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Iran

November 7, 2026

Tehran 11:16 pm

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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 holds a portrait of Iranian wrestler Navid Afkari during a demonstration on the Dam Square in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on Sept. 13, 2020.

Iran admits ‘witness to torture’ died in custody

The prisoner had defied pressure from intelligence authorities to withdraw his shocking statements after he blew the whistle on “medieval-style torture” of executed political prisoner Navid Afkari.

A picture taken on January 13, 2020, during a press tour organised by the US-led coalition fighting the remnants of the Islamic State group, shows a member the US forces walking past a drone in the Ain al-Asad airbase in the western Iraqi province of Anbar.

Are Iranian threats to escalate in Iraqi Kurdistan more hot air?

US President Joe Biden addresses the 76th Session of the UN General Assembly in New York on Sept. 21, 2021.

The Takeaway: Iran nuclear diplomacy shows faint pulse at UN

Signs of life at an extraordinary meeting of senior Middle East officials; also, updates from our correspondents on Israel, West Bank, UAE, Turkey, Egypt, Iraq … and more … all in about 1,400 words!

Iran's President's Ebrahim Raisi remotely addresses the 76th Session of the U.N. General Assembly on Sept. 21, 2021 at U.N. headquarters in New York City.

Iran’s president slams US in first UN speech

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi used the occasion of his first UN General Assembly speech to heavily criticize the United States.

A picture shows daily newspapers on sale at a kiosk in the capital Tehran, on Sept. 18, 2021. Conservative and reformist newspapers showed rare unity in welcoming results of a conference yesterday in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, where members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation endorsed Iran's future membership in the bloc.

Iran’s membership in Asian security body won’t solve sanctions problem

While the news that Iran will gain full membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization is a psychological victory for the sanctions-hit country, it will take much more to achieve lasting economic impact.

An incoming passenger crosses with his luggage through a disinfection tunnel upon arriving on an Emirates flight at the Iranian capital Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport on July 17, 2020.

Iran to lift visa restrictions to revive pandemic-hit tourism sector

Iran’s new tourism chief said the government will soon scrap visa restrictions, a plan that the struggling tourism sector has been desperately waiting for to get back on its feet amid the coronavirus pandemic.

ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

Iran says nuclear talks to resume in weeks

Iran's foreign minister plans to meet with top diplomats from JCPOA signatories at the UN General Assembly.

JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images

UK foreign secretary to press Iranian FM on prisoners, nuclear deal

In her first overseas trip as new UK foreign secretary, Liz Truss will meet with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York City this week.

An Iranian man reads a copy of the daily newspaper "Etalaat" bearing the headline "Iran is a new member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation", at a kiosk in the capital Tehran, on Sept. 18, 2021.

Iran says SCO membership to end isolation

Iran is hoping to expand its economic ties after it enters the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

ALEXEY DRUZHININ/SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images

Iran's Raisi to meet Putin as states mull Taliban recognition

In his first foreign visit as Iran's president, Ebrahim Raisi will sit down with Russian and Pakistani leaders amid new regional dynamics triggered by the US departure from Afghanistan.

An undated image of Ali Bagheri-Kani.

Iranian nuclear negotiator replaced by hard-line protege

The appointment of the hard-line figure Ali Bagheri Kani at the Foreign Ministry has raised questions about ongoing negotiations over the 2015 nuclear deal.

Passengers get off from a privately owned Iranian airline Mahan Air flight at the airport in Kabul on Sept. 15, 2021.

Iran resumes flights to Afghanistan

Iran has taken a measured approach to the Taliban after the group seized control of Afghanistan during the US military withdrawal.