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Iran

November 7, 2026

Tehran 10:55 am

13°C

Alexey BABUSHKIN / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Iran turns to Putin as war, US election reshape strategic calculations

A Kremlin meeting with Iran's top security official coupled with reports of new arms deals amid looming war demonstrate Tehran's push to turn vulnerability into strategic leverage.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Tump

Can Trump turn midterm defeat into Iran breakthrough?

Although Iran may have contributed to Republican losses in midterms, the Trump administration still has a historic opportunity in the Middle East.

ATTA KENARE / AFP via Getty Images

As Trump weighs Iran strikes, possible nuclear opening emerges

Sticking points include Iran's highly enriched uranium and lack of access for international inspectors.

Latest News

Russia to provide Iran with 90 missile launchers as military ties grow: Reports

Russian Mil Mi-8 military helicopters fly over a joint Russian and Turkish convoy, northeastern Hasakeh province, Syria, Feb. 4, 2021.

Turkey says soldier killed by gunfire from Iran at border: What to know

A sign marking the border of Turkey in Van, Turkey, on March 14, 2026.

Explainer

Democrats’ midterm sweep tests US-Israel ties as Eisenkot vows reset

An aerial view shows a campaign billboard depicting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of the Likud party and President Donald Trump in Tel Aviv, on Oct. 26, 2026, on the eve of Israel's legislative elections.

Analysis

Iran cheers Democrats’ midterm victory but fears Trump's next move

Iranians walk along a building installed with a giant poster depicting Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei during a rally in front of the former US embassy to mark the anniversary of the 1979 Iran hostage crisis, in Tehran on Nov. 4, 2026.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Elizabeth Hagedorn

Diplomatic Correspondent

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

Sabena Siddiqui

In Karachi, reporting on South Asia, Middle East, Iran

A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Benjamin Houghton

In Durham, reporting on China in the Middle East

Rahim Rahimov

In Baku, reporting on Middle East-Caucasus ties

Mehrnaz Samimi

In Washington, DC, reporting on Iranian culture

A truck carries an Iranian Fattah hypersonic ballistic missile during the annual military parade marking the anniversary of the outbreak of the devastating 1980-1988 war with Saddam Hussein's Iraq, in Tehran, Iran, Sept. 22, 2023.

How significant is Iran's unveiling of latest hypersonic cruising missile?

Iran continues to voice support for Hamas in its war against Israel while boosting its own military capabilities.

Iran Qaani

How far will Iran go to support Hamas in war with Israel?

Forty days into the Israel-Hamas war, the commander of Iran's Quds Force promised the militant group that Iran "will do anything required." Yet questions linger over Iran's willingness to risk direct involvement.

Iran Manoto

Iran hardliners celebrate imminent shutdown of UK-based Manoto TV

The independent Persian-language channel Manoto said it was about to shut down due to financial strains, as official Iranian media celebrated the news.

People protest against executions and detentions in Iran, in front of the Iranian Permanent Mission to the UN in New York City on December 17, 2022. (Photo by Kena Betancur / AFP) (Photo by KENA BETANCUR/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran executed 114 people since Israel-Hamas war began: report

It seems Iran is taking advantage of the world focus on the Israel-Hamas war to carry out mass executions across its prisons.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan.

Israel's Gaza war opens room for Turkey-Iran rapprochement

Turkey’s Gaza diplomacy has failed to bear fruit thus far, but it has clearly led to a rapprochement between Ankara and Tehran.

Iran Raisi

Iran's Raisi intensifies Gaza diplomacy ahead of Riyadh visit

At a regional economic summit in Uzbekistan, the Iranian president attempted to galvanize diplomatic pressure on Israel, as he prepared for a separate meeting of Muslim nations in Riyadh, his first visit to the kingdom following the Iranian-Saudi reconciliation.

Iranians shop for fruits at a market in Tehran on November 21, 2019. (Photo by STR / AFP) (Photo by STR/afp/AFP via Getty Images)

Can food security help forge Iran-GCC ties?

Shifting attitudes to food security have the potential to turn the agricultural and food sectors into the main platform for greater trade and investment between the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Iran.

Bijan Khajehpour

Bijan Khajehpour

In Vienna, reporting on Iranian politics

NORTHEASTERN SYRIA - MAY 26: U.S. Army CH-47 Chinook helicopter gunners scan the desert while transporting troops on May 26, 2021 over northeastern Syria. U.S. forces, part of Task Force WARCLUB operate from remote combat outposts in northeastern Syria, coordinating with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in combatting residual ISIS extremists and deterring pro-Iranian militia. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

US launches new airstrikes against IRGC facility in Syria as attacks continue

US F-15s bombed a facility in eastern Syria as the Pentagon's Middle East policy director openly warned that the US military may target Iranian IRGC personnel in a bid to halt militia attacks on American troops.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani meets with Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei in Tehran on Nov. 6, 2023.

Iran's Khamenei urges Iraq PM to pressure US over Gaza

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani's Tehran visit came only one day after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Baghdad, amid an uptick in Iran-backed militia attacks on US bases in the region in response to Israel's war on Hamas.

Bita loom

Culture

Iranian artist Bita Ghezelayagh points pens and roses at censorship

Iranian artist Bita Ghezelayagh fuses ancient Iranian crafts with universal themes of rebellion, hope and alienation.

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.