Features

Features Trump, emboldened by his January operation in Venezuela, has held out hope for working with a figure within the Iranian republic -- while Israel has openly declared it will kill any high-ranking Iranian official it sees. Jim WATSON / AFP

US, Israel Tactics Diverge on Iran as Trump's Goals Still 'Fuzzy'

US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu both praise their relationship as excellent, but after three weeks of attacking Iran,…

Asharq Al Awsat
Features 12 October 2024, Lebanon, Beirut: Iranian parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf speaks during a press conference in Beirut. (Hassan Ibrahim/Lebanese Parliament/dpa)

Ghalibaf: Iran’s New Strongman Running War Effort

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran's parliament speaker and a veteran of the Revolutionary Guards, has emerged as the highest-profile political figure in the…

Features  People who work as delivery drivers for the Toters delivery app stand outside a delivery center in Beirut, Lebanon, March 18, 2026. (Reuters)

As Israel Expands Strikes on Beirut, Delivery Drivers Steer Clear of Danger

Lebanese food courier Hamza Hareb now keeps his distance if he spots a car with tinted windows while on a delivery run in Beirut. Hezbollah is rumored to use…

Features Damage after a rocket fired by Hezbollah toward Nahariya (Reuters)

What Remains of Hezbollah’s Military Arsenal?

The rockets that Hezbollah continues to fire, since its decision to join what it calls a support war for Iran, have surprised observers with their intensity…

Paula Astih (Beirut)
Features A photo released by the Iranian supreme leader’s official website shows Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib in November last year

Esmail Khatib, Iran Spy Chief, from Shadow War to Assassination

Within Iran’s ruling structure in Tehran, the post of intelligence minister is far from a routine cabinet role. The ministry, established after the 1979…

Asharq Al Awsat (London, Tehran)
Features  People gather around the coffin of Iranian security chief Ali Larijani during a funeral for Larijani and victims of the IRIS Dena warship at Enghelab Square, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran, March 18, 2026. (Reuters)

Killing of Larijani Complicates Iran’s Decision-Making, Shrinks Its Options

The killing of Iran's most influential powerbroker, Ali Larijani, has pushed the country into a more uncertain phase, complicating decision-making in Tehran…

Features  A view of the containment dome of Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant in Bushehr, Iran. (AFP)

What to Know About Iran’s Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant After Report of Projectile Hitting Its Complex

Iran and Russia both allege a projectile struck the grounds of the Bushehr nuclear power plant in the country, raising the specter of a radiological incident…

Features Iraqi security personnel stand beside the coffin of a Popular Mobilization Forces member killed in an attack in al-Qaim district (AFP)

Askari, Iran Revolutionary Guards’ Shadow Envoy in Baghdad

Abu Ali al-Askari, whose death was recently announced by Iraq’s Kataib Hezbollah, may not have been a single man, but a full diplomatic apparatus representing…

Ali Saray (London)
Features 06 February 2009, Bavaria, Munich: Ali Larijani, then chairman of the Iranian parliament, speaks at the 45th Munich Security Conference in Munich. (dpa)

Iran’s Larijani, the Man Whose Power Grew During Mideast War

When Israeli and US strikes killed Ali Khamenei at the start of the Middle East war, Iran's security chief Ali Larijani became even more powerful than he had…

Features  A demonstrator holds a portrait of the Mojtaba Khamenei during the Quds day in London, England, Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP)

Who Is Leading Iran? Western Sources Map the Inner Circle of the New Supreme Leader

Western diplomatic sources have outlined to Asharq Al-Awsat the tight inner circle surrounding Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, shedding light on…

Asharq Al Awsat (London)
Features Protesters hold a mockup of Iranian-made drone Shahed-136, during a rally marking al-Quds Day (Jerusalem Day), amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, outside the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, March 13, 2026. (EPA)

Why Iranian Drones Are Hard to Stop

Cheap and deadly, Iranian-designed Shahed drones have inflicted major damage in the Middle East war, and have anti-jamming and other capabilities that make…

Features FILE - Newer skyscrapers flank the communist-era Palace of Culture and Science, foreground, in n, Poland, May 25, 2018. (AP Photo/Alik Keplicz, File)

How Poland Went from Post-Communist Wreck to One of the World's 20 Biggest Economies

A generation ago, Poland rationed sugar and flour while its citizens were paid one-tenth what West Germans earned. Today its economy has edged past…

Asharq Al Awsat
Features This video grab taken from UGC images posted on social media on March 7 and 8, 2026 shows fire erupting at an oil depot in Iran's capital Tehran. (UGC / AFP)

After Attacks on Iran’s Oil Facilities, Toxic Black Rain Endangers the Public

Clouds of toxic smoke unleashed into the atmosphere by US-Israeli airstrikes on Iranian oil facilities made a dangerous return to Earth in the form of “black…

Features Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman receives the pledge of allegiance as crown prince at Al-Safa Palace in Makkah (SPA).

Mohammed bin Salman in Nine Years: Domestic Growth and Global Engagement

Nine years have passed since the royal decree issued by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, appointing Prince Mohammed bin Salman…

Features  People walk past closed shops at the almost empty traditional main bazaar, in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (AP)

How Iranians Are Communicating Through Internet Blackout

Iran's latest internet blackout has lasted more than 14 days, connectivity monitor Netblocks said Friday. The nature of the limits on internet activity shows…

Features  People walk past closed shops at the almost empty traditional main bazaar, in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (AP)

How Iranians Are Communicating Through Internet Blackout

Iran's latest internet blackout has lasted more than 14 days, connectivity monitor Netblocks said Friday. The nature of the limits on internet activity shows…

Features Iranian former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. (AFP)

Will Ahmadinejad Return to the Political Scene in Iran?

A report by The Atlantic said the strike that hit a region close to Iranian former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s residence in the first days of the war on…

Features GILLETT, TEXAS - MARCH 11: Pump jacks operate in a field on March 11, 2026 in Gillett, Texas. Brandon Bell/Getty Images/AFP

How Have US Presidents Tapped Strategic Petroleum Reserves During War?

The US plans to release 172 million barrels of oil from its Strategic Petroleum Reserve, more than 40% of a wider release coordinated with allies, to help…

Asharq Al Awsat
Features Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said the administration “had a strong game plan” before the war broke out. Doug Mills/The New York Times

How Trump and his Advisers Miscalculated Iran’s Response to War

By Mark Mazzetti, Tyler Pager, Edward Wong On Feb. 18, as President Trump weighed whether to launch military attacks on Iran, Chris Wright, the energy…

Features Saudi flag’s profound symbolism reflects unity, justice, strength and prosperity (SPA)

Saudi Flag Narrative Centers on Justice, Security

Ensuring a certain level of security is not difficult for any state, regardless of its system of governance. Security, understood here as the preservation of…

Bandar bin Abdul-Rahman bin Muammar (Riyadh)
Features Saudi researcher Adnan Al-Tarif poses with two Saudi state flags (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Researcher Owns 100 Rare Flags From Saudi State Eras

Saudi Arabia marked Flag Day on March 11 for the fourth consecutive year, following a royal order issued on March 1, 2023, designating the date as an annual…

Badr al-Khuraif (Riyadh)
Features A visitor of an exhibition takes a photo of parts of an Iranian made unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) Shahed-131/136, which was launched on Ukrainian territories, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine June 27, 2025. (Reuters)

Tracing the US Military’s Learning Curve on Fighting Iran’s Drones: What to Know

The Iran war quickly tested America's ability to combat the swarms of cheap drones that have become a staple of the modern battlefield after Ukraine and Russia…

Features This handout image taken by the European Space Agency (ESA) captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite shows a view of Iran's Kharg Island, which hosts the country's main crude export terminal and is responsible for the overwhelming majority of its oil shipments to the world, about 25 kilometers south of the mainland in the north of the Gulf, on March 2, 2026. (AFP / ESA)

Kharg Island: Iran’s Vital Oil Hub in the Crosshairs?

Kharg Island, a scrubby stretch of land in the northern Gulf, handles almost all of Iran's crude exports and any attempt to seize it would mark a major…

Features Two women look at the sea as boxes of food prepared for Iftar during Ramadan lie on a bench along the Corniche, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Beirut, Lebanon, March 10, 2026. (Reuters)

Lebanon’s Latest Conflict Brings Rare Public Backlash Against Hezbollah as War Flares Again

The Lebanese mother of two had just awakened to prepare the pre-dawn meal before another day of fasting during the holy month of Ramadan when Israeli warplanes…