Hope for a limited US-Iran agreement gained momentum Friday as regional mediators intensified efforts to stabilize the ceasefire, but the fragile diplomacy faced hostility from Iranian hardliners who cast negotiations as a prelude to renewed conflict.
A small port on Oman’s Musandam Peninsula has become part of Iran’s workaround to the maritime blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, traders say, as goods once routed through the UAE are shifted through costlier channels.
A New York Times report claiming former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was considered by some US officials for a post-war role in Iran triggered a storm of speculation, ridicule and conspiracy theories inside Iran.
President Masoud Pezeshkian has come under mounting attack from Iran’s hardline factions after publicly defending negotiations with the United States and warning that war and sanctions are inflicting serious economic damage on the country.
A growing range of political voices in Tehran are calling for realism abroad and reconciliation at home rather than deeper confrontation as Washington signals both openness to talks and readiness for further military action.
The comment section under an Iran post can look like a national mood but under a blackout well into its third month, it is often something narrower: a space shaped by whitelisted access, economic privilege, cyber operations and fear.
President Donald Trump’s claim that he postponed a planned military strike on Iran has deepened uncertainty in Tehran, where officials and analysts remain divided over whether Washington is bluffing, buying time or preparing for another round of strikes.
Iran’s state broadcaster is facing criticism after airing programs in which presenters and government supporters handled rifles and other weapons on camera, with critics saying the displays blurred wartime messaging with intimidation at home.
Iran’s deepening economic crisis is pushing cafés and coffee culture toward collapse, as soaring prices and falling incomes force both businesses and customers to cut back.
Tehran media coverage of the impasse with Washington following President Donald Trump’s visit to China points to growing frustration, with many insiders voicing concern that diplomacy has stalled and more confrontation may lie ahead.
The Iran war has entered a more ambiguous phase, with the regime battered but not broken, the US struggling to define victory, and the Strait of Hormuz emerging as Iran’s most potent bargaining tool, two Middle East experts said at an Iran International townhall in Washington DC.
President Masoud Pezeshkian has ordered the creation of a special committee to end Iran’s internet blackout, but many Iranians doubt it can overcome resistance from powerful state institutions.
Tehran commentariat and figures close to the establishment are increasingly accusing hardliners and state television of deepening divisions and undermining national unity as the country faces war, economic strain and growing public anxiety.
A series of overnight earthquakes and a powerful dust storm rattled Tehran and nearby cities on Tuesday night, reviving fears of a catastrophic earthquake in a capital still psychologically scarred by recent war.
Ahead of Donald Trump’s arrival in Beijing, Iranian officials rejected suggestions that US pressure could weaken Iran-China ties amid growing speculation over a possible Chinese mediation role in the Iran conflict.
Iran is increasingly looking to China not just as an economic partner, but as the only major power capable of offering credible guarantees in both the Persian Gulf and any future agreement between Tehran and Washington.
Alghadir hospital in east Tehran is one of the places where the January massacre could be seen in full: a five-body morgue overflowing, blood on the floors, and families searching through blankets and body covers for the people they loved.
Iran’s defiant response to a US proposal on ending the conflict is fueling new fears that the fragile ceasefire could collapse and fighting resume within days.
As prices continue to soar across Iran, hardline clerics and pro-government figures are increasingly attempting to shift blame away from the state even as economic pressure deepens for ordinary citizens.
The war has pushed relations between Iran and the United Arab Emirates close to rupture, disrupting one of the region’s most important commercial relationships and leaving ordinary Iranians who built lives and businesses caught in the fallout.
Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf appears to be trying to solidify his position inside Iran’s fractured post-war leadership after recent weeks exposed the limits of assumptions that he had effectively emerged as the country’s de facto ruler.
Iranian media have welcomed Beijing’s unusually sharp rhetoric in support of Tehran, portraying recent Chinese diplomacy as evidence of a deepening strategic partnership.