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

White House, Washington DC, United States of America

United States

October 18, 2026

Washington D.C. 5:30 am

5°C

shoppers walking through the Tajrish Bazaar, a traditional market in Tehran

Analysis

As Iran’s oil lifeline runs dry, can it outlast Trump's economic siege?

The country's last barrels of crude stockpiled beyond the reach of a US naval blockade fell to zero in October, raising the stakes for Tehran amid mounting economic distress.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

US President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at the Oncenter Convention Center in Syracuse, New York, on Oct. 9, 2026.

Window for diplomacy with Iran may be closing as Trump again threatens Pickaxe Mountain

Israel still wary of Damascus, writes Ben Caspit from Israel; our correspondent in Tehran and Amberin Zaman explain how Iran and Turkey look to exploit Azerbaijan’s headscarf controversy; Qatar’s top diplomat offers energy assistance to Lebanon, Beatrice Farhat reports from Beirut.

Israeli troops stand guard on the dividing line between the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights and Syrian, near Majdal Shams, July 16, 2025.

Analysis

'The problem and the solution': Netanyahu-Sharaa call exposes Israel's Syria dilemma

The Israeli leader revealed that he spoke with the Syrian president last year, but stalled talks and Israel's fortification of a security zone on Syrian land underscore his mistrust of Sharaa.

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

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House on Oct. 7, 2026 in Washington, DC.

Trump rules out US troops in Iran, leaves Pickaxe Mountain strike on the table

He did not dispute reports that the US military is weighing use of the "mother of all bombs."

Latest News

Israeli president meets FM Wang Yi as reports link China to Iran’s military buildup

Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia, Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 15, 2026.

Who is Abdulrahman Alfozan, Saudi national charged in bugging OpenAI meetings?

Abdulrahman Alfozan in an undated photo

Exclusive

In bid to win over Saudi Arabia, Netanyahu may strike Yemen before elections

A giant electoral poster for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party with the slogan "no surrender" is displayed on the facade of a building in Tel Aviv on Sept. 29, 2026

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

Trump offers Iran path to nuclear deal while keeping up military pressure

US President Donald Trump speaks at the "Golden Age of American Innovation Summit" at the Institute of Peace in Washington, DC, on Oct. 8, 2026.

Adam Lucente

News and Business Correspondent

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

Elizabeth Hagedorn

Diplomatic Correspondent

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

Jared Szuba

Defense and Security Correspondent

In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military

Joyce Karam

Editor-in-Chief

Rosaleen Carroll

News Reporter and Supporting Editor

In Washington, DC, US, reporting on the Middle East

Paul J. Saunders

In Washington, DC, reporting on Russia in the Middle East

Intel: US says there’s no ‘winning side’ in Libya

The US is amplifying calls to restore oil sharing in Libya in hopes of stabilizing the conflict and likely reducing Hifter's dependence on Russia

State Department remains concerned by Turkey’s proxy fighters in northern Syria

Turkey-allied fighters have faced widespread accusations of arbitrary detentions, extrajudicial killings and other abuses in northern Syria.

Kurdish Peshmerga militiamen carry their weapons as other fighters play volleyball at one of their camps in the Qandil Mountains located along the Iraq-Iran border, 05 May 2006. A top Kurdish guerilla threatened 06 May to launch hit-and-run attacks on Iran, saying the Shiite country planned to bomb his group's positions inside Iraq to gain Turkey's support against the US. AFP PHOTO/ALI AL-SAADI (Photo credit should read ALI AL-SAADI/AFP via Getty Images)

KRG seeks US help to rein in Turkish attacks

While the United States has denied rumors that a US military delegation met with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party in the Qandil mountains, sources tell Al-Monitor that a team of US special operations forces went to inspect sites damaged in Turkish airstrikes.

Iraqi-Kurdistan

Rouhani: Iran’s economy handled pandemic better than US

Iran’s president said his country’s economy is in a comparatively better shape than the US and European states' ones when it comes to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Parents of detained journalist Austin Tice urge Trump to talk directly with Syrian regime

The new plea from Marc and Debra Tice comes on the heels of John Bolton's allegations that he and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo thought it was a bad idea for President Trump to engage with his Syrian counterpart.

Iraqi soldiers take position as they disembark from an MI171 helicopter during a joint land and air training with US soldiers from 1st Air Cavalry Brigade at Camp Taji, 25kms north of Baghdad, on March 29, 2010. AFP PHOTO/AHMAD AL-RUBAYE (Photo credit should read AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images)

Pro-Iran militias continue hitting military bases in Iraq

Hitting military bases in Baghdad and other areas, armed groups linked to Iran continues to call for revenge for the January killing of their former leaders Qasem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.

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.

Iranian supermarket opens in Venezuelan capital

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

TOPSHOT - Russian Sukhoi Su-35 and Su-34 military aircrafts fly over the Russian national flag on the Kremlin palace in Moscow on May 7, 2019, during a rehearsal for the Victory Day military parade. - Russia will celebrate the 74th anniversary of the 1945 victory over Nazi Germany on May 9. (Photo by Yuri KADOBNOV / AFP) (Photo credit should read YURI KADOBNOV/AFP via Getty Images)

Egypt acquires Russian fighter jets despite US warning

Russian media outlets reported that a first batch of the Su-35 fighter jets are en route to Egypt as part of a 2018 deal over which Washington threatened Cairo with sanctions.

Yazidi activist Nadia Murad to appear on 'The Daily Show'

Murad's appearance on the popular US talk and news satire show could showcase her efforts to combat sexual violence and trafficking to a new and big audience.

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.

Russian soldiers sit in their vehicle next to a portrait of late Syrian president Hafez al-Assad in Khan Sheikhun in the southern countryside of the Idlib province on September 25, 2019. - With military backing from Russia, President Bashar al-Assad's forces have retaken large parts of Syria from rebels and jihadists since 2015, and now control around 60 percent of the country. Russia often refers to troops it deployed in Syria as military "advisers" even though its forces and warplanes are also directly in

Intel: US ramps up Syria pressure campaign with sanctions targeting Assad’s teen son