menu_open Columnists
A Correspondent In Tehran

A Correspondent In Tehran

Al Monitor

We use cookies to provide some features and experiences in QOSHE

More information  .  Close

Why Iran's Pezeshkian is facing an uphill battle in postwar diplomacy

As President Masoud Pezeshkian's administration advances dialogue with Washington, its fiercer contest is in the corridors of power within the Islamic...

yesterday 2

Al Monitor

A Correspondent In Tehran

How competing visions over Hormuz strait threaten fragile Iran-US deal

Iran's latest measures in the strategic waterway expose widening gaps with the US and Gulf states, which could complicate the durability of recent...

27.06.2026 10

Al Monitor

A Correspondent In Tehran

Why Iran's generals are intensifying anti-US rhetoric amid negotiations

Leading figures within Iran's military and security establishment have framed the memorandum with Washington not as an end point but as a conditional...

23.06.2026 3

Al Monitor

A Correspondent In Tehran

How Lebanon, Hormuz and nuclear tensions are testing fragile US-Iran deal

The heated debate in Tehran revolves around whether the agreement can absorb external shocks without collapsing into renewed confrontation — or...

19.06.2026 1

Al Monitor

A Correspondent In Tehran

How Iran is framing deal with US amid competing narratives

Amid growing speculation about details and technicalities of a US-Iran deal, Washington and Tehran are painting different pictures, exposing a gap...

13.06.2026 10

Al Monitor

A Correspondent In Tehran

From Beirut to Bab el Mandeb, Iran tests new deterrence strategy

Tehran views its latest clash with Israel as a watershed moment and proof that any attack on its regional allies can trigger direct and immediate...

09.06.2026 8

Al Monitor

A Correspondent In Tehran

Why Iran is making Hezbollah a red line in postwar diplomacy

Recent statements from Iran's military and diplomatic leadership suggest Tehran is determined to prove that war has weakened neither its regional...

06.06.2026 20

Al Monitor

A Correspondent In Tehran

Why Iran sees Lebanon as proof that its deterrence still works

Iran is characterizing any Israeli pause in strikes on Beirut as proof of its renewed influence and leverage in an episode that could also expose...

02.06.2026 4

Al Monitor

A Correspondent In Tehran

How Tehran's hardening rhetoric signals uneasy path for US talks

Iran's leadership is increasingly portraying negotiations with Washington not as compromise but as a continuation of confrontation by other means.

30.05.2026 20

Al Monitor

A Correspondent In Tehran

How far will Iran bend in ceasefire talks with US?

US-Iran negotiations are being pursued intensely with Pakistani mediation, but a mutually agreed framework has yet to be reached, as Tehran insists on...

23.05.2026 20

Al Monitor

A Correspondent In Tehran

Iran tightens wartime crackdown across Kurdish, Baluch ethnic regions

Arrests in Baluchistan and Kurdistan highlight widening wartime security operations that are deepening mistrust between the state and disadvantaged...

19.05.2026 10

Al Monitor

A Correspondent In Tehran

Ahead of Trump-Xi summit, Iran looks to China as guarantor — but with reservations

Tehran is closely watching the Trump-Xi meeting to determine whether China will continue acting primarily as a protector or if it will gradually...

12.05.2026 10

Al Monitor

A Correspondent In Tehran

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

Iran's rhetoric and policies toward Gulf states have sharply escalated, raising questions about whether years of painstaking regional rapprochement...

09.05.2026 30

Al Monitor

A Correspondent In Tehran

Iran's Gulf gambit: Attacking the UAE to shift US calculations

Tehran is escalating pressure on the United Arab Emirates through strikes and rhetoric, signaling a strategy to widen the conflict and indirectly...

05.05.2026 10

Al Monitor

A Correspondent In Tehran

How Iran is rebuilding its bruised military as ceasefire masks recalibration

Iran is using the fragile truce to recover by blending redeployment and reverse engineering into broader preparedness for renewed conflict.

01.05.2026 10

Al Monitor

A Correspondent In Tehran

How long can Iran's economy withstand Trump's naval blockade?

Iranian authorities are denouncing US seizures of the country's oil tankers as piracy, but mounting disruptions to maritime trade are exposing...

28.04.2026 10

Al Monitor

A Correspondent In Tehran

Araghchi’s Russia, regional tour tests path to breaking US-Iran deadlock

Iranian officials say dialogue remains open, but negotiations are clouded by intensifying hard-line domestic messaging and conflicting signals over...

24.04.2026 20

Al Monitor

A Correspondent In Tehran

As Iran's power struggle deepens, US talks stall, who’s calling the shots in Tehran?

Ultraconservative figures and security officials have intensified their criticism of the negotiating team, accusing it of jeopardizing Iran’s gains.

21.04.2026 20

Al Monitor

A Correspondent In Tehran

What is Iran really willing to concede on its nuclear program?

Iran’s current posture accepts short-term, reversible constraints while rejecting long-term limits on enrichment.

17.04.2026 20

Al Monitor

A Correspondent In Tehran

Survival first: Will Iran soften red lines in US talks to consolidate war gains?

Ahead of a possible new round of US talks, Iran insists that uranium enrichment on its own soil is nonnegotiable, framing it as a matter of...

14.04.2026 20

Al Monitor

A Correspondent In Tehran

Ceasefire or strategic pause? How Iran is framing war narrative amid deep mistrust

Beneath the surface of official messaging, a more complex and uneasy reality is emerging — one defined by lingering mistrust, hard-line dissent and...

08.04.2026 20

Al Monitor

A Correspondent In Tehran

Iran executes alleged MEK members in bid to signal wartime control

Iran's execution of four alleged opposition members underscores a wartime strategy of tightening domestic control — leveraging a familiar "enemy"...

31.03.2026 20

Al Monitor

A Correspondent In Tehran

Iran regime turns sights on UAE as war widens beyond conventional front

Iran's hard-line authorities are particularly sharpening threats against the United Arab Emirates, signaling a potential shift in targeting the Gulf...

27.03.2026 30

Al Monitor

A Correspondent In Tehran

Meet Bagher Zolghadr, a hard-line IRGC veteran now Iran's security chief

Zolghardr's appointment suggests a push to strengthen the group’s influence over national security and the war effort.

24.03.2026 20

Al Monitor

A Correspondent In Tehran

How Larijani's killing could narrow diplomatic offramps for Iran war

The IRGC, already strengthened by its central role in the war and its ties to newly appointed Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, may consolidate further...

17.03.2026 20

Al Monitor

A Correspondent In Tehran

How survival mode has reshaped Iran's calculations for potential US war

Iran is blending cautious diplomacy with fortified defenses, a survival mindset and readiness to escalate strategically if challenged.

28.02.2026 40

Al Monitor

A Correspondent In Tehran

Iran’s student protests enter fourth day as campuses test limits to regime control

Iran's universities have reopened, but things aren't back to normal, as students chant for regime change and assert alternative political visions in...

25.02.2026 30

Al Monitor

A Correspondent In Tehran

Iran scrambles to shape endgame amid growing US military pressure

With Washington tightening deadlines and deploying assets, Tehran is mounting a rapid diplomatic campaign while preparing for what is increasingly...

21.02.2026 20

Al Monitor

A Correspondent In Tehran

Military posturing alongside fragile diplomacy: What’s next for US-Iran talks?

Sharp warnings, entrenched red lines and rising military signaling reveal a shaky path in US-Iran nuclear talks.

17.02.2026 30

Al Monitor

A Correspondent In Tehran

Why Iran is facing hard choices after Oman nuclear talks

Iran and the United States ended Friday's talks in Muscat without a breakthrough, preserving diplomacy but deepening uncertainty as military pressure,...

07.02.2026 20

Al Monitor

A Correspondent In Tehran

Bracing for backlash, Iran sends mixed signals on US talks

Iran's public messaging remains fragmented, with cautious openness from the presidency, rigid red lines from security officials and outright rejection...

04.02.2026 30

Al Monitor

A Correspondent In Tehran

Will EU’s terror listing of besieged Iran's IRGC backfire?

The EU designation could ultimately render the IRGC an even more aggressive and defiant organization aboard, and a more assertive rights violator at...

31.01.2026 30

Al Monitor

A Correspondent In Tehran

Proxies, maritime pressure, power plays: Iran’s options if US strikes

A military strike risks entrenching hard-liners in Tehran if Washington fails to accomplish regime change driven by a clear endgame.

24.01.2026 40

Al Monitor

A Correspondent In Tehran

Iran ramps up crackdown, vows 'to cut off hand' that threatens Khamenei

Iran doubled down on the narrative that the protesters were "Israel-linked mercenaries," as international calls grew for the regime's accountability...

21.01.2026 30

Al Monitor

A Correspondent In Tehran

Bruised, not broken: Iran’s regime shows no deep structural cracks — yet

One of the clearest indicators of regime vulnerability — namely defections among the elite or military positions — has not materialized yet.

14.01.2026 50

Al Monitor

A Correspondent In Tehran

Hospital raids, mounting deaths: Iran's unrest enters volatile phase

Iran's nationwide unrest has deepened as lethal force collided with state warnings, exposing a widening gap between official control and...

07.01.2026 30

Al Monitor

A Correspondent In Tehran

Beyond Venezuela, what does Maduro’s fall mean for isolated Iran?

To counter US influence and demonstrate global reach, Iran had for years invested heavily in Venezuela as a politically aligned, economically...

04.01.2026 40

Al Monitor

A Correspondent In Tehran

Iran unrest: 4 scenarios as protests spread, regime weighs options

As casualties mount amid nearly a week of unrest in Iran, Donald Trump's threat to "rescue" demonstrators has sharpened tensions, forcing Tehran to...

03.01.2026 30

Al Monitor

A Correspondent In Tehran

Iran rocked with new protests as economic anger meets mounting foreign pressure

The latest wave of protests is moving beyond markets and into universities, as Tehran trades warnings with Washington and Israel.

31.12.2025 60

Al Monitor

A Correspondent In Tehran

Iran currency plunges to historic low amid factional blame game

As Iran's judiciary publicly rebukes the central bank over the rial's collapse, the currency crisis is no longer economic and is fast becoming a test...

24.12.2025 30

Al Monitor

A Correspondent In Tehran

Iran’s FM Araghchi in Moscow as biting sanctions drive closer Russia ties

The economic agenda of the meetings in Moscow and Tehran reflected a deliberate effort by both governments to signal momentum in a partnership...

17.12.2025 60

Al Monitor

A Correspondent In Tehran

Militant merger in Iran’s Baluchestan signals new threat to Tehran

The group’s outreach to broader ethnic communities reflects a strategic bid for wider legitimacy and a role in the wider struggle against the...

13.12.2025 60

Al Monitor

A Correspondent In Tehran

Iran’s China pivot deepens as Tehran's thaw with Saudi Arabia gets reality check

At a Tehran trilateral meeting between China and Saudi Arabia, Iranian officials performed careful diplomatic choreography, seeking Beijing’s...

10.12.2025 40

Al Monitor

A Correspondent In Tehran

Iran’s new military drills near disputed islands ratchet up tensions with UAE

By combining high-tech capabilities, publicized warnings to foreign vessels and historical framing of territorial sovereignty, Tehran is seeking to...

06.12.2025 30

Al Monitor

A Correspondent In Tehran

Tunisia arrests prominent opposition figure Hammami to enforce 5-year jail term

TUNIS, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Tunisian police on Tuesday arrested prominent opposition figure Ayachi Hammami at his home to enforce five-year prison term...

03.12.2025 30

Al Monitor

A Correspondent In Tehran

Iran uses first joint SCO field drill to tout drone power, assert post-war resilience

The five-day drill includes participation from China, Russia, India, Pakistan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Observer...

03.12.2025 30

Al Monitor

A Correspondent In Tehran

Iran’s mismanagement in focus as fires ravage 25-million-year-old forests

Prolonged wildfires are raging across Iran's northern Hyrcanian forests, highlighting mismanagement, insufficient resources and climate stress, and...

26.11.2025 30

Al Monitor

A Correspondent In Tehran

Will Iraq’s election results reshape Iran’s role in Baghdad?

Tehran's sway over Baghdad is facing new challenges, with fatigued allies, US pressure and postwar regional shifts redefining Iran's influence in its...

12.11.2025 20

Al Monitor

A Correspondent In Tehran

Iran's quiet IRGC reshuffle fuels speculation of postwar shake-up

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has quietly removed veteran commander Mohammad Reza Naqdi, fueling debates on postwar restructuring,...

29.10.2025 30

Al Monitor

A Correspondent In Tehran

Quds Force chief’s low-profile Baghdad visit highlights Iran's strategic pivot

In a brief Baghdad visit, Iranian Quds Force commander Esmail Qaani sought to mend Iraq's fractured Shiite bloc and restore Tehran's faltering...

25.10.2025 30

Al Monitor

A Correspondent In Tehran