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

Iran cover image

Iran

November 6, 2026

Tehran 10:53 am

19°C

Russian Mil Mi-8 military helicopters fly over a joint Russian and Turkish convoy, northeastern Hasakeh province, Syria, Feb. 4, 2021.

Russia to provide Iran with 90 missile launchers as military ties grow: Reports

Multiple recent reports reveal increased Russian support for Iran, including weapons and intelligence sharing.

A sign marking the border of Turkey in Van, Turkey, on March 14, 2026.

Turkey says soldier killed by gunfire from Iran at border: What to know

Turkey said a soldier was killed by suspected gunfire from Iran, as Ankara seeks closer cooperation with Tehran on border security.

An aerial view shows a campaign billboard depicting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of the Likud party and President Donald Trump in Tel Aviv, on Oct. 26, 2026, on the eve of Israel's legislative elections.

Explainer

Democrats’ midterm sweep tests US-Israel ties as Eisenkot vows reset

Political sources describe the Democrats' midterm victory as a political blow to both US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Iranians walk along a building installed with a giant poster depicting Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei during a rally in front of the former US embassy to mark the anniversary of the 1979 Iran hostage crisis, in Tehran on Nov. 4, 2026.

Analysis

Iran cheers Democrats’ midterm victory but fears Trump's next move

The Democratic win was a victory Tehran had been waiting to claim and project as evidence that Trump's confrontation with Iran has backfired.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Latest News

From Tehran to Tel Aviv, Democrats’ midterm triumph sparks Middle East reactions

The sun sets on the US Capitol on Election Day evening on Nov. 3, 2026 in Washington.

Explainer

War, oil, AI: What US midterms could mean for Middle East economies

RONALDO SCHEMIDT / AFP via Getty Images

Iran executes two men in case tied to January protests: What to know

A police officer monitors traffic as he stands under portraits of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei in Tehran, on Oct. 21, 2026.

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

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses a joint meeting of Congress in the House Chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 3, 2015. REUTERS/Gary Cameron (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4RWHO

Rafsanjani: Iran’s hard-liners 'in harmony with Netanyahu'

Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani has said that Iran's hard-liners are in line with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in opposing a nuclear deal with the West, drawing the ire of one of Iran's most conservative newspapers.

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on leaving the office to report, film or take pictures in Tehran.

A customer buys Iranian gold coins at a currency exchange office in Tehran's business district October 24, 2011. Iranian media reported last week that monetary authorities had reversed a six-month-old decision to cut interest on bank deposits, aiming to mop up excess cash in the economy and halt a dangerous rise of inflation. The news made sense to economists,

Iranian banks on shaky ground

Toxic loans coupled with crippling sanctions have led Iranian banks to be running out of capital, pushing deposit-taking banks to offer higher rates than monetary officials insist on.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress at the Capitol in Washington March 3, 2015. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4RX0B

Bibi's 'House of Cards' moment

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has maneuvered himself into a win-win position: If an Iranian agreement isn’t reached, he'll celebrate all the way to the ballot box; if not, he can say that at least he tried to avert the catastrophe.

Iranian journalists of leading moderate daily, Shargh (East), stand by their desks 06 August 2007 in Tehran after it was shut down for the second time in less than a year for publishing an interview with a woman accused of being a homosexual activist. The ban on Shargh (East), the favourite newspaper of Iranian liberals, comes amid growing pressure on the press in Iran and follows the closure of fellow moderate daily Ham Mihan last month. AFP PHOTO/ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty

Iran's female editors rise to the top despite challenges

Despite a growth of female journalists in Iranian media, they still face various barriers and limits.

People sit under a television broadcasting Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to the U.S. Congress, at a kiosk in the southern city of Ashkelon March 3, 2015. Netanyahu warned U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday against accepting a nuclear deal with Iran that would be a "countdown to a potential nuclear nightmare" by a country that "will always be an enemy of America". REUTERS/Amir Cohen (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4RWZN

Focused on Iran, Bibi ignores Israel's economic crisis

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke eloquently to Congress about Iran and the reception he received was warm, but now he has to win the support of an Israeli electorate struggling financially and increasingly alienated from him.

An Iranian woman registers her candidacy for the upcoming parliamentary elections at the interior ministry in Tehran on December 24, 2011. Iranians began to register their candidacy for the upcoming elections set for March 2, 2012 for a four-year tenure in parliament. AFP PHOTO/ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)

Iran's female MPs show mixed record

Iran's female members of parliament have been few in number but have had a large impact on national policies.

U.S. Senators' Lindsey Graham (front L) (R-SC), John McCain (Back L) (R-AZ), Charles Schumer (C) (D-NY) and Bob Corker (R) (R-TN) talk on the floor of the House Chamber prior to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's address to a joint meeting of Congress in the House Chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 3, 2015. REUTERS/Gary Cameron (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4RX59

Congress races to act on Iran after Bibi's speech

The Senate is to take up a bill demanding a say on the nuclear deal next week.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses a joint meeting of Congress in the House Chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 3, 2015. U.S. Speaker of the House John Boehner (L) (R-OH) and President pro tempore of the U.S. Senate Orrin Hatch (R-UT) look on from behind Netanyahu. REUTERS/Gary Cameron (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4RWHE

Iran paper sees conspiracy in Netanyahu speech

While reactions have been mixed in Iranian newspapers, hard-line Kayhan believes that Netanyahu and Obama are actually deceiving the Iranian negotiators.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gestures as he addresses the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) policy conference in Washington, March 2, 2015. Netanyahu said on Monday that the alliance between his country and the United States is "stronger than ever" and will continue to improve. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4RS6O

US, EU battle Netanyahu for public's trust on Iran

Israeli leader sees Congress as crucial backstop against "bad deal."

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on leaving the office to report, film or take pictures in Tehran.

A Nour missile is test fired off Iran's first domestically made destroyer, Jamaran, on the southern shores of Iran in the Persian Gulf March 9, 2010. A newly inaugurated Iranian destroyer test fired a surface-to-surface missile in the Gulf on Tuesday, Iran's Fars news agency reported. REUTERS/Ebrahim Noroozi/IIPA (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY IMAGES OF TH

IRGC: Naval exercise also 'media-psychological' operation

The head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps public relations has said that Iran's publicized naval exercises were meant to prepare for threats from countries beyond the region and praised the media coverage of them.

Former president Mohammad Khatami arrives to vote during the Iranian presidential election in northern Tehran June 12, 2009. REUTERS/Chavosh Homavandi/jamejamonline (IRAN POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR24KZC

Iranians challenge media ban on Khatami

Iranians have challenged the media ban on a former president, which received unusually high attention because of his sister's death.

Here comes Bibi!

Congress turns its attention away from other business this week as it prepares for the addres of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.