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Iran

September 11, 2026

Tehran 7:03 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

An Iranian cleric chants slogans as they gather to mourn during the forty days memorial, after the killing of Iran's Quds Force top commander Qassem Soleimani and the Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in a U.S. air strike at Baghdad airport, at the "Valley of Peace" cemetery in Najaf, Iraq February 11, 2020. REUTERS/Alaa al-Marjani - RC2BYE9HRC06

Pro-Iran militias in Iraq wage 'fake news' campaign against US

Several pro-Iran militias have lately claimed responsibility for attacking US forces in Iraq, but examining their media activities indicates they are probably fake groups created by existing militias to show strength without taking the risk of ramifications.

CARABOBO, VENEZUELA - MAY 26: (----EDITORIAL USE ONLY √¢ MANDATORY CREDIT - "ECONOMY VICE PRESIDENT'S OFFICE / HANDOUT" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS----) Iranian flagged fuel tanker 'Fortune' is seen after it was docked at El Palito refinery in Puerto Cabello, state of Carabobo, Venezuela, on May 26, 2020. (Photo by Economy Vice President's Office/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Fourth Iranian tanker reaches Venezuela as US ups pressure

A State Department official said it is warning companies about doing oil-related business with Venezuela as the ships continue to arrive.

A view of the water nuclear reactor at Arak, Iran December 23, 2019. WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY - RC221E9YL22A

Iran claims nuclear program will continue after end of US waivers

Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization dismissed the decision by the United States to end waivers on cooperation involving the country's nuclear program and said the nation will be self-sufficient in those areas.

A man holds a poster of Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf one of parliamentary candidate in Tehran, Iran February 18, 2020. Picture taken February 18, 2020, Nazanin Tabatabaee/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC2Q3F9OA8S5

Iran’s parliament taps hard-line former IRGC commander as speaker

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the former national police chief and former mayor of the capital, Tehran, was selected as parliament speaker.

A picture taken on April 11, 2019 shows a partial view of a street in Ahvaz, the capital of Iran's southwestern province of Khuzestan. - Authorities ordered tens of thousands of residents of the southwestern Iranian city of Ahvaz to evacuate immediately on April 10 as floodwaters entered the capital of oil-rich Khuzestan province, state television reported. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran arrests 'separatists' in southwest Khuzestan province

Arab opposition groups are active in Iran's diverse and oil-rich area of Khuzestan, and a recent protest took place in the province against the lack of drinking water.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks to the media at the State Department in Washington, DC, U.S., May 20, 2020. Nicholas Kamm/Pool via REUTERS - RC2FSG9O20JT

Intel: Trump administration defended Iran nuclear waivers as 'restrictions,' then ended them

The Donald Trump administration ended sanctions waivers on Iranian nuclear facilities today — a mere two months after characterizing them as “restrictions” on Iran’s nuclear program.

Iran arrests man over ‘honor killing’ of 14-year-old daughter

According to local media, 14-year-old Romina Ashrafi was beheaded in her sleep.

Erdogan dashes hopes of Turkey-Israel reconciliation

The resumption of El Al cargo flights to Turkey does not mean that relations between Israel and Ankara have thawed.

TEHRAN, IRAN - MAY 27: President of Iran Hassan Rouhani attends the first official session of 11th round of the Iranian parliament after its opening ceremony in Tehran, Iran on May 27, 2020. (Photo by Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Iran opens new parliament packed with Rouhani critics

The tough road ahead of President Hassan Rouhani in the upcoming closing year of his term is expected to be made even even bumpier by the new ultraconservative legislature.

Speaker Ali Larijani attends a session of parliament in Tehran, Iran July 16, 2019. Nazanin Tabatabaee/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS. ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC17FA4094A0

Speculation grows in Iran about outgoing parliament speaker's possible presidential bid

Political circles in Iran are busy debating where Ali Larijani is headed next following his farewell as parliament speaker after 12 years.

The Iranian tanker ship "Fortune" is seen at El Palito refinery dock in Puerto Cabello, Venezuela May 25, 2020. Miraflores Palace/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC2XVG9MDORW

Iran claims it circumvents US sanctions with shipments to Venezuela

Venezuelan officials welcome the second Iranian tanker carrying gasoline to the Latin American nation; three more vessels are on their way.

Iranians visit the Shah Abdol-Azim shrine in the capital Tehran on May 25, 2020, following the reopening of major Shiite shrines across the Islamic republic, more than two months after they were closed because of the Middle East's deadliest novel coronavirus outbreak. (Photo by - / AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran reopens holy shrines amid easing of coronavirus restrictions

Closed since mid-March, the religious sites are opening their doors with social distancing measures in place.