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

Iran cover image

Iran

July 15, 2026

Tehran 4:45 am

29°C

A general view of the Iranian Embassy on July 13, 2026, in London, England.

Analysis

How UK's IRGC designation raises stakes for Iran and Europe

Following Britain's designation, Iran has presented a unified front in which all institutions are projecting the IRGC as an integral component of national sovereignty.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

A photograph shows a damaged building in the aftermath of a drone strike in the Seef district of Manama on March 10, 2026.

Bahrain sentences 3 to life in prison over ties to Iran's IRGC: What to know

The sentencing comes as Bahrain continues to crack down on individuals allegedly spying for Iran, at a time when the IRGC has resumed its strikes against US assets in the Gulf.

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi meets with US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House, Washington, DC, July 14, 2026.

Trump hosts Iraqi PM Zaidi as Iran war intensifies

President Donald Trump emphasized Iraq’s “tremendous oil reserves” and possible deals with US companies.

SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images

Trump retreats from Hormuz 20% fee plan in pivot to Gulf investment deals

The shift comes barely 24 hours after Trump declared the United States would become the "guardian" of the strategic waterway and seek compensation for protecting all cargo passing through it.

Latest News

Oil prices climb to $85 as US-Iran attacks intensify, Hormuz traffic stalls

AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

As Trump prioritizes Hormuz, Israel fears Iran rebuilding nuclear program while preserving ballistic missile threat

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

Analysis

'The word belongs to the battlefield': Why Iran, US are drifting back to conflict

Ali Hashem

In Doha, reporting on Iran, regional politics, conflict

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 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.

Flight victims' families reject Iran’s compensation, demand justice

Families of the victims of the downed Ukraine Airlines flight warned the Iranian government that they will not accept any planned compensation and rather will fight for justice.

US show of force in Persian Gulf ahead of anniversary of Soleimani killing

A guided-missile submarine and two cruisers are the Pentagon's latest warning to Iran.

The Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Javad Zarif, speaks during a meeting with his Cuban counterpart Bruno Rodriguez (out of frame), in Havana, on November 6, 2020. - Cuba and Iran's foreign ministers met in Havana on Friday to reinforce their mutual support in the face of crippling US sanctions. (Photo by YAMIL LAGE / AFP) (Photo by YAMIL LAGE/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran’s Zarif says he won’t run for president

Iran’s foreign minister ruled out any possibility about his nomination in the country’s next presidential election, a race that hard-liners are already attempting to make entirely one-sided.

Compressed by jpeg-recompress

Woman sets self on fire after city demolishes shelter, Iranians outraged

The demolition of a single mother’s shanty at the hands of Iranian authorities and her despairing self-immolation have recharged an uproar over the Islamic Republic failing the needy citizens it once promised to raise from poverty.

Can the US force Iran out of Syria? Not likely, former officials say

The outgoing Trump administration appears to have made little if any progress in achieving its goal.