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
COVID-19 crisis pushes Bahrain to resume flights from Iran after 4-year halt The tiny Gulf kingdom of Bahrain is bringing hundreds of Shiite pilgrims home from Iran, with which it has no diplomatic ties and normally no direct flights. Bahrain
Worst-case report: 75% of Iranians may contract coronavirus A state-funded Iranian research center predicted that in a worst-case scenario, some three-fourths of the country’s population could ultimately contract the coronavirus. United States
Iran condemns Trump’s halt of WHO funding Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif blasted the United States in a tweet April 15, condemning the US president for suspending funding to the World Health Organization. United States
Coronavirus resurging in Iran hotspots amid partial reopening At least three Iranian provinces are experiencing a resurgence of the coronavirus after the government partially relaxed lockdown measures. Iran
Is coronavirus good for health of Turkish-US relations? The coronavirus could offer Recep Tayyip Erdogan an opportunity to defer a fresh crisis with Washington over the Russian S-400 air defense systems, which he had pledged to activate in April but whose cost has now grown on multiple fronts. Turkey
Iran welcomes Iraq’s new prime minister In today’s Iranian media roundup, officials and news outlets have reacted to the appointment of Iraq’s new Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi with praise and expressions of confidence. Iraq
Iraqi PM-designate meets with officials in push to form ‘government that serves the public’ Iraqi Prime Minister-designate Mustafa al-Kadhimi hopes to announce his proposed Cabinet soon. Iraq
Will Iran back UN-Saudi initiative for cease-fire in Yemen? For Saudi Arabia and the Gulf, Yemen is too big to fail; for Iran, it’s a penny stock investment to keep the kingdom bogged down in a quagmire. Yemen
Islamic State spreading terror once again in Syrian desert The Islamic State is taking advantage of the coronavirus pandemic and resuming its activities against regime forces in the Syrian desert. Syria
Iran's coronavirus stimulus: too little, too late Iran's decision to withdraw 1 billion euros from the country's sovereign wealth fund will do little to boost the economy, already distressed by corruption and the impact of global sanctions. Iran
Khamenei blames Western culture, atheism for coronavirus response failings In a rare speech, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei criticized the West for its poor response to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, as cases continue to grow in Iran. United States
Iran releases jailed UK resident Aras Amiri on furlough Tehran furloughs an imprisoned woman who had been working for Britain’s cultural outreach agency as Iran's official coronavirus death toll reaches 4,110. Iran
