Search - AL-Monitor: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Israeli leaders expect Iran nuclear deal in 2022

ALEX HALADA/AFP via Getty Images

Iran sentences 'Baraye' singer Shervin Hajipour to three years in jail

A man watches a video of Iranian singer Shervin Hajipour, who was released in Tehran today after being arrested for his song in support of protests over the death of Mahsa Amini, in the Cypriot capital Nicosia on October 4, 2022. - Hajipour, a 25-year-old Iranian pop singer and songwriter, rose to fame for the song "Baraye", "For", in which he put together messages posted on Twitter about the reasons for protests. The emotional performance became a viral hit on different social media platforms, with million

Top Russia, US officials to meet in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday

Top US and Russian diplomats will meet in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday for talks aimed at ending the Ukraine war

Agence France-Presse

Russia becomes UAE’s top gold supplier as Ukraine sanctions bite

Gold bar wrapped in a financial newspaper.

United Arab Emirates

Public backlash as Iran closes $3.7B corruption case, largest in its history

A man checks old banknotes in the Grand Bazaar in Tehran on March 3, 2025. Iran's parliament sacked the country's finance minister on March 2 after impeaching him over soaring inflation and a plunging currency, state television reported. (Photo by Atta KENARE / AFP) (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

AL-Monitor Doha: Ramadan festivities arrive to the Old Port

TOPSHOT - Qatari soldiers fire the cannon marking the end of the first fasting day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and signalling for people to have their "iftar" fast-breaking meal, at Souq Waqif bazaar in Doha on March 1, 2025. (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR / AFP) (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR/AFP via Getty Images)

How vulnerable are UAE, Bahrain to Trump's 25% tariff on aluminum?

Sean Gallup/Getty Images

United Arab Emirates

Eight sentenced to death for 2013 murder of Tunisia opposition leader

The assassination of opposition politician Mohamed Brahmi sparked widespread protests in 2013

Agence France-Presse

Turkey’s defense exports reach record levels in 2022, Erdogan says

Bayraktar drone

Analysis

Iran steps up crackdown on Sunni militancy: How far could it go?

A general view shows the Milad Tower in Iran's capital, Tehran, on Feb. 23, 2025.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics