https://www.rferl.org/z/660 RFE/RL's latest news, features, commentary, and multimedia content on Iran. https://www.rferl.org/Content/responsive/RFE/en-US/img/logo.png https://www.rferl.org/z/660 en Copyright 2026 - RFE/RL, Inc. 60 Tue, 05 May 2026 18:00:51 +0200 Pangea CMS – RFE/RL The US cease-fire with Iran remains in place, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said, a day after Iran launched missiles at the United Arab Emirates, and the US military sank six Iranian small boats. https://www.rferl.org/a/us-iran-war-cease-fire-shipping-blockade/33750501.html https://www.rferl.org/a/us-iran-war-cease-fire-shipping-blockade/33750501.html Tue, 05 May 2026 16:39:57 +0200 NewsIranThe Rundown Stories Several countries have condemned Iran and called an attack on oil facilities in the United Arab Emirates a dangerous escalation. Thick smoke was filmed pouring out from the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone that the UAE claimed was hit by an Iranian drone attack on May 4. This comes as both the US and Iran fired shots in the Strait of Hormuz as tensions rise amid a fragile cease-fire. https://www.rferl.org/a/uae-accuses-iran-of-hitting-oil-sector-world-leaders-condemn-dangerous-escalation/33750468.html https://www.rferl.org/a/uae-accuses-iran-of-hitting-oil-sector-world-leaders-condemn-dangerous-escalation/33750468.html Tue, 05 May 2026 15:59:36 +0200 VideosIranVideo Archive With tensions high in the Strait of Hormuz, retired US Navy Vice Admiral Robert Murrett spoke to RFE/RL about the challenges, concerns, and potential solutions. The US military posture “is important in creating leverage for a diplomatic solution that would allow free and open navigation,” he said. https://www.rferl.org/a/hormuz-shipping-warfare-us-iran-murrett/33750305.html https://www.rferl.org/a/hormuz-shipping-warfare-us-iran-murrett/33750305.html Tue, 05 May 2026 13:19:05 +0200 IranFeaturesThe Rundown Stories As the US-Israeli war with Iran continues to impact and shape the region, journalists from RFE/RL deliver ongoing updates and analysis. https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-war-us-hormuz-oil-blockade-gulf-israel/33640284.html https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-war-us-hormuz-oil-blockade-gulf-israel/33640284.html Tue, 05 May 2026 07:30:00 +0200 IranNewsThe Rundown Stories Iran announced the hanging of three more men on May 4 as a wave of executions continued amid the backdrop of Tehran's war with the United States and Israel. Before being hanged on the weekend, another two members of Iran's Kurdish minority issued audio statements from prison. One human rights activist told RFE/RL's Radio Farda that there are concerns the rate of executions will increase as Iranian authorities attempt to instill fear in the population. https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-prisoners-executions-protests/33749766.html https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-prisoners-executions-protests/33749766.html Tue, 05 May 2026 00:02:14 +0200 IranVideo ArchiveVideos As the Iran war strains ties between Washington and its European allies, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is visiting Rome and the Vatican in a trip analysts say is as much about damage control as diplomacy. https://www.rferl.org/a/rubio-rome-vatican-visit-iran-war-us-europe-tensions/33749711.html https://www.rferl.org/a/rubio-rome-vatican-visit-iran-war-us-europe-tensions/33749711.html Mon, 04 May 2026 19:20:11 +0200 FeaturesIranThe Rundown Stories More than a million jobs have been lost since the United States and Israel attacked Iran in late February. With the US blockade showing no signs of abating and little headway made in peace talks, ordinary Iranians are paying the price. https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-economy-war-job-loss/33748721.html https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-economy-war-job-loss/33748721.html Mon, 04 May 2026 18:24:30 +0200 IranFeaturesThe Rundown Headline Iran claimed its missiles hit a US warship trying to enter the Strait of Hormuz, a claim rejected by Washington as a new American effort got underway to get commercial shipping traffic flowing through the critical waterway. https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-us-war-hormuz-shipping-threats/33749632.html https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-us-war-hormuz-shipping-threats/33749632.html Mon, 04 May 2026 17:36:40 +0200 IranNewsThe Rundown Stories It has been over two months since one of the world’s key oil chokepoints was shut down. And it has meant a seismic global readjustment and a number of creative workarounds. https://www.rferl.org/a/strait-of-hormuz-workarounds-adjustments-oil-shipping/33748056.html https://www.rferl.org/a/strait-of-hormuz-workarounds-adjustments-oil-shipping/33748056.html Sun, 03 May 2026 10:44:36 +0200 IranVideosThe Rundown Headline Mark Katz, professor emeritus at George Mason University and a non-resident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council, tells RFE/RL in an interview that Moscow is walking a narrowing tightrope -- one that could reshape its influence both in Tehran and far beyond. https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-iran-mark-katz-strategic-ties/33747729.html https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-iran-mark-katz-strategic-ties/33747729.html Sat, 02 May 2026 23:58:58 +0200 News AnalysisNewsIranRussiaUkraineThe Rundown Stories Jailed Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi has been transferred to intensive care and is "on the brink of death," her brother Hamidreza Mohammadi told RFE/RL's Radio Farda. https://www.rferl.org/a/iranian-nobel-laureate-narges-mohammadi-on-the-brink-of-death-health/33747642.html https://www.rferl.org/a/iranian-nobel-laureate-narges-mohammadi-on-the-brink-of-death-health/33747642.html Sat, 02 May 2026 14:34:31 +0200 IranNewsThe Rundown Headline Iran supplies about 90 percent of the world's saffron -- one of the most valuable agricultural products by weight. But since Iranian authorities shut down Internet access two months ago, growers have been cut off from their usual clients in Europe and China. That has meant a windfall for Afghan saffron dealers. https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-saffron-farming-internet-shutdown-afghanistan/33747226.html https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-saffron-farming-internet-shutdown-afghanistan/33747226.html Fri, 01 May 2026 20:03:54 +0200 IranVideo ArchiveVideos Max Meizlish, a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) and a former official at the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), looks behind the "mafia state" that makes up the Iranian regime. https://www.rferl.org/a/meizlish-iran-supreme-leader-khamenei/33746594.html https://www.rferl.org/a/meizlish-iran-supreme-leader-khamenei/33746594.html Fri, 01 May 2026 10:21:37 +0200 IranNewsThe Rundown Headline Matthew Tavares, a former Pentagon analyst, tells RFE/RL the West is no longer facing a partnership of convenience between Moscow and Tehran, but a strategic alignment that spans the tactical, operational, and strategic levels of warfare.  https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-military-axis-iran-pentagon-analyst-matthew-tavares/33746049.html https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-military-axis-iran-pentagon-analyst-matthew-tavares/33746049.html Thu, 30 Apr 2026 13:53:51 +0200 IranFeaturesRussiaUkraineRussia Invades Ukraine Iran’s currency has fallen to a new record low against the US dollar as the two-month-long conflict rattles the country’s already battered economy. https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-economy-blockade-war/33746016.html https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-economy-blockade-war/33746016.html Thu, 30 Apr 2026 12:56:58 +0200 IranNewsThe Rundown HeadlineMiddle East Senator Thom Tillis, a co-chair of the Senate NATO Observer Group and a self-described “plain-spoken” Republican from North Carolina, has a message for those who view the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East as isolated events: they are not. https://www.rferl.org/a/us-senator-thom-tillis-russia-iran-axis-war/33745497.html https://www.rferl.org/a/us-senator-thom-tillis-russia-iran-axis-war/33745497.html Wed, 29 Apr 2026 20:54:00 +0200 IranNewsRussiaUkraine Weeks of US and Israeli air strikes, sanctions, and restrictions have hit Iran hard, but it could be geology that eventually pushes it into making concessions in its ongoing standoff with the United States. https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-oil-sector-blockade-tehran/33745206.html https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-oil-sector-blockade-tehran/33745206.html Wed, 29 Apr 2026 18:23:43 +0200 News AnalysisFeaturesIranThe Rundown StoriesMiddle East The unity that Iran’s rival political camps maintained through 40 days of US and Israeli strikes is fracturing over negotiations to end the war. The real divide, experts say, is not necessarily about whether to talk but rather when. https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-politics-divide-us-israeli-war-/33745286.html https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-politics-divide-us-israeli-war-/33745286.html Wed, 29 Apr 2026 16:20:12 +0200 IranFeaturesThe Rundown HeadlineMiddle East In an interview with RFE/RL, US Representative Wesley Bell, whose legislation to address threats to the Baltics has advanced with bipartisan support, discusses checking Russia’s ambitions, how the war in Ukraine shapes long-term security, the implications of Russia-Iran cooperation, and more. https://www.rferl.org/a/baltics-us-security-nato-russia-threats-wesley-bell/33745055.html https://www.rferl.org/a/baltics-us-security-nato-russia-threats-wesley-bell/33745055.html Wed, 29 Apr 2026 12:20:39 +0200 RussiaFeaturesBelarusIranRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown Stories The United States has deployed a third aircraft carrier to the Middle East, significantly boosting its capabilities, despite a cease-fire with Iran. https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-us-strait-of-hormuz-blockade/33744467.html https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-us-strait-of-hormuz-blockade/33744467.html Tue, 28 Apr 2026 18:19:03 +0200 IranFeaturesThe Rundown Headline