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

Iran cover image

Iran

May 12, 2026

Tehran 10:06 am

26°C

A picture taken on March 12, 2017, shows an Panamanian tanker docking at the platform of the oil facility in the Khark Island, on the shore of the Gulf.

Breaking | Last Updated: May 11, 2026, 4:31 pm

US hits China-linked Iran oil trade with sanctions ahead of Trump trip

The sanctions come after the United States rejected Iran's latest proposal to end the war.

PALM BEACH, FLORIDA - MAY 2: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to journalists before boarding Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport on May 2, 2026 in Palm Beach, Florida. Trump is spending the weekend at his Mar-A-Lago resort. (Photo by Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images)

Trump calls Iran response 'piece of garbage,' set to meet military advisers

A US Navy nuclear submarine reached port in Gibraltar on Sunday in an unsubtle signal from the Pentagon.

Ronen Zvulun / AFP via Getty Images

Netanyahu fears being left out as Trump pursues Iran diplomacy

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was not surprised by President Donald Trump’s suspension of Project Freedom and move toward talks with Iran, but analysts say Washington may not be fully weighing Israel's concerns in negotiations with Tehran.

Latest News

China’s overland trade routes offer Iran wartime economic lifeline: What to know

CN-STR / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Why Iran's wartime behavior risks lasting rupture with Gulf states

A woman walks past a banner featuring Iran's late supreme leaders, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (L) and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (C), next to newly elected Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, in Tehran on April 19, 2026.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Analysis

CIA report on Iran missiles undercuts Netanyahu as war euphoria dissipates

Traffic passes a billboard depicting Iranian ballistic missiles in service, with text in Arabic reading "the honest [person's] promise" and in Persian "Israel is weaker than a spider's web," Valiasr Square, Tehran, April 15, 2024. ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images.

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

US strikes Iran tankers as UAE reports fresh missile, drone attacks

Getty

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

Iranians, wearing protective face masks, ride their motorcycles in the capital Tehran on July 22, 2020, during the COVID-19 epidemic. - The Islamic republic has been battling a resurgence of the virus, with official figures showing a rise in both new infections and deaths since a two-month low in May. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

Report: Iranian authorities ignore prisons' pleas for help in fighting COVID-19

Amnesty International obtained letters from prisons in Iran to the Health Ministry about a lack of adequate supplies in dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.

Relatives and colleagues of the 11 Ukrainians who died in a plane mistakenly shot down by Iran in January, attend a ceremony unveiling a memorial stone at the site of the future monument at the Boryspil International airport outside Kiev on February 17, 2020. (Photo by Sergei SUPINSKY / AFP) (Photo by SERGEI SUPINSKY/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran, Ukraine hold 'constructive' talks over downed passenger plane

Ukraine's foreign minister said the talks were productive, but the two sides have not yet agreed on compensation for the plane's downing.

US expands sanctions on Iran metals trade, citing ballistic missile program

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo expands metals-related sanctions on Iran, naming 22 materials used in connection with Iran’s nuclear, military or ballistic missile programs.

Could fraud allegations shatter Iranian parliament speaker's dream for presidency?

Fresh fraud allegations leveled against Iran’s powerful parliament speaker could mar his expected bid for the presidency next year, while exposing widening rifts within the conservative camp.

Iranian supermarket opens in Venezuelan capital

Iran and Venezuela maintain strong economic ties despite US sanctions on both countries.

Iran Health Ministry says COVID-19 deaths are higher than reported

Iran’s deputy health minister warned that the actual numbers of deaths from the coronavirus are higher than what the public is being told.

Hezbollah, Israel jostle in Syria, Lebanon

Conflict between Israel on the one hand and Iran and Hezbollah on the other have been playing out this month in Syria and Lebanon.

Rouhani slams US ‘aerial terrorism’ after Iran plane interception

The US interception of an Iranian civilian aircraft over Syrian skies has set off yet another escalatory episode in the rivalry between Tehran and Washington over influence in the Middle East.

An Iranian flag flutters next to a ground-to-ground Sajil missile before being launched at an undisclosed location in Iran on November 12, 2008. Iran test fired today a new generation of ground-to-ground missile, the semi-official Fars news agency quoted the defence minister as saying. In the past Iran has often boasted of developing new weapons systems only to be met with scepticism from Western defence analysts. AFP PHOTO/FARS NEWS/STR (Photo credit should read -/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran launches first underground missile during US-focused drill

The launch follows an Iranian exercise targeting a mock US aircraft carrier yesterday.

Iran conducts large-scale drills amid flaring tensions with US

During the military exercise in the Persian Gulf, Iranian forces were shown firing a barrage of missiles at a replica of a US naval carrier.

Fuel tank explosion in Iran latest in string of mystery blasts

No casualties were reported after six trucks carrying fuel reportedly caught fire Monday.

Tehran, IRAN: TO GO WITH AFP STORY IRAN-JUSTICE-PRISON-SOCIT BY PIERRE CELERIER Iranian women inmates sit at their cell in the infamous Evin jail, north of Tehran, 13 June 2006. AFP PHOTO/ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

Australian-British academic jailed in Iran moved to dangerous desert prison

Kylie Moore-Gilbert has been moved to the Qarchak prison after spending nearly two years in Tehran's notorious Evin detention center.