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

Iran cover image

Iran

July 13, 2026

Tehran 8:04 am

30°C

A view of the B1 bridge is pictured, a day after it was destroyed by a strike in Karaj, around 20miles (35kms) southwest of Tehran, April 3, 2026.

Analysis

Why Iran is making infrastructure next front in Mideast conflict

Tehran appears to be codifying a pattern that emerged during the recent conflict, increasingly floating attacks on economic infrastructure as an integral part of the conflict's equation.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Igor IVANKO / AFP via Getty Images

How Iran war could impact oil markets in 2027

The International Energy Agency forecasts global oil supply will exceed demand by 4.62 million barrels per day in 2027.

Jim WATSON / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

As US-Iran fighting resumes, Israel weighs 3 options with restraint winning, for now

Despite Israel's military readiness to resume strikes on Iran, officials say looming elections make Netanyahu more likely to stay out unless Tehran forces his hand.

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

Latest News

Israel warns US of new Iran plot to assassinate Trump: What to know

US President Donald Trump walks to board Air Force One as he departs Bismarck Municipal Airport on July 01, 2026 in Bismarck, North Dakota.

Even as ceasefire frays, Trump and Iran shy away from full war

Mourners surge towards the turban-clad casket of Iran's slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on July 9, 2026, in Mashhad, Iran.

Why US strikes on Iran rail bridge signal shift in Hormuz conflict

Majid Saeedi/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

People push carts loaded with coffins of Afghan nationals who died in Iran after receiving them at an Afghan-Iran border crossing in Zaranj on Sept. 8, 2021.

Afghan crisis exposes rifts across Iran's political spectrum

At the two ends of Iran's political spectrum angry voices are being heard in a fierce battle over the ongoing crisis in Afghanistan, and especially the question of support for resistance forces in Panjshir Valley.

Mikhail Ulyanov, Moscow’s permanent representative to International Organizations in Vienna, mets with US Iran Envoy Robert Malley in Vienna, Austria, May 16, 2021.

The Takeaway: Iran nuclear diplomacy creeps forward in Moscow and Paris

Also: Taliban’s success inspires Syrian jihadis; Russia’s delicate diplomacy in Syria and Turkey; Nile dam parley peters out; IDF snared in political rift; Egypt’s Avenue of the Sphinxes; and more … in only about 1,500 words.

Iranian Quds force commander Esmail Ghaani speaks during a ceremony on the occasion of the first anniversary of death of former Iran's Quds force commander Qasem Soleimani in Tehran, on Jan. 1, 2021.

Quds Force commander says Iran will take 'realistic' approach in Afghanistan

Iran must strike a balance between accepting the reality of the Taliban and supporting Shiite and other ethnic groups.

An Iranian Kurdish peshmerga member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) sprays red paint on holes in a wall made by shrapnel from a rocket attack days earlier.

Iranian commander warns Iraqi Kurdish government about harboring opposition

The IRGC's rare warning has fueled fears about civilian casualties in the Kurdish villages stretching on the Iran-Iraq border.

Zahra Nemati of Team Iran celebrates her gold medal in the Women's Individual Recurve gold final on day 9 of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games at Yumenoshima Park Archery Field, Tokyo, Japan, Sept. 2, 2021.

Iranians set records at Tokyo 2020 Paralympics

Iran is currently leading Middle Eastern states in medals won at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

An exterior view of the building of US Department of the Treasury is seen on March 27, 2020 in Washington, DC.

US sanctions four Iranians over plot to kidnap New York activist

The newly designated Iranian intelligence operatives were charged in July with conspiring to kidnap a New York-based activist and journalist.

A man walks past some of the thousands of photos of people killed in Iran during the 1988 massacre of political prisoners.

Iranian man 'lashed to death' over alcohol possession

While the family released videos of the victim's body with lash marks, authorities claim his death was caused by deteriorating health.

This courtroom sketch shows Iranian defendant Hamid Noury (2ndL) sitting in the District Court of Stockholm with his defense attorney Daniel Marcus (3rdL) on the opening of his trial for "war crimes and murder" on Aug. 10, 2021.

Iran opens 'drug-trafficking' trial of two Swedish nationals

The drug-smuggling trial comes as Sweden prosecutes a former Iranian official linked to the mass killing of dissidents in 1988.

Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi speaks before parliament in the capital, Tehran, on Aug. 25, 2021.

The Takeaway: Iranian foreign policy under Raisi takes shape

Also: Shapiro appointment welcomed in Israel; Gantz meeting doesn’t help Abbas’ popularity; "Saudization" of labor gets slow start; Turkey’s targeted killings in Syria; Sextortion in Egypt; More … in about 1,300 words.

An Iranian health worker inoculates a young man against the coronavirus, at a vaccination centre set up inside the Iran Mall in the capital Tehran, on Aug. 14, 2021.

With new Iranian president comes new promises of vaccines

The new administration has made a number of promises on vaccines.

A picture obtained by AFP from the Iranian news agency Tasnim on January 31, 2021, shows Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (2nd-R) meeting with Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar (2nd-L) of the Taliban in Tehran.

Iran-Afghan trade has murky future under Taliban

While the chaos that followed the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan will present challenges to trade, resulting geopolitical shifts could provide some opportunities for Tehran.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian attends an extraordinary meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on June 16, 2015, in the Saudi Red Sea city of Jeddah.

Iran warns US against wasting time in nuclear talks

Iran's hard-line foreign minister said Tehran will only pursue talks that bear tangible outcomes.