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

Iran cover image

Iran

May 4, 2026

Tehran 6:59 am

22°C

Crops of wheat and barley in Terbol village on May 10, 2022, in Bekaa Valley, Lebanon.

Analysis

MENA wheat importers face food security risks as Hormuz crisis festers

Home to many of the world's largest wheat importers, the Middle East and North Africa face acute food security risks as the US-Israel-Iran war disrupts global fertilizer flows and pushes up prices.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Soldiers from Iran's land, navy, air force and special forces parade on the occasion of National Army Day in Tehran, capital of Iran on April 18, 2025, in Tehran, Iran.

Analysis

How Iran is rebuilding its bruised military as ceasefire masks recalibration

Iran is using the fragile truce to recover by blending redeployment and reverse engineering into broader preparedness for renewed conflict.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent testifies during a Senate Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on April 22, 2026 in Washington, DC.

US sanctions Iran’s shadow banking channels moving oil proceeds from China

The latest sanctions come as the Trump administration weighs Iran's latest proposal to end the war.

Ibrahim AMRO / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Without exit strategy, Israel faces emboldened Hezbollah, limited options on Iran

While President Donald Trump remains undecided on striking Iran again, the Israeli military is sinking deeper into its Lebanon quagmire with a reinforced Hezbollah.

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

Latest News

Trump faces three paths ahead in Iran war as Hormuz standoff intensifies

This photo obtained by AFP from the Iranian news agency Tasnim shows an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) boat allegedly taking part in an operation to seize ships attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz, on April 21, 2026.

In defiant message, Iran’s Khamenei threatens US but appeals to Gulf

AFP via Getty Images

US blockade tests Iran's limits, but will global pain force Trump’s hand?

QESHM ISLAND, IRAN - APRIL 28: Boats navigate the sea on April 28, 2026 on Qeshm Island, Iran in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's latest proposal for ending its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz calls on the United States to end its naval blockade of Iran's ports, and sets aside questions about what to do with Iran's nuclear program. The United States has not formally responded to the latest proposal, which was delivered by Iran's foreign minister to Pakistan two days ago. (Photo by Asghar Besharati/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

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh speaks to protesters at the border fence with Israel, Gaza Strip, May 15, 2018.

Hamas’ Haniyeh heads to Iran for second time since Gaza war

Haniyeh's visit comes one day after the UN Security Council passed a resolution calling for a cease-fire in Gaza.

Large oil tanker ship in the Persian Gulf, Iran.

Iran vows retaliation against tanker seizures as it bolsters naval presence

Iran has in recent months been flexing its naval capabilities in the Persian Gulf in anticipation of potential confrontations with the United States, which has dispatched reinforcements to push back on Iranian harassment of international vessels.

A view of refinery No. 2 (Phases 2, 3) of the South Pars Gas-Condensate field in Asalouyeh Seaport, north of the Persian Gulf in Iran.

What’s behind Iran’s $13B investment in domestic oil industry?

Iran’s oil exports are on the rise, particularly to China, though the country faces challenges in maintaining its oil production levels.

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan in Saint Petersburg on Oct. 11, 2022.

Iran, Saudi Arabia, UAE, others shower Russia’s Putin with congratulatory messages

Several leaders in the region have extended their congratulations to Russia’s President Vladimir Putin over his reelection, as Western countries condemned the Russian elections as unfair.

Azerbaijan's Minister of Energy Parviz Shahbazov meets with his Iranian counterpart Ali Akbar Mehrabian in Tehran on March 15, 2024.

Iran-Azerbaijan ties still off track despite diplomatic gestures

Azerbaijan's energy minister visited Tehran for preparations to reopen his country's embassy, but such hot-button issues as the Nakhchivan corridor and Azerbaijan's affinity with Israel appeared as stumbling blocks on the path to effective normalization.

Iranian Navy boats take part in maneuvers in the Strait of Hormuz, Jan. 3, 2012.

Are Iran-Russia-China naval drills 'symbolic' or security tilt to East?

While this marked the fifth consecutive year the three nations held joint naval exercises, current regional dynamics lent this edition "much deeper symbolism" than a routine drill.

In this photo taken on February 18, 2022 a Taliban fighter stands guard at the entrance gate of Afghan-Iran border crossing bridge in Zaranj. (Photo by Wakil KOHSAR / AFP) (Photo by WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran sends delegation to Afghanistan as Taliban-Tehran ties see boost

Iran’s relations with the Taliban are seeing a thaw after a period of tension over deportation of Afghans from the Islamic Republic last year.

Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard boats attack a naval vessel during a three-day military drill in the Gulf on April 22, 2010.

Iran, Russia, China conduct new military drills, defying Western pressure

The exercise brought together the three countries' lead warships for the stated purpose of bolstering maritime security, while Tehran-backed Yemeni rebels continued to target international navigation in the wake of the Gaza war.

Iranians carry the coffins at the Shah Cheragh shrine of Shiraz on April 15, 2008 during the funeral of the people who were killed in a mosque blast on April 12 in the southern city of Shiraz.

Iranian court orders US to pay $2.5 billion over 2008 bombing

The Islamic Republic accuses Jamshid Sharmahd, a German citizen and US resident, of involvement in a 2008 bombing in relation to his work with an Iranian monarchist group, but his trial was unfair, according to a rights watchdog.

Iran port

How significant is $35M Taliban-Iran Chabahar port deal?

Despite not recognizing the Taliban regime in Kabul, Iran has maintained close trade and commercial ties with Afghanistan and both countries seem eager to take economic ties to a new level.

Lights illuminate a phosphate processing plant as a flame burns from a chimney in Saudi Arabia.

Kuwait's Durra gas dispute puts Iran in new showdown with Gulf rivals

The issue has added to a list of already existing tensions between Iran and other Persian Gulf states, with Kuwait and Saudi Arabia upping the rhetoric over the past year, denying any Iranian share in the vast reserve.

Image released by Peruvian police shows suspected Iranian-Peruvian citizen named Majid Azizi.

What we know about alleged Iran plot to attack Israeli citizen in Peru

Peruvian police said a member of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps planned to murder an Israeli in the South American country. Iran and Hezbollah have been previously linked to attacks against Jewish and Israeli targets on the continent.