Live2026-09-21 06:00 UTC
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Iran Tension Score

building record · 4 days on file

Live 0–100 tension reading for Iran, built by our own engine from 2,698 world headlines in the last 30 days. Refreshed every 10 minutes; a fresh headline count twice a day.

66
Moderate
7d · 30d

Where Iran stands

#1 of 197 countries today, #1 of 16 in Middle East (region score 67). Tension is steady this week.

Same 0–100 scale and zones as the World Tension Index.

Iran news pulse

60 headlines in 30 days · newest first
Iran military warns Middle East nations 'complicit' if US resumes attacks from American bases
Middle East Eye · 21 September 2026 conflictgeopolitics
93 · Extreme
US warns of rapid escalation in Middle East war
Al-Monitor · 21 September 2026 conflictgeopolitics
93 · Extreme
Iran and US trade threats after Houthi attacks escalate regional conflict
Al-Monitor · 21 September 2026 conflicttradegeopolitics
91 · Extreme
Iran’s military command says it’s been informed US plans to resume strikes
Times Israel · 21 September 2026 conflictenergygeopolitics
91 · Extreme
Houthi attacks and no Western support: What are Saudi Arabia's options ?
France24 · 21 September 2026 conflicttradegeopolitics
88 · Extreme
2026 Iran war | Oil, Explained, United States, Israel, Strait of Hormuz, Map, & Conflict - Britannica
Google News · 21 September 2026 conflictenergygeopolitics
67 · High
Iran issues warning after 'learning US plans to resume action'
Sky World · 21 September 2026 conflictenergytrade
67 · High
U.S. urges Americans to reconsider Middle East travel as Iran tensions rise
CNBC World · 21 September 2026 conflictenergygeopolitics
66 · High
Qatar PM describes fallout of US-Israel war on Iran as ‘earthquake’
Al Jazeera · 21 September 2026 conflictgeopolitics
62 · High
Iran and US trade threats after Houthi attacks escalate regional conflict - Reuters
Google News · 21 September 2026 conflicttradegeopolitics
61 · High
'We simply don't know' - JP Morgan struggling to forecast oil prices due to Trump's war with Iran
BBC Business · 21 September 2026 conflictenergyfinance
59 · High
Iran warns against new escalation by US and allies
Straits Times · 21 September 2026 conflictgeopolitics
58 · High
Qatar pushes for revival of US-Iran talks, warns against ‘cycles of escalation’
Middle East Eye · 21 September 2026 conflictgeopolitics
55 · High
Trump says Houthis agree not to fight US, as attacks mount against Saudi allies: Fox News
Straits Times · 21 September 2026 conflictgeopolitics
55 · High
The Iran war is minting new one-day millionaires: oil tankers brave enough to sail across the Strait of Hormuz - Fortune
GN Trade · 21 September 2026 conflictenergygeopolitics
55 · High
Why doesn't the US intervene to defend Saudi Arabia against the Houthis?
France24 · 21 September 2026 conflicttradegeopolitics
52 · Moderate
Middle East braces for more violence as Iran claims US is planning to renew bombing campaign - The Guardian
GN Conflict · 21 September 2026 conflictgeopolitics
48 · Moderate
Iran’s economy contracts by more than 10% during US war, official data shows
Straits Times · 21 September 2026 conflictfinancegeopolitics
46 · Moderate
Trump heads to UN as Iran offers conditions for talks, end to war - NewsNation
GN Conflict · 21 September 2026 conflictgeopolitics
46 · Moderate
Iran Insists on Right to Control Shipping in Strait of Hormuz After Ship Hit Near Oman - EnergyNow
GN Trade · 21 September 2026 energytradegeopolitics
46 · Moderate
Russia, China end mandate for independent monitoring of UN sanctions on Iran - Reuters
Google News · 21 September 2026 tradegeopolitics
43 · Moderate
Iran-backed Houthi rebels warn against joining Saudi Arabia in Yemen's growing civil war
ABC Intl · 21 September 2026 conflictgeopolitics
43 · Moderate
War on Iran: How the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps underpins the republic
Middle East Eye · 21 September 2026 conflictgeopolitics
43 · Moderate
France vows response after Iran closes language centre in Tehran
Straits Times · 21 September 2026 conflictgeopolitics
43 · Moderate
New party emerges as a frontrunner as Israel goes to polls amid Netanyahu’s waning appeal
Hindu Intl · 21 September 2026 conflictgeopolitics
43 · Moderate
US, Iran talks conclude in Doha, focused on Strait of Hormuz - Reuters
GN Trade · 21 September 2026 energygeopolitics
43 · Moderate
U.S. urges Americans to reconsider Middle East travel as Iran tensions rise - cnbc.com
GN Conflict · 21 September 2026 geopolitics
42 · Moderate
Iran's foreign minister heads to US for UN General Assembly
Middle East Eye · 21 September 2026 tradegeopolitics
40 · Moderate
Trump tells Tehran to 'behave' and lays out three options on ending war on Iran
Middle East Eye · 21 September 2026 conflictgeopolitics
40 · Moderate
Trump’s ambassador to U.N. says there’s no timeline on Iran war’s end - The Washington Post
GN Conflict · 21 September 2026 conflictgeopolitics
40 · Moderate

Every story the engine read that names Iran, its capital or its leaders. Links go to the original outlet; the badge is the engine’s own 0–100 tension weight. This list is what moves the number above.

What is driving Iran’s tension score

last 30 days
  • 221 headlines in 30 days — 8.19% of everything the engine read, in line with the previous 30 days (0).
  • 64% of those were violent (attacks, strikes, casualties) and 87% scored as high-tension stories.
  • Conflicts on the roster: US-Israel-Iran War (active).
  • Region: Middle East reads 67 today; it carries 15% of this score.

Read it like this. Attention (how much the world is talking about Iran) is the biggest input at 30%. Violence and high-tension share tell you what kind of talk it is. A country can be loud and calm — an election, a summit — or quiet and dangerous. The mix is the point.

Iran tension month by month

average score, headline counts
MonthAvg scoreZoneHeadlinesViolentDays
September 202666.8Moderate2211424

Record for Iran began on 18 September 2026. Nothing is revised after the fact.

How the Iran score is built

Five inputs, fixed weights. Attention 30% (share of world coverage), violence 25% and high-tension share 15% (what kind of coverage), roster conflicts 15%, and the Middle East region score 15%. A momentum nudge (+6 / −4) rewards a country whose coverage is accelerating or fading.

Same physics as the world score. The number rises 85% of the way to its new level at once and falls no faster than 3 points a day — fear arrives fast and leaves slowly.

No third-party index inside. Every count comes from the 41 public news feeds our engine reads itself; the full method is on the methodology page. Data is free under CC BY 4.0 via the API.

Questions people ask about Iran

Is Iran in a war right now?

Yes, by our roster: US-Israel-Iran War. Status is updated on every full cycle.

Is tension in Iran rising or falling?

Too early to say — the 7-day change appears once a week of data exists.

How does Iran compare with the rest of Middle East?

Below its region: Iran reads 66 against 67 for Middle East, ranking #1 of 16 there.

Keep exploring

Iran and world tension: the long view

evergreen · World Tension Meter team

The country that moves the oil price. Iran sits on the north shore of the Strait of Hormuz, the lane a fifth of the world’s oil passes through. When Tehran and its rivals raise their voices, tankers, insurers and petrol pumps hear it within hours.

A forty-year confrontation. Since 1979 Iran has been in a standing contest with the United States and Israel, fought through sanctions, proxies and, at times, direct strikes. Our engine treats that rivalry as a permanent baseline, and scores how loud it is right now.

Why the number swings. Iran is rarely quiet and never boring: nuclear talks, tanker seizures, missile tests and internal protests all land in the same corpus. A calm Iran week is unusual enough to be a signal on its own.

What our engine watches in Iran

  • Hormuz shipping traffic, tanker incidents and insurance chatter
  • Sanctions packages and enforcement against its oil, banks and shadow fleet
  • Missile, drone and nuclear headlines — the fastest movers of the score
  • Protest and economic-crisis coverage, which raises the internal-stability signal

Indexes to follow: Energy Security · Shipping Stress · Sanctions Pressure · Market Fear.