In the second week of a war that has inflamed the region, AP’s Tehran team has continued reporting under intensifying airstrikes pounding Iran’s capital — delivering some of the most important images and reporting from inside the country.
As one of the few international news organizations with a presence in Iran, AP has played a critical role in showing the world what is happening on the ground. The team produced striking visuals, including black smoke rising over oil facilities after Israeli bombardment and street reactions following the selection of Mojtaba Khamenei as supreme leader.
Working closely with news director Jon Gambrell in Dubai, the Tehran-based team — Nasser, Vahid, Amir, Mehdi, Mohsen and Saeed — has operated around the clock at significant personal risk. Outside Iran, journalists including Sarah El Deeb, Amir-Hussein Radji, Kareem Chehayeb, Farnoush Amiri, Shirin Hakim and Sahar Ameri, along with others who must remain anonymous, built a network of sources despite repeated internet blackouts, working with editor Lee Keath to produce deeply reported accounts of daily life under war.
The coverage combined frontline visuals with verification work using satellite imagery and mapping tools to track airstrikes, alongside human-centered reporting — including a feature on a woman who fled to a rural strawberry farm, contrasting moments of calm with the fear of war and pressure from security forces.
Judges praised the team’s ability to overcome extreme logistical barriers and personal danger to deliver essential journalism from inside Iran.
For covering Iran under extraordinary circumstances, AP’s journalists covering every angle on Iran win this week’s Best of AP — First Winner.
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