTR2VU75

Action needed to reform Iranian banks

Poor economic conditions have led to a crisis of non-performing loans for Iranian banks.

A boy holds up flags of the Shi'ite Houthi movement during a ceremony commemorating the birth of Prophet Mohammed in Sanaa January 3, 2015. REUTERS/Mohamed al-Sayaghi (YEMEN - Tags: RELIGION ANNIVERSARY) - RTR4JYNI

Iran’s shallow influence in Yemen

Iran believes its influence is spreading to a new country with the rise of the Houthis in Yemen in September 2014; however, Yemen is different from other Iranian-influenced countries (Syria, Lebanon and Iraq), where sectarian compositions differ.

Head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation Ali Akbar Salehi (L) speaks to the press during his meeting with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Yukiya Amano (unseen) in Tehran on November 11, 2013. Amano arrived in the Iranian capital to discuss Iran's nuclear programme after top world diplomats fail to clinch a long-sought deal to curb Tehran's nuclear activities but insist they are narrowing the gaps. AFP PHOTO/ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images

Iran presents enrichment needs ahead of talks

The head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization has discussed the next step in nuclear negotiations and Iran's fuel needs on Iranian television.

Dempsey says Iran’s role in Iraq might be 'positive'

Americans consider Islamic State, not Iran, as top threat to US in Mideast; terrorists in Syria planning “mass casualty attacks” in West; Salafists in Gaza look to Islamic State.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani looks on as he chairs the 28th International Islamic Unity Conference in the capital Tehran on January 7, 2015. AFP PHOTO / ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)

Divisions in Iran stall nuclear deal, says ex-US negotiator

Secretary of State John Kerry will meet Iran Foreign Minister Zarif in Geneva Jan. 14, ahead of a new round of nuclear talks.

A fighter from the Shi'ite Badr Brigade militia wears a religious flag as he fires towards the air at a checkpoint recently taken from militants of the Islamic State outside the town of Amerli September 5, 2014. The highway, which continues south to Baghdad, is now controlled by Shi'ite militia fighters and the Kurdish Peshmerga. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS CONFLICT) - RTR45475

Iran's new group in Iraq: Saraya al-Khorasani

Saraya al-Khorasani appears to have more direct contact and cooperation with Iran than other groups and militias it has ties with.

Policemen work at the scene after a shooting at the Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo January 7, 2015. Hooded gunmen stormed the Paris offices of the weekly satirical magazine known for lampooning radical Islam, killing at least 12 people, including two police officers in the worst militant attack on French soil in recent decades. REUTERS/Youssef Boudlal (FRANCE - Tags: CRIME LAW) - RTR4KFA9

Iran condemns Paris shooting, with caveat

Iran has officially condemned the attack on French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo but also warned of "double standards" in dealing with terrorism.

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on their ability to report, film or take pictures in Tehran.

Investors look at an electronic display board, reflected in a glass partition, at the Tehran stock exchange September 15, 2010. Picture taken September 15, 2010. While U.S. diplomats were busy upping Iran's economic punishment over nuclear activities Washington fears are aimed at making a bomb, Iranian shares, which might have been expected to fall, have, instead,

Iran's new budget to focus on privatization, subsidy reforms

Iran's economic outlook remains uncertain amid fluctuating oil prices and continuing nuclear negotiations, while officials are looking to create a law that would make the country’s state budgets independent of oil export revenue.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius (R) and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry speak during joint statement at the Quai d'Orsay Foreign Affairs ministry in Paris November 20, 2014. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is in Paris for talks with the French and Saudi foreign ministers as part of a last-minute push to secure a nuclear deal with Iran. Kerry will travel to Vienna later on Thursday to participate in a conference with world powers and Iran on Tehran's nuclear programme, a spokeswoman said. REUTE

What's holding up Iran nuclear deal?

The US Congress must give diplomacy a real chance and not hinder nuclear negotiations with Iran.