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Iran

November 7, 2026

Tehran 3:04 pm

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 man reads the Iranian newspaper Etemad, with the front page title reading in Farsi "The night of the end of the JCPOA ", and cover photos of Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and his deputy and chief nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani, in the capital Tehran on Aug. 16, 2022.

Analysis

Iran floats adherence to NPT, dialogue on Ukraine as JCPOA fades

Iranian officials say a nuclear deal is still possible, but US says it’s up to Tehran.

Week in Review

Andrew Parasiliti

By Week in Review , Andrew Parasiliti

Iran international

Tehran threatens US with legal action for hosting Iran International

Prior to relocating to Washington, the London-based Persian-language TV station had already infuriated Iranian authorities with its around-the-clock coverage of the unrest that has shaken the core of the Islamic Republic.

Iran street

EU slaps fifth wave of sanctions on Iran, targeting 32 individuals

The new list brings the total number of Iranian individuals under EU sanctions to 196 and the tally of sanctioned Iranian entities to 33.

A handout picture provided by the Iranian Army official website on September 11, 2020, shows an Iranian navy warship during the second day of a military exercise in the Gulf, near the strategic strait of Hormuz in southern Iran. (Photo by -/Iranian Army office/AFP via Getty Images))

US Military: Iranian drone hit Israeli-owned tanker in Arabian Sea

The drone attack on the Campo Square tanker is at least the fourth suspected Iranian attack targeting a commercial vessel linked to Israeli businessmen in just two years.

FBI/Getty Images

Iran denies harboring de facto al-Qaeda leader

After years of accusations it offered a safe haven to al-Qaeda members, Iran has dismissed a new UN report on the presence of the extremist group's de facto leader on its soil.

A picture taken on May 18, 2017 shows the skyline of northern Tehran from the "Nature" bridge in the capital Tehran on the eve of the presidential elections. / AFP PHOTO / Behrouz MEHRI (Photo credit should read BEHROUZ MEHRI/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran's 'Productivity Plan' likely to lead to an increase in corrupt transactions

Our latest Pro memo looks at how Iran's new strategy to drive economic growth will play out.

Bijan Khajehpour

Bijan Khajehpour

In Vienna, reporting on Iranian politics

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) drill held by the Iranian army in Semnan, Iran, on Jan. 5, 2021.

US defense intelligence confirms Iran’s drone use in Ukraine

The Pentagon report comes a day after the UK government turned over weapons and other evidence to the United Nations that Iran had attempted to ship to Yemen's Houthi rebels in violation of international law.

President Xi Jinping held talks with President Ebrahim Raisi of Iran on his state visit to China on Feb. 14, 2023.

As sanctions bite, Iran's Raisi talks business in China

The trip came at a moment of increasing international isolation, which has left Iran with fewer options than ever before in selling its lifeline oil.

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) drill held by the Iranian army in Semnan, Iran, on Jan. 5, 2021.

Iran intel official says China in line to buy Tehran's drones

Despite growing Western alarm over the Islamic Republic's drone shipments to Russia, the Iranian official said 90 countries were "queuing up" for purchases of the same products.

STEFANI REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images

US unveils new sanctions on Iran's petroleum industry

The sanctions targeted nine entities the Treasury Department said were involved in producing, shipping and selling Iranian petrochemicals and petroleum.

Smog obscures the view from the Saad Abad mountain north of the Iranian capital, Tehran.

Clean air funding halved in Iran’s budget as pollution chokes much of country

As much of Iran grapples with record levels of air pollution during the cold season each year, the government has halved the resources allocated to tackling the pressing issue despite an overall increase in the budget cap.

Part of an underground airbase is seen in a news report by the state broadcaster aired Feb. 7, 2023.

Iran shows off underground air base with Russia's Sukhoi jets

In the first public display of an underground air base, Iran presented missile-mounted warplanes and bombers at a moment of growing concerns over its controversial drone deliveries to Russia.