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Summary

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he “wouldn’t take out any life insurance” on Iran's new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei during his first press conference as the war with Iran entered its 13th day.

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Israel uses new AI drone swarms to target Iran’s security forces

Iran says no plan to close Strait of Hormuz, cites security rights

Israel moots killing Iran's supreme leader hours after Khamenei Jr's speech

Summary

Israel uses new AI drone swarms to target Iran’s security forces

The Israeli military is using a new method to launch drone swarms over Iran targeting security forces involved in domestic repression, sources familiar with the matter told Iran International.

INSIGHT

Checkpoint attacks open new front in Iran war

The Iran war appears to be entering a new phase as attacks increasingly target checkpoints and street-level security units, while witness reports sent to Iran International suggest many of those positions are being moved or dismantled after their locations are exposed.

EXCLUSIVE

Desertions, shortages and army-IRGC rift strain Iran’s military

Tehran checkpoints hit in reported drone attacks

INSIGHT

Allies rally, rivals brace after Mojtaba Khamenei’s rise

Regional reactions to the appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei as Iran’s new Supreme Leader have revealed growing anxiety about stability, with Tehran’s allies condemning the killing of his father and adversaries hardening their military posture.

Iran’s unseen new leader issues first message in writing

Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei issued his first message on Thursday, calling for continued military resistance and saying the Strait of Hormuz should remain a tool of pressure, even as questions persist about his health and whereabouts.

ANALYSIS

Power vs piety: Khamenei Jr inherits legitimacy dilemma of Iran's theocracy

Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei inherits not merely his father’s office but also the constitutional ambiguities and political compromises that accompanied Ali Khamenei’s own controversial elevation nearly four decades earlier.

EXCLUSIVE

Iran pays Lebanon parliament speaker $500,000 a month to maintain influence

Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri receives more than $500,000 per month from the Islamic Republic in order to support Tehran's interests and those of its allied group Hezbollah in Lebanon, informed sources told Iran International.

Trump suggests Iran stay away from FIFA World Cup

President Donald Trump on Wednesday questioned whether Iran’s national soccer team should attend the 2026 World Cup, a day after Tehran said it would withdraw from the tournament after being attacked by the United States.

Iran says it will not play in 2026 World Cup after US strikes

Trump suggests Iran stay away from FIFA World Cup

EXCLUSIVE

Two Iranian diplomats apply for asylum in Denmark, Australia

Two diplomats of the Islamic Republic in Denmark and Australia have applied for asylum, informed sources told Iran International.

EXCLUSIVE

Iran women’s football team kept under tight security in Kuala Lumpur

Two Iranian diplomats apply for asylum in Denmark, Australia

Tehran steps up threats against critics at home and abroad

Threatening rhetoric on Iranian state television has intensified fears of renewed repression, as presenters and officials warn critics at home and abroad they could face confiscation of property, prison or even death.

INSIGHT

Inside Iran’s wartime information blackout

Tehran steps up threats against critics at home and abroad

INSIGHT

Iran keeps oil flowing to China as Hormuz pressure forces reserve release

Iran is still loading about 1.5 million barrels of crude a day in March while China is receiving about 1.25 million barrels daily, Kpler data show, even as days of Iranian pressure around the Strait of Hormuz and rising prices force consuming nations to tap emergency reserves.

ANALYSIS

Can widening the war save Iran’s rulers?

Tehran’s decision to widen the war is an attempt to project strength but may better be understood as a survival strategy—one rooted in deliberate escalation and shaped by a logic akin to mutually assured destruction.

ANALYSIS

Hormuz disruption tests limits of global energy markets

Failure to restore shipping through the Strait of Hormuz is beginning to show what prolonged disruption could mean for global energy markets.

US Senators urge probe of strike that killed scores of children in Iran

Nearly every Senate Democrat urged Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to open a swift investigation into a deadly strike on a girls’ school in Iran that killed scores of children, as new reporting raised questions about whether outdated US targeting data contributed to the attack.

UNESCO warns of rising risks to Iran’s historic sites

UNESCO has warned that intensifying hostilities are already damaging cultural landmarks in Iran and the broader region, saying it has communicated with all parties to the conflict to coordinate protections for heritage sites.