Could Hormuz offer a way out of the US-Iran war?
The Strait of Hormuz has become one of the most dangerous points of leverage in the US-Iran war, but it may also offer Tehran and Washington their clearest route back to negotiations.
ANALYSIS
If Britain backs US plan, Iran's London bank shuts down on October 22
A bank owned by the Iranian state is still open in London, operating on a temporary permission from the British Treasury that expires on October 22. Renewing it, or letting it lapse, is Britain's answer to Washington's campaign to shut Iran's banks for good.
'If I'm not happy, they'll execute me': Iran's new grammar of dissent
Iranians have found a way to complain about prices that no prosecutor can touch: they film themselves dancing beside the groceries, insist they are delighted, and explain that if they were not, they would be executed.
Trump’s call for an Iranian uprising runs into a trust problem
Donald Trump’s renewed call for Iranians to rise up against the Islamic Republic has revived a question among some of those he is urging into the streets: after months of shifting US policy, can they trust Washington to stand by them if they do?
Women footballers came home under pressure. Now Iran wants them on camera
Five months after Iran's women footballers sought asylum in Australia, the football federation has called the squad back into camp, not to train but to film a documentary about what happened there. Some of the players it wants on camera are the ones who came home under pressure.
Iran’s economy is a powder keg. Tehran is preparing for the spark
Iran’s economic crisis is deepening, and with few answers for a population becoming poorer, Tehran is signaling how it may respond if economic anger again spills into the streets: repression and lethal force.
Every time Iran talks about de-escalation, something happens in Hormuz
Iran's president spent Tuesday assuring Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin and Narendra Modi that Tehran would return to the Islamabad framework if Washington did. As he spoke, news broke that two Saudi tankers had been hit in the Strait of Hormuz.
US-Iran escalation prompts debate in Iran over preemptive strikes
Calls for preemptive strikes on US forces are growing in Iran after renewed US attacks, intensifying debate over whether Tehran should shift away from a mainly retaliatory strategy.
The republic of magic: How Iran turned the unseen into an instrument of rule
The Islamic Republic moved beliefs about the unseen from the margins of society to the center of power, and used oil money to give them institutions, budgets and a propaganda apparatus, so that its rulers could draw legitimacy from a source no citizen can question.
Iran fires back, but can missiles ease economic pain?
Iran’s latest strikes on American forces have brought threats of further US retaliation, but Washington increasingly sees Tehran’s military escalation as a sign of economic vulnerability rather than strategic strength.
Iran loses ground on trade as war hits oil and non-oil exports
Iran’s foreign trade has contracted sharply since the conflict with the United States began, with non-oil exports and imports falling by around a quarter or more, according to customs data released after months of delay.
What the US-Venezuela oil model could mean for Iran’s energy future
The emerging US-Venezuela oil partnership could offer a model for how Iran’s vast but underinvested energy industry might be revived under a future government able to restore ties with the West, while also reshaping oil flows in Europe.
Washington’s economic war on Iran starts in Dubai, not Beijing
The Treasury Department’s opener for Operation Economic Outcast, launched Monday to cut Iran’s remaining income, suggests Washington sees Dubai, Istanbul and Baghdad — not Beijing — as the critical channels for Tehran’s money.
Iran’s missing fuel: Can border smuggling explain it all?
Iran’s large-scale fuel losses appear to go beyond the smuggling cited by officials in Tehran, with evidence pointing to organized diversion within the country’s fuel distribution system.
Iran or the dollar? US makes an example of Banque Misr
The US has opened a new front in its economic campaign against Iran by threatening to cut a major third-country bank out of the dollar system over alleged involvement in Tehran’s shadow-banking network.
War or deal? Rezaei begins to define Iran’s price
Mohsen Rezaei on Friday set out four Iranian conditions for an agreement with the United States, another sign that the former IRGC commander who once championed an “offensive doctrine” may be moving from advocating war to contemplating a deal at the right price.
Will Mojtaba Khamenei's absence help the Islamic Republic survive?
Since Mojtaba Khamenei was named the Islamic Republic's third supreme leader, no one has seen him or heard his voice. That looks like weakness. It is worth asking whether it might instead be postponing the system's political death.
Iran keeps finding gas. Getting it out is the problem
Iran has announced another major gas discovery, but with the world’s second-largest reserves already beneath its soil, Tehran’s problem is not finding gas but finding the money and technology to extract it.
Iran leader’s absence gives war camp room to shape policy
Mojtaba Khamenei has not been seen or heard publicly, leaving his condition and circumstances unclear as officials govern in his name, interpret messages attributed to him and invoke his authority on questions ranging from negotiations with Washington to the conduct of the war.
Iran crude loadings plunge to one-seventh of pre-war level as blockade bites
Iranian crude loadings have fallen to about one-seventh of their pre-war level under the US naval blockade, while Chinese receipts of Iranian oil and fuel exports have also dropped sharply, tanker-tracking data reviewed by Iran International shows.
Houthis more effective Iran ally than Hezbollah, Yemen expert says
Yemen’s Houthis have become a more effective ally for Iran than Hezbollah, using Iranian support and their strategic Red Sea position to pursue both Tehran’s interests and their own agenda, Yemen analyst Mohammad al-Basha told Iran International.
Turkey’s gas pivot leaves Iran with fewer cards to play
The expiry of a 25-year gas contract has exposed a shift in the Iran-Turkey energy relationship, with Ankara now enjoying more supply options while Tehran risks losing one of its most dependable export markets.