Features

Features Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, center, attends the annual Quds, or Jerusalem Day rally in Tehran, Iran, on May 31, 2019. (AP)

A Son of Iran’s Late Supreme Leader Is a Possible Candidate to Replace His Father as War Rages

Mojtaba Khamenei, a son of Iran's late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has long been considered a contender to the post of the country's next paramount ruler —…

Features Members of Iraq's pro-Iran paramilitary group Kataib Hezbollah march with the group's banners in a funeral for slain fighters killed in a US-Israeli airstrike on their headquarters in al-Qaim near the border with Syria, during a ceremony in Baghdad on March 2, 2026. (AFP)

Iran's 'Axis of Resistance' under Threat after US-Israeli War

Iran once boasted that it controlled four Arab capitals: Baghdad, Damascus, Beirut and Sanaa in an alliance dubbed the "Axis of Resistance". But the network…

Features 03 March 2020, Israel, Tel Aviv: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers an address. (dpa)

Netanyahu’s Political Future at Stake with Iran War, Say Experts

With elections approaching in Israel, the war with Iran has handed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu an opportunity to restore an image deeply scarred by Hamas…

Features Birds fly as smoke rises following an explosion, after Israel and the US launched strikes on Iran, amid the US-Israel conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran, March 2, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters

US Debuts Suicide Drone in Iran After Fast-Tracked Pentagon Procurement

The US successfully debuted a low-cost suicide drone in combat in Iran just eight months after its Pentagon unveiling, as the US pushes to accelerate weapons…

Features  A picture of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei hangs on a black sheet along the side of a mosque in Tehran, Iran, Monday, March 2, 2026. (AP)

A Look at Some of the Contenders to Be Iran’s Supreme Leader After the Killing of Khamenei

Iran's leaders are scrambling to replace Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who ruled the country for 37 years before he was killed in the surprise US and Israeli…

Features A Pakistani national walks across the Pakistan-Iran border after returning from Iran at Taftan, Balochistan province on March 2, 2026. (AFP)

Pakistanis at Remote Border Describe Scramble to Leave Iran

Pakistani nationals hauled suitcases across the border from neighboring Iran, describing missiles being launched and travel chaos as they scrambled to leave…

Features A ball of fire erupts following airstrikes near the headquarters of the Iranian Radio and Television Authority in Tehran yesterday (Reuters)

What to Know about the Latest US-Israeli Attacks on Iran

The war in the Middle East expanded on multiple fronts Monday, with attacks from Iran and Iranian-backed militias hitting Israel and Arab states. A senior…

Asharq Al Awsat
Features This combo of file photos show Iran's key political and religious figures, top row, from left, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, President Masoud Pezeshkian, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Khamenei Adviser on Public Policy Ali Larijani, Chief Justice Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejehi, Head of Assembly Experts Mohammad-Ali Movahedi Kermani and Secretary of Guardian Council Ahmad Jannati, bottom row, from left, Khamenei's Chief of Staff Mohammad Golpayegani, Khamenei Adviser on International Affairs Ali Akbar Velayati, Khamenei Adviser on Foreign Policy Kamal Kharazi, First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Tehran Friday Prayer Imam Ahmad Khatami and Son of Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei. (AP Photo/File)

A Look at Iran’s Key Political and Religious Figures

The US and Israel launched a major attack on Iran on Saturday, and US President Donald Trump called on the Iranian public to “seize control of your destiny” by…

Features Mourners hold pictures of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei following his death; at Enqelab Square in Tehran, Iran, 01 March 2026. (EPA)

What to Know About Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei

In one of his final public displays of power, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei unleashed the bloodiest crackdown of his nearly four-decade rule to crush…

Features 03 April 2024, Iran, Tehran: Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei speaks during a meeting with with politicians, the Iranian government, and military officials in Tehran. (Iranian Supreme leader's Office/dpa)

Khamenei: Ruthless Revolutionary Atop Iran’s Regime

Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei, whose death was confirmed by state media on Sunday, was a pillar of the country's theocratic system since the revolution…

Features 08 February 2025, Iran, Tehran: Iranian Supreme Leader tollah Ali Khamenei speaks during a meeting with the high-ranking Hamas delegation in Tehran. )Iranian Supreme Leader's Office/dpa)

Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei in Dates

Ali Khamenei had been Iran's hardline spiritual guide and top political authority since 1989, when he succeeded Khomeini as supreme leader. Here is a look at…

Features A bulldozer clears debris near heavily damaged buildings in the village of Bednayel in the eastern Bekaa plain of Lebanon (AFP).

Israel Follows Iran Negotiations amid its Broadest Escalation in Eastern Lebanon

The intense Israeli airstrikes that targeted the Bekaa in eastern Lebanon on Thursday evening marked the broadest aerial escalation against the Bekaa since the…

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Features A fragment falls through the sky after Israel's Iron Dome intercepted a missile launched from Iran towards Israel, amid the Iran-Israel conflict, as seen from Ashkelon, Israel June 20, 2025. (Reuters)

What Is Israel’s Multi-Layered Defense Against Iranian Missiles? 

Israel has multi-layered air defenses against attacks by Iranian ballistic missiles, an umbrella it may need to lean on as the United States and Iran teeter…

Features This image from video taken between Jan. 9 and Jan. 11, 2026, and verified by AP, shows bodies and mourners outside a morgue in Iran, following a crackdown on protests in Kahrizak, Tehran province. (UGC via AP, File)

Iranian Agents Obstructed Care at Hospitals Packed with Wounded Protesters 

As wounded anti-government protesters poured into an Iranian hospital during last month’s crackdown, a young doctor hurried to the emergency room to help treat…

Features A Pakistani army tank stands at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in Chaman on February 27, 2026, following overnight cross-border fighting between the two countries. (Photo by Abdul BASIT / AFP)

What's Behind the Latest Fighting between Afghanistan and Pakistan?

Pakistan carried out air strikes on Afghanistan's ‌major cities overnight, officials in Islamabad and Kabul said on Friday, escalating months of border…

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Features The US State Department in Washington. (Reuters)

Report: Washington Presses Syria to Shift from Chinese Telecom Systems 

The United States has warned Syria against relying on Chinese technology in its telecommunications sector, arguing it conflicts with US interests and threatens…

Features FILE PHOTO: Palestinians make their way in a devasted neighborhood, amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, in Gaza City, October 24, 2024. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas//File Photo

Berlin Film Festival Director's Future in Spotlight after Gaza Furore

Germany's government convened an emergency meeting of the organizers of the Berlin Film Festival on Thursday, saying it wanted to discuss the event's …

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Features A woman walks past the flag and map of Iran painted on a wall in Tehran on February 25, 2026. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)

What to Know as Iran and US Meet for New Nuclear Talks as Americans Deploy Forces in Mideast

Iran and the United States will meet Thursday in Geneva as talks over Tehran's nuclear program hang in the balance following Israel's 12-day war on the country…

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Features Image from a video released by Iranian television shows Shamkhani talking about his assassination attempt on June 13, 2025.

Surviving Strike, Shamkhani Resumes Central Role in Iran’s War Room

Ali Shamkhani, who taunted Israel after being pulled alive from the rubble of his Tehran home following a strike in June 2025, has survived at the center of…

Features Vehicles pass a billboard depicting a US aircraft carrier with damaged fighter jets on its deck and a sign in Farsi and English reading, "If you sow the wind, you'll reap the whirlwind," at Enqelab-e-Eslami Square in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP)

Countries Issuing Middle East Travel Advisories as Iran Tensions Rise

Several countries have begun withdrawing dependents of diplomatic personnel and non-essential staff from some locations in the Middle East, or advising…

Features A veiled Iranian woman walks past an anti-US mural in Tehran, Iran, 23 February 2026. (EPA)

A Look at the Long, Fraught Timeline of Iran Nuclear Tensions as Talks with US Loom 

Iran and the United States are due to hold new talks in Geneva on Thursday over Tehran's nuclear program. The talks come as America has assembled the largest…

Features A person walks alongside The Wall of Remembrance of the Fallen for Ukraine in Kyiv on February 23, 2026, as the conflict with Russia reaches its four-year mark. (AFP)

Where Do Ukraine and Russia Stand After Four Years of War? 

Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, unleashing the deadliest war in Europe since World War II. As the conflict reaches…

Features An anti-US mural on a building in Tehran, Iran, January 24, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters

What Does Trump Want in Iran? 

President Donald Trump's threats to attack Iran provide little detail on what the long-term US goal would be in the event of a sustained or even brief conflict…

Features The Riyadh Municipality decorates the capital's roads and squares with more than 5,000 aesthetic illuminations in celebration of Founding Day (SPA)

Saudi Arabia Revives Centuries of Heritage in Founding Day Celebrations

As streets across Saudi cities were adorned in green and traditional attire, a series of major cultural and entertainment events were under way on Sunday…

Asharq Al Awsat Omar al-Badawi