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Iran

September 11, 2026

Tehran 5:53 pm

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Pedestrians walk past a wall mural along a street in downtown of Tehran on Aug. 31, 2026.

Analysis

Could Iran’s nuclear ambitions harden as war escalates?

A new report has raised alarm about the Pickaxe Mountain nuclear site that President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to strike.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

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

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks during a meeting with Australia's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Richard Marles at the Pentagon in Washington, DC, on September 2, 2026. (Photo by Kent NISHIMURA / AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Iran’s Pickaxe mountain tests limits of Trump’s military options

A secretive Pentagon innovation agency has hastened to test munitions that may penetrate deeper than the GBU-57 bombs dropped on Iran’s two main enrichment facilities.

Jared Szuba

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

Elke Scholiers/Getty Images

Iran's IRGC set to declare new ‘sanctions zone’ beyond Hormuz: What to know

The latest Iranian effort to assert control over waterways in the region follows heavy US strikes targeting oil tankers.

AFPTV / AFP via Getty Images

Brent crude sails past $100 as Middle East war intensifies

The Iran war escalated this week as Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels attacked four southern Saudi Arabian cities and oil facilities.

Latest News

US strikes Iranian tankers after attempted attack on Navy ship

Vessels transit the Hormuz Strait off the coast of Iran's southern port city of Bandar Abbas on September 7, 2026. Iran's top negotiator threatened on September 6 of a more forceful response to any further US attacks after Tehran targeted American warships in their latest round of clashes. The exchanges of fire, which began with US raids last week, come amid a deadlock in the six-month war between the two foes. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP via Getty Images) /

Analysis

What Houthi setbacks in Yemen mean for Iran's regional influence

Forces loyal to Yemen's Saudi-backed government

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Analysis

Israel braces for Iran attack as Trump’s economic squeeze on Tehran intensifies

TOPSHOT - Explosions from projectile interceptions by Israel's Iron Dome missile defence system are pictured over Tel Aviv on February 28, 2026. The United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran on February 28, with Israel's public broadcaster reporting that the Iranian supreme leader had been targeted, as the Islamic republic retaliated with barrages of missiles at Gulf states and Israel. (Photo by Jack GUEZ / AFP via Getty Images)

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

US hits 27 Iranian airlines with latest sanctions

A picture take on September 14, 2017 shows an Airbus A340 of Mahan Air at the tarmac at Dubai's International Airport. (Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE / AFP) (Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images)

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

Iran's economy in desperate need of solutions

Amid a drop in global oil prices, even relief from US sanctions may not be enough to save Iran's collapsing economy.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaks at a news conference on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, U.S., September 26, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan Mcdermid - HP1EF9Q1CPOMH

Iran's Rouhani warns other countries against following US arms sanctions

Iran has warned other countries of the United Nations Security Council to not go along with US plans to continue the arms embargo.

Saudi defence ministry spokesman Colonel Turki Al-Malik displays remains of the missiles which Saudi government says were used to attack an Aramco oil facility, during a news conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia September 18, 2019. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed - RC152BBF8970

Intel: Missiles that struck Saudi Arabia last year 'of Iranian origin,' UN says

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the drones and cruise missiles that struck Saudi Arabia’s oil refineries and an international airport last year came from Iran.

A general view of the Iranian parliament, during the opening ceremony of Iran's 11th parliament, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, in Tehran, Iran, May 27, 2020. WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY - RC2XWG9R3UB3

Parliament speaker opens new conservative era in Iranian politics

Parliament Speaker Mayor Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf starts his new job at a time when Iran faces great challenges, with the conservatives set to dominate Iranian politics in the near future.

Iranians wear protective face masks, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), as they drive with the metro, in Tehran, Iran, May 20, 2020. WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Ali Khara via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY - RC2FSG9AESAO

With no end to pandemic in sight, Iran looks to fully reopen

Iran’s president said the country is looking to reopen under certain health guidelines.

A screen grab from video footage from Iran's state-run English language Press TV showing aerial view of warships released by revolutionary guards, broadcasted on July 19, 2019. Press TV/Reuters TV via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. IRAN OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN IRAN. Broadcasters: NO USE IRAN. NO USE BBC PERSIAN. NO USE MANOTO. NO USE VOA PERSIAN Digital: NO USE IRAN. NO USE BBC PERSIAN. NO USE MANOTO. NO USE VOA PERSIAN (RESTRICTION IMPOSED LOCALLY B

Iran’s debt-ridden international broadcasters face closure

Iran’s state-funded international TV channels, including Press TV, could soon be taken off the air due to accumulated debt amid the country’s cash reserve crisis.

An Iraqi soldier wears a protective face mask and gloves, following the outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), as he stands guard during the hand over of Qayyarah Airfield West from US-led coalition forces to Iraqi Security Forces, in the south of Mosul, Iraq March 26, 2020. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani - RC2SRF9WTZ1K

Rocket hits Baghdad as US-Iraq dialogue set to launch

In order to reorganize the relationship between the two countries in various aspects, Iraq and the United States are negotiating over a new strategic agreement.

Brian Hook, the U.S. Special Representative for Iran and Senior Policy Advisor to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, arrives to the UN Plaza as politicians and ambassadors gather to brief the Security Council on a Middle East peace plan in New York, U.S., February 6, 2020. REUTERS/Yana Paskova - RC2AVE9K2H1P

Intel: Trump’s Iran policy coordinator previews additional prisoner talks

President Donald Trump’s Iran policy coordinator hinted today at ongoing negotiations with Tehran to secure the release of additional American prisoners following the release of Navy veteran Michael White last week.

A billboard of General Soleimani is seen on Valiasr square in Tehran, Iran February 15, 2020. Nazanin Tabatabaee/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC201F9OOWWC

Iran to execute man convicted of spying on Soleimani for US, Israel

The Iranian judiciary has remained vague on whether information allegedly passed on by Mahmoud Mousavi-Majd had been directly involved in the US killing of the top general.

Report: Iran builds fake aircraft carrier for drills

The Associated Press obtained photos of the mock warship at a time of heightened US-Iran tensions.

FILE PHOTO: A truck carrying Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) containers arrives a depot in northern Singapore February 4, 2012. REUTERS/Thomas White/File Photo - S1BEUIFKRLAA

Intel: US sanctions Iran shipping line after humanitarian deferral ends

The Donald Trump administration sanctioned an Iranian shipping line and its Chinese subsidiary today after a six-month humanitarian deferral period ended.

Aid flight arrives from Iran to Venezuela despite continued US pressure

Economic and political relations between Iran and Venezuela continue to develop despite Washington's best efforts.