Iran-US tensions

Russian Sukhoi Su-35S fighter aircrafts, Su-34 military fighter jets and Su-30SM jet fighters fly over downtown Moscow during a military parade on June 24, 2020.

Analysis

Russian leak signals Su-35s for Iran moving to production: What to know

Recently leaked documents suggest 16 fighters are already on Russian assembly lines, with deliveries slated through 2027. For Tehran, it would be the first meaningful fighter upgrade in decades.

Francesco Schiavi

By Francesco Schiavi

In Bologna, reporting on security, defense, economy, governance

People walk and drive past a billboard covering the facade of a building on Vali-Asr square, depicting as postage stamps the disputed Abu Musa and Greater and Lesser Tunb islands that were seized by Iran in 1971, in Tehran on October 26, 2024. Residents of Tehran awoke and went about their business as planned on October 26 after their sleep was troubled by Israeli strikes that triggered blasts that echoed across the city. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Iran’s new military drills near disputed islands ratchet up tensions with UAE

By combining high-tech capabilities, publicized warnings to foreign vessels and historical framing of territorial sovereignty, Tehran is seeking to assertively position itself in a dispute that has resisted resolution for decades.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

The US National flag flies at half staff on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC on December 4, 2025, in honor of Sarah Beckstrom, the National Guard member who was fatally shot the week before. An Afghan man accused of shooting two members of the National Guard near the White House, killing one, pleaded not guilty on December 2, 2025 to murder charges. Lakanwal is charged with first-degree murder for the death of Sarah Beckstrom, 20, a National Guard member from West Virginia, as well as ass

US strategy document names Iran 'chief' destabilizer, calls Syria 'potential problem'

The document frames US engagement as shifting away from energy and conflict and toward broader economic and defense partnerships.

currency exchange in Tehran

Iran currency dips to new low of 1.2M per dollar as sanctions bite: What to know

Since US President Donald Trump took office in January, the rial has plummeted.

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Analysis

Iraq’s next PM? Shatri, Eidani, Kadhimi and others jostle for lead

People walk past electoral campaign posters ahead of Iraq's parliamentary elections in central Baghdad on Nov. 6, 2025.

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

Analysis

F-35s, chips but no security guarantees: What MBS achieved — and didn’t — in Washington

US President Donald Trump meets with Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia during a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office of the White House on Nov. 18, 2025 in Washington, DC.

Jared Szuba

In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military

Analysis

How Iraq’s next government could shape the US-Iran rivalry

Supporters of incumbent Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani wave national flags in front of a screen displaying his portrait as they celebrate following the announcement of preliminary election results in Baghdad on Nov. 12, 2025.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

Iran stops IAEA inspections following UN watchdog's reprimand

In this handout photo released by the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) on November 10, 2025, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi (L) is accompanied by AEOI chief Mohammad Eslami during a visit to a facility in Tehran. (Photo by Atomic Energy Organization of Iran / AFP)

Haniyeh meets Khamenei

Hamas leader meets Iran’s Khamenei in Tehran

Iran is the main financial backer of Hamas. Its proxies across the region have increased attacks on US and Israeli targets in recent weeks.

Iran Nasrallah

Iran's caution on Gaza war resonates in Hezbollah's Nasrallah speech

The Hezbollah leader offered little beyond Tehran's reserved approach to avoid a full-blown war with Israel, in a speech that Iranian hardliners had anticipated as a milestone in shaping the region's future.

US drones

Pentagon flying unarmed drones over Gaza for hostage recovery intel

The acknowledgement came a day after a senior American general said the US is providing Israel with intelligence assessments on Iran-backed threats on other fronts, but the Pentagon denies it's assisting with targets in Gaza.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (R) meets with exiled leader of the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement Khaled Meshaal.

Iran urges sanctions on Israel, says Hamas ready for more 'surprise' attacks

Iran's leader censured the West for supporting Israel, while the country's foreign minister warned that more militant "surprise" attacks were in the offing should Israel refuse to halt Gaza bombardments.

US Air Force via Getty Images

US deploys B-1B bombers to Turkey for 'long-planned' exercise amid Gaza war

The Pentagon's show of force came as Iran's top diplomat visited Ankara amid threats by Tehran and its proxies to pile on Israel's war in the Gaza Strip.

10/29/2023 Golan Heights, Israel. Israeli soldiers, as part of the 'Israeli Paratroopers Brigade,' experimented with colorful smoke during their battalion training at the Golan Heights on October 29, 2023, before subsequently returning to the Gaza border. (Photo by Dima Vazinovich / Middle East Images / Middle East Images via AFP) (Photo by DIMA VAZINOVICH/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

US military advisers depart Israel, focus on containing blowback from Gaza war

The White House on Monday dismissed international calls for a cease-fire, suggesting humanitarian ‘pauses’ instead, as the IDF sent armored forces into the northern Gaza Strip.

Iran protest

Despite incendiary rhetoric, Iran walks tightrope to avoid direct Israel war

Three weeks into the Israel-Hamas war, Iran has adhered to a strategy of caution to avoid direct engagement, translating its threats into limited attacks on US bases through its proxies.

Israeli Merkava tanks take part in a military drill near the border with Lebanon in the upper Galilee region of northern Israel on Oct. 26, 2023, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli invasion of Gaza threatens to collapse Washington's Middle East strategy

The Biden administration thought painstaking diplomacy could contain Iran and, by extension, its proxies in Yemen, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon. But by papering over the Palestinian question, Washington handed its adversary a strategic opportunity.

MOHAMMED ABED/AFP via Getty Images

Blasts in Egypt near Israeli border as Gaza war rages on

The Israeli military blamed two explosions in Egypt, resulted in injuries, on an “aerial threat” from the Red Sea, a possible reference to the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, but some details are unclear.

Members of Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinian Hamas movement, march in Gaza City on May 22, 2021, in commemoration of senior Hamas commander Bassem Issa who was killed along with other militants in Israeli airstrikes last week.

US imposes sanctions on Hamas' envoy to Iran, IRGC trainers

The sanctions targeting Hamas and its benefactors in Iran followed the Pentagon's announcement of airstrikes targeting Iran-linked facilities in eastern Syria.

A F18 Hornet fighter jet prepares to land on the deck of a US navy aircraft carrier in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, May 8, 2018.

US launches airstrikes on Iran militia facilities in Syria

President Joe Biden authorized the F-16 strikes in a bid to put a halt to nearly 20 drone attacks targeting US bases in Iraq and Syria over the past week as Washington and Iran trade warnings amid Israel's impending invasion of Gaza.

Jared Szuba

In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military

In the aftermath of the bombing of Gaza's Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital on Oct. 17, 2023, a pro-government demonstration on Oct. 18, 2023, in Tehran, Iran, includes protesters burning the flags of the United States and Israel as a display of solidarity with Palestine.

Washington warns Iran as doubts grow about Israel's abilities in Gaza war

The White House on Monday accused Iran of "actively facilitating" attacks against US troops in Iraq and Syria as Washington pledges to continue its support for Israel's war in Gaza.