• العربية
  • فارسی
Brand
  • Iran Insight
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Analysis
  • Special Report
  • Opinion
  • Podcast
  • Iran Insight
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Analysis
  • Special Report
  • Opinion
  • Podcast
  • Language
    • العربية
    • فارسی

Live

banner
banner

  • Iran Insight
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Analysis
  • Special Report
  • Opinion
  • Podcast
All rights reserved for Volant Media UK Limited
volant media logo
EXCLUSIVE

Sapped by war and sanctions, Iran seeks Chinese arms as payment for oil

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and the Armed Forces General Staff have been negotiating with commercial partners in China to acquire missiles, drones and air defense systems as payment for oil shipments, an informed source told Iran International.

Sapped by war and sanctions, Iran seeks Chinese arms as payment for oil
Iran ready to repel any new aggression, Revolutionary Guards commander says

Iran ready to repel any new aggression, Revolutionary Guards commander says

The commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps' Aerospace Force said on Tuesday that Iranian forces had recovered from a 12-day war with Israel in June and were ready to respond to any fresh attack.

Iran says US conditions for talks not formally presented

Iran says US conditions for talks not formally presented

Iran said on Tuesday it had not received any formal conditions from the United States for negotiations, after a US newspaper report said Washington had set four requirements.

Iran blasts US 'law-breaking' after Trump threat warning

Iran blasts US 'law-breaking' after Trump threat warning

Trump warns of new strikes if Iran revives nuclear work

Post-War Crackdown

  • Mass Arrests
  • Deporting Afghans
  • Crackdown on Jews
  • Death Penalty for Collaborators

Tehran prisoners block transfer of political inmate for execution

Prisoners in Tehran’s Evin prison blocked guards from transferring political inmate Ehsan Afrashteh for imminent execution on espionage charges, leading to a tense standoff inside the facility, former inmate and activist Mehdi Mahmoudian said on Tuesday.

Iran hands death sentences to three prisoners of conscience

Tehran prisoners block transfer of political inmate for execution

Economic Malaise

  • Food Poverty
  • Red Meat Cutback
  • Bakers Protests
INSIGHT

As poverty bites, Tehran elites bicker but ignore root causes

Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf ramped up pressure on the government to issue ration coupons for essential goods, invoking Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s warnings about the deterioration of the economy.

VOICES FROM IRAN

'Worse every day': Iranians detail surging food prices in wake of sanctions

As poverty bites, Tehran elites bicker but ignore root causes

UN Sanctions

  • What UN sanctions target
  • UN blocks delay
  • Economic downturn

World Bank warns of deeper recession in Iran after UN sanctions and June war

Iran’s economy is set to shrink this year and next as tighter sanctions, falling oil exports, and the aftermath of this year’s conflict weigh heavily on output, the World Bank said on Tuesday, even as it raised its overall growth forecast for the broader Middle East region.

EU seeks to make Iran a responsible regional partner, foreign policy chief says

World Bank warns of deeper recession in Iran after UN sanctions and June war

Two Revolutionary Guard members killed in western Iran clash

Two members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards were killed and three others wounded in clashes with armed militants in the western city of Sarvabad in Kordestan province, the Guards said on Tuesday.

Two Revolutionary Guard members killed in western Iran clash
Iran announces upcoming joint naval drill in Caspian Sea

Iran announces upcoming joint naval drill in Caspian Sea

Iran said on Tuesday it would soon stage a joint naval exercise in the Caspian Sea with the other four littoral states, saying the sea was off-limits to outside powers.

Netanyahu says Iran seeks to put US in missile range

Netanyahu says Iran seeks to put US in missile range

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran is developing long-range ballistic missiles capable of reaching the United States, warning that Tehran’s expanding weapons program poses a global security threat.

Leaked Russian files show Iran’s €6bn plan to buy 48 Russian fighter jets

Leaked Russian files show Iran’s €6bn plan to buy 48 Russian fighter jets

Leaked Russian defense documents indicate Iran has signed a €6 billion deal to buy 48 Su-35 fighter jets from Moscow, with deliveries expected between 2026 and 2028, according to reports by Defense Security Asia and Newsweek.

Conservatives clash over hijab law as Tehran streets move on

A senior conservative’s assertion that Iran’s Islamic system is “softly reforming” its stance on the hijab has triggered furious backlash from ultra-hardliners demanding full enforcement of the Hijab and Chastity Law suspended earlier this year.

Iran ramps up clampdown on businesses amid struggle over social freedoms

Conservatives clash over hijab law as Tehran streets move on
Iranian tycoon says $2.3 billion seized from his Malaysian bank in Crescent dispute

Iranian tycoon says $2.3 billion seized from his Malaysian bank in Crescent dispute

Iranian businessman Babak Zanjani, a tycoon once sentenced to death for corruption before receiving clemency, said that $2.3 billion from a Malaysian bank account tied to him was seized to help pay an international arbitration award against Iran’s National Oil Company (NIOC).

Iran's oil minister says new field discovery could ease energy crunch

Iran's oil minister says new field discovery could ease energy crunch

Iran’s oil minister announced the discovery of a new oil and gas field in the country's south on Monday, saying it could help ease the country’s growing energy shortages wrought by sanctions and aging infrastructure.

UK court seizes Iranian oil company’s £100 million London property - media

UK court seizes Iranian oil company’s £100 million London property - media

A UK appeals court has upheld an earlier ruling ordering the seizure of a London property owned by the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) to help satisfy a $2.4 billion arbitration award in favor of an Emirati firm, Iranian media reported on Monday.

Afghanistan

  • Populist Push to Expel Afghans
  • Post-Ceasefire Crackdown
  • Tehran–Taliban Alliance
  • Taliban vs. Women

Iran says Afghan attempts to cross border illegally have doubled

Attempts by Afghan citizens to cross illegally into Iran have doubled over the past six months compared with the same period last year, a senior Iranian border commander said, as Tehran accelerates deportations and tightens control along its frontier with Afghanistan.

Khamenei-linked daily says Afghan expulsions failed to curb bread prices

Iran says Afghan attempts to cross border illegally have doubled
Iconic lake in western Iran dries up amid worsening water shortages

Iconic lake in western Iran dries up amid worsening water shortages

The Sarab Niloufar spring, one of western Iran’s most iconic natural landmarks, has dried up, local environmental officials said, warning that years of groundwater depletion, unregulated farming and drought have destroyed the 25-meter-deep lake once covered in lotus flowers.

Northern Iran’s wetlands face collapse as migratory birds disappear

Northern Iran’s wetlands face collapse as migratory birds disappear

Northern Iran’s once-thriving wetlands are facing severe ecological collapse, with environmental officials warning of an imminent disaster after the absence of hundreds of thousands of migratory birds this autumn, Tasnim reported on Monday.

19 major dams near drying as Iran faces severe water shortage

19 major dams near drying as Iran faces severe water shortage

Nineteen of Iran’s major dams are on the verge of drying up and three have completely run out of water, state media reported, citing data from the Iran Water Resources Management Company.

Two years after Oct. 7, an upended Mideast reels from Iran-Israel melee
ANALYSIS

Two years after Oct. 7, an upended Mideast reels from Iran-Israel melee

Two years after the October 7 attack, the Middle East drifts between competing promises and stubborn realities: Khamenei’s dream of regional “de-Americanization” lies in ruins while Netanyahu’s “new order” remains elusive.

Tehran hardliners adjust rhetoric after Hamas response to Trump plan
INSIGHT

Tehran hardliners adjust rhetoric after Hamas response to Trump plan

Hamas’s conditional acceptance of Donald Trump’s peace plan has left Tehran’s hardliners scrambling—pivoting from predictions of rejection to praise—while their detractors watch bemused at their being outmaneuvered by a Palestinian ally.

Iran warily backs Hamas response to Trump’s Gaza peace plan

Iran warily backs Hamas response to Trump’s Gaza peace plan

Iran’s foreign ministry on Sunday expressed cautious support for Hamas’s response to Donald Trump’s Gaza ceasefire plan, but warned against what it called the proposal's dangerous dimensions and Israel’s alleged failure to honor past commitments.

Probe finds scholar misused Swedish public funds for his pro-Tehran group

An internal investigation by a major Swedish think tank found that an Iranian scholar used his university affiliation to garner millions in public funds for his pro-Tehran association, a Stockholm-based magazine reported.

Probe finds scholar misused Swedish public funds for his pro-Tehran group

China trades cars for Iranian copper as sanctions revive barter economy - BBG

China and Iran have quietly stepped up their mutual trade via barter transactions, Bloomberg reported, exchanging Chinese cars for Iranian copper and zinc to circumvent deepening international sanctions.

China uses secret network to pay Iran for oil - WSJ

China trades cars for Iranian copper as sanctions revive barter economy - BBG

Iran acquits French-German national Monterlos of espionage charges

Iran acquitted dual German-French national Lennart Monterlos of espionage charges linked to the recent 12-day conflict, the head of Hormozgan Province’s judiciary said on Monday.

Verdict nears for British couple detained in Iran as diplomacy sours

Iran acquits French-German national Monterlos of espionage charges

Nuclear Program

  • 'Humiliating Offer'
  • NPT Withdrawal
  • Calls for Building A-Bomb

UN nuclear chief says military action cannot destroy Iran nuclear program

Military strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites would have only short-term effects and fail to destroy its capabilities, the UN atomic watchdog chief said, urging diplomacy as the sole path to a lasting solution to concerns over Tehran’s disputed nuclear program.

Iran blames Western 'excessive demands’ for failed talks

Ex-Iran diplomat says nuclear dispute will persist for decades

UN nuclear chief says military action cannot destroy Iran nuclear program

Spotlight

  • Shahed Alavi

    Sapped by war and sanctions, Iran seeks Chinese arms as payment for oil

    Shahed Alavi

  • Behrouz Turani

    As poverty bites, Tehran elites bicker but ignore root causes

    Behrouz Turani

  • Maryam Sinaiee

    Conservatives clash over hijab law as Tehran streets move on

    Maryam Sinaiee

  • Ata Mohamed Tabriz

    Two years after Oct. 7, an upended Mideast reels from Iran-Israel melee

    Ata Mohamed Tabriz

  • Tehran Insider

    Freedom's courtyard: how artists created a space safe from toxic politics

    Tehran Insider

  • Amir Giti

    Iranian political activist held in Texas faces risk of deportation, lawyer says

    Amir Giti

Editors' Pick

  • Iranian rapper blasts fellow artists' apparent forced confessions

    Iranian rapper blasts fellow artists' apparent forced confessions

  • Iran acquits French-German national Monterlos of espionage charges

    Iran acquits French-German national Monterlos of espionage charges

  • Iran says upgraded communication satellite ready for December launch

    Iran says upgraded communication satellite ready for December launch

Most Viewed

Leaked Russian files show Iran’s €6bn plan to buy 48 Russian fighter jets

Leaked Russian files show Iran’s €6bn plan to buy 48 Russian fighter jets

Iranian tycoon says $2.3 billion seized from his Malaysian bank in Crescent dispute

Iranian tycoon says $2.3 billion seized from his Malaysian bank in Crescent dispute

Iran warily backs Hamas response to Trump’s Gaza peace plan

Iran warily backs Hamas response to Trump’s Gaza peace plan

Tehran hardliners adjust rhetoric after Hamas response to Trump plan
INSIGHT

Tehran hardliners adjust rhetoric after Hamas response to Trump plan

Trump warns of new strikes if Iran revives nuclear work

Trump warns of new strikes if Iran revives nuclear work

Tehran Insider

Freedom's courtyard: how artists created a space safe from toxic politics
TEHRAN INSIDER

Freedom's courtyard: how artists created a space safe from toxic politics

On the eve of a UN vote to restore sanctions on Iran, an independent art book fair in the courtyard of an old house in Tehran provided a rare haven from serial political horrors.

'At least we have security': old mantra becomes bitter joke in postwar Iran
TEHRAN INSIDER

'At least we have security': old mantra becomes bitter joke in postwar Iran

Life in Iran feels suspended, with many convinced war will return and unable to plan for the future beyond how to endure it when it comes.

No room for nuance: how the loud few dominate Iran’s public sphere
TEHRAN INSIDER

No room for nuance: how the loud few dominate Iran’s public sphere

TEHRAN INSIDER

Forbidden but flowing: alcohol slips quietly into public life in Iran

In Case You Missed It

EXCLUSIVE

Deportee recounts chains, mistreatment and suicide bid on US flight to Iran

An Iranian man recently deported from the United States described to Iran International grim scenes of neglect and mistreatment in US custody before being chained on a flight to Tehran where fellow detainees attempted suicide to resist return.

INSIGHT

Iran’s ‘anti-infiltration’ bill targets society not spies

Israeli officials see no sign of imminent Iran strike - reports

Deportee recounts chains, mistreatment and suicide bid on US flight to Iran
OPINION

It's the economy, donkey!

VOICES FROM IRAN

Disgruntled students protest at Iranian universities, videos show

OPINION

Iranian Love Island mirrors social shifts but carries new risks

Eye for Iran Podcast

  • Watch on YouTube
  • Previous Episodes
PODCAST

Iran sanctions snapback heralds suffering, possible war

International sanctions renewed on Tehran over the weekend are already making life harder for ordinary Iranians and may signal an impasse that could lead to renewed war, experts told Iran International’s podcast Eye for Iran.

PODCAST

Women break taboos in Iran viral concerts: propaganda or progress?

PODCAST

Nuclear crisis looms as Iran faces sanctions snapback, expert warns

Iran sanctions snapback heralds suffering, possible war
PODCAST

Unite to overthrow Iran 'demon of tyranny', Nobel laureate Ebadi urges

PODCAST

Israel now calls the shots on Iran as US steps back, ex-negotiator says

PODCAST

Islamic Republic 'flailing' as challenges mount, ex-US official says

United States

  • Trump warns of new strikes if Iran revives nuclear work

    Trump warns of new strikes if Iran revives nuclear work

  • Deportee recounts chains, mistreatment and suicide bid on US flight to Iran

  • Deported in shackles: Iranians sent back from US without consent, lawyer says

  • US attorney says clients deported to Iran without due process - ABC News

Iran Nuclear

  • Iran says US conditions for talks not formally presented

    Iran says US conditions for talks not formally presented

  • Iran rejects EU and GCC criticism over nuclear and defense issues

  • EU seeks to make Iran a responsible regional partner, foreign policy chief says

  • Iran blasts US 'law-breaking' after Trump threat warning

Military

  • Iran ready to repel any new aggression, Revolutionary Guards commander says

    Iran ready to repel any new aggression, Revolutionary Guards commander says

  • Iran announces upcoming joint naval drill in Caspian Sea

  • US will 'take to grave' wish to limit Iran's missile range, official says

  • Leaked Russian files show Iran’s €6bn plan to buy 48 Russian fighter jets

Society

  • Iran ramps up clampdown on businesses amid struggle over social freedoms

    Iran ramps up clampdown on businesses amid struggle over social freedoms

  • Loans and pawned gold: Iranians reveal cost of beauty surgeries

  • Tehran University forms committees after fatal lab blast

  • Bus crash in northern Iran kills at least four, injures 20

Human Rights

  • Tehran prisoners block transfer of political inmate for execution

    Tehran prisoners block transfer of political inmate for execution

  • Iranian rapper blasts fellow artists' apparent forced confessions

  • Iran acquits French-German national Monterlos of espionage charges

  • Iran hands death sentences to three prisoners of conscience

Iran Sanctions

  • Sapped by war and sanctions, Iran seeks Chinese arms as payment for oil

    Sapped by war and sanctions, Iran seeks Chinese arms as payment for oil

  • Germany says EU sanctions allow limited private money transfers with Iran

  • China trades cars for Iranian copper as sanctions revive barter economy - BBG

  • Erdogan’s Iran sanctions order fuels anger and debate over Ankara motives

Mideast Crisis

  • Netanyahu says Iran seeks to put US in missile range

    Netanyahu says Iran seeks to put US in missile range

  • Two Revolutionary Guard members killed in western Iran clash

  • Two years after Oct. 7, an upended Mideast reels from Iran-Israel melee

  • Iran warily backs Hamas response to Trump’s Gaza peace plan

Economy & Environment

  • Iconic lake in western Iran dries up amid worsening water shortages

    Iconic lake in western Iran dries up amid worsening water shortages

  • World Bank warns of deeper recession in Iran after UN sanctions and June war

  • 'Worse every day': Iranians detail surging food prices in wake of sanctions

  • Iran's oil minister says new field discovery could ease energy crunch

Iran Protests

  • Disgruntled students protest at Iranian universities, videos show

    Disgruntled students protest at Iranian universities, videos show

  • Iran deploys armored vehicles in Zahedan on third anniversary of ‘Bloody Friday’

  • Dreams cut short: the slain children Tehran never mentions

  • Icons of defiance: the faces of Iran’s Woman, Life, Freedom movement

Diplomacy

  • Probe finds scholar misused Swedish public funds for his pro-Tehran group

    Probe finds scholar misused Swedish public funds for his pro-Tehran group

  • UK court seizes Iranian oil company’s £100 million London property - media

  • Canadian court blocks entry of former Iranian oil executive – Global News

  • Verdict nears for British couple detained in Iran as diplomacy sours

Domestic Politics

  • As poverty bites, Tehran elites bicker but ignore root causes

    As poverty bites, Tehran elites bicker but ignore root causes

  • Denial dominates Iran’s parliament, but sanctions toll hard to ignore

  • After June war, is the Islamic Republic due for a 'paradigm shift'?

  • Khamenei’s reversal on secret US talks hamstrings president at UN

Iran Insights

  • Conservatives clash over hijab law as Tehran streets move on

    Conservatives clash over hijab law as Tehran streets move on

  • Tehran hardliners adjust rhetoric after Hamas response to Trump plan

  • Iran’s ‘anti-infiltration’ bill targets society not spies

  • Tehran infighting over sanctions persists as Iranians lament ‘empty tables’