China refiners turn to Russian oil as Iran faces rising uncertainty
China appears to be replacing disrupted Venezuelan oil shipments with Russian crude rather than Iranian barrels, despite steeper discounts being offered by Tehran.
ANALYSIS
Mexico cartel violence revives scrutiny of Iran-linked networks
As cartel violence grips Mexico following the death of a top drug lord, experts tell Iran International that Tehran-linked networks may be intertwined with the criminal infrastructure fueling instability across Latin America.
Iranian students burn flag, signaling a new phase in state–society rupture
The burning of the Islamic Republic’s national flag at three Iranian universities on Monday marks a new high in the widening rift between the state and the people.
Why war may no longer be the worst outcome for Tehran
Tehran’s posture increasingly resembles that of an embattled state that sees greater odds of survival in confrontation than in compromise—one that views a decisive clash not as catastrophe, but as a potential turning point.
Big promises, bigger problems: governance after the Islamic Republic
Iran stands at a pivotal moment. If political change brings institutional reform, the country could break decades of stagnation and return to sustained growth. But without credible governance, any transition risks replacing one failed equilibrium with another.
Money is leaving Iran faster as oil income falls and uncertainty mounts
Capital flight from Iran is accelerating just as oil revenues decline, according to new data from the Central Bank of Iran—a convergence that helps explain the sharp fall of the national currency in recent months.
Why regional powers are pushing to prevent a US-Iran war
The latest round of Iran-US talks in Geneva on Tuesday would likely not have taken place without sustained pressure from regional powers that leveraged their close relations with Washington to help avert a wider war.
What would happen to Iran after the Islamic Republic?
Two competing futures are being sketched for Iran: a bleak “Syria-style” slide into chaos, or a more optimistic path grounded in economic research and detailed transition planning by the Iran Prosperity Project, tailored to the country’s specific realities.
Tehran’s oil lifeline shows signs of strain under tightening sanctions
Iran’s oil exports declined sharply at the start of 2026, new tanker-tracking data show, raising fresh questions about the durability of Tehran’s most important economic lifeline under renewed US sanctions pressure.
What the 1991 uprising in Iraq can teach US and Iran
About a month ago, US President Donald Trump urged Iranians to keep protesting and take over institutions, saying that “help is on the way.”
Why Netanyahu raced to Washington over Iran
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu believes only direct engagement with US President Donald Trump can prevent a limited nuclear deal with Iran—and turn this moment into a decisive blow against the Islamic Republic.
Netanyahu’s hasty US visit signals Israel’s bid to shape Iran policy
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hastily advanced trip to Washington this week underscores the rising stakes surrounding renewed diplomacy between Iran and the United States.
Reports of deaths in custody in Iran raise fears of quiet repression
Human rights activists are sounding the alarm over reports of secret and extrajudicial executions in Iran, warning that the authorities may be moving toward retaliating against detainees after the deadly crackdown on protests in January.
Why Iran may not afford to close the Strait of Hormuz
Tehran’s frequently invoked threat of closing the Strait of Hormuz may be far easier to signal than to carry out, not least because it would harm allied China more than the hostile West.
Why Tehran sees war as a survival strategy
Iran’s leadership is edging toward a war scenario not because diplomacy is necessarily collapsing, but because confrontation is increasingly seen as the least damaging option for a ruling system under intense internal and external pressure.
Tehran and Washington test the limits of talks without trust
The reappearance of diplomacy between Washington and Tehran is being shadowed by limited but dangerous military showdowns, revealing how narrow the space for negotiation has become in the absence of trust.
Why Iran cannot stop its currency collapse
Iran’s currency has lost half its value in just six months and is now at risk of losing its role as both a store of value and a functioning currency, as households and businesses increasingly shift prices, savings, and expectations toward the US dollar.
Gunboat diplomacy: US seeks coercion without war on Iran
President Donald Trump’s response to Iran’s recent unrest appears to reflect a strategy of gunboat diplomacy: the use of military pressure, rhetorical escalation, and economic coercion to extract concessions without committing to war or formal regime change.
Why Turkey fears Iran’s unrest more than its repression
Iranians’ chants against the Islamic Republic—muted for now by brute force—are viewed in Turkey not as a struggle for freedom but as a geopolitical risk from migration and militancy.
Why 'locked and loaded’ US is still holding back on Iran
US President Donald Trump’s dramatic naval buildup in the Middle East appears to have generated more strategic uncertainty than clarity both in Tehran and in Washington.
Iran crossed point of no return as protests collide with economic exhaustion
Iran cannot simply rewind to the weeks before the protests began. The crackdown hardened public anger, while an already overstretched economy and energy system lost what little room they had to absorb another shock.
Iran’s two crypto economies: state guile and household survival
Cryptocurrency is a rare tool embraced by both Iran’s rulers and its citizens—used at the top to enrich elites to dodge sanctions and at the bottom to survive the economic devastation wrought by their policies.