Newsletter: Business & Tech Trump pivots from Hormuz tolls as US-Iran fighting resumes Oil prices remain far below their early May peak of nearly $115 a barrel, but the renewed hostilities have pushed them well above the roughly $70 level seen before the war. By Jack Dutton In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech
Ahmadinejad denies alleged Mossad plot to install him as Iran leader: What to know The former president, who was a virulent critic of Israel while in office, was reportedly part of a Mossad plan to replace the current Iranian leadership. Iran
Newsletter: Daily Briefing Why Iran, US are drifting back to conflict Trump hosts Iraqi PM Zaidi; Bahrain sentences 3 to life in prison over ties to Iran's IRGC; and more. By Ezgi Akin In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO
Interview Why Strait of Hormuz no longer rattles oil markets as much: IMF The fund's Middle East director, Jihad Azour, told Al-Monitor that the big Gulf energy producers now have more capacity to absorb the shock. Jihad Azour Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the International Monetary Fund
Analysis How UK's IRGC designation raises stakes for Iran and Europe By A correspondent in Tehran In Tehran, reporting on politics
Intel: Trump administration to return acquitted scientist to Iran, paving way for potential prisoner swap The United States is expected to deport an Iranian professor acquitted of sanctions evasion. United States
Iran says it is exporting coronavirus diagnostic kits Iran announced the export of its first batch of domestically produced coronavirus diagnostic tests to Germany, saying it is receiving similar orders from other nations plagued by the pandemic. Iran
Yemen’s Houthis announce first coronavirus case While 21 previous cases had been reported in areas controlled by the internationally recognized government, the real figure in the war-wracked country is likely far higher. Yemen
IRGC soldiers killed in Kurdish area of Iran Iranian media reported that unknown gunmen killed three IRGC soldiers in Iran's Kurdistan province. Iraq
Facebook says it closed accounts, pages with links to Iranian government Facebook said that it shut down hundreds of accounts and pages promoting Iranian propaganda in its monthly report. Russia
Coronavirus resurgence hits Iran Iranian officials warn that a resurgence of the novel coronavirus is gripping nearly half of the country as the number of infections climb once again. Iran
Iran seems to reconsider military entrenchment in Syria According to Israeli assessments, Iran has begun giving up on its tremendous military investment in Syria. Israel
First Purple Hearts issued to US soldiers wounded in Iran missile strike on bases in Iraq The US military issues six Purple Hearts for service members who suffered brain injuries in January and plans to give out 23 more. Iraq
Ilhan Omar signs onto AIPAC letter siding with Trump on Iran After clashing repeatedly with AIPAC, Rep. Ilhan Omar has signed onto one of their key lobby agenda items for this year. Israel
Iran to begin opening schools May 16 Iran has begun taking steps to open schools and mosques in low infection rate areas. Iran
Iran begins reopening mosques despite coronavirus concerns Mosques across 132 "low-risk" cities reopened in Iran under strict guidelines meant to ensure social distancing. Iran
A further Iran-US prisoner exchange is overdue A mutual release of prisoners would be a low-cost way of reducing US-Iran tensions and providing the countries' leaders small breakthroughs. United States
