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November 9, 2026

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People vote on Election Day during the midterm elections

Analysis

From sanctions relief to deterrence: How Iran reads US elections

Iran's negotiators now view US elections through the lens of political pressure and the costs of conflict, while even Javad Zarif frames diplomacy as part of deterrence.

Jamshid Jamshidi

By Jamshid Jamshidi

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.

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

Iranian MPs are seen during a meeting of the Iranian parliament for the impeachment of the Minister of Labor on March 13, 2018. / AFP PHOTO / ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)

Iranian Reformists clash with hard-liners in drive to restrict child marriage

A parliamentary bill to restrict child marriage is pitting hard-liners against Reformists in Iran.

A man holds a stack of Iranian Rials in front of a shop in the capital Tehran on July 31, 2018. - Iran's currency traded at a fresh record-low of 119,000 to the dollar on today, a loss of nearly two-thirds of its value since the start of the year as US sanctions loom. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)

Shrinking pie causes intense struggle over wages in Iran

Stuck between a rock and a hard place, the Rouhani administration is under pressure to increase salaries while facing the threat of spiraling inflation.

NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 12: Irans Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Es'hagh Al Habib delivers remarks at the United Nations Security Council meeting on Iran at the United Nations on December 12, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Hagen/Getty Images)

Iran says US is ‘bragging’ about violating UNSC resolution

While the United States has failed to receive European support for scrapping the nuclear deal, Europe is more sympathetic to concerns about Iran’s missile program.

NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 12: United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during a press conference following the United Nations Security Council meeting on Iran at the United Nations on December 12, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Hagen/Getty Images)

On Iran, US allies fear ‘maximum pressure’ could provoke escalation

While Iran continues to comply for now with the 2015 nuclear deal even after the reimposition of US sanctions, European allies fear that the US administration’s “maximum pressure” campaign could eventually lead to war.

Six factors shaping Iran’s missile decision-making calculus

It would be folly to expect that Iran would dismantle the backbone of its defense doctrine without bearing in mind its security concerns, including the need for a broader regional arrangement to ban weapons of mass destruction.

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on their ability to film or take pictures in Tehran.

Supporters of the Iranian opposition movement wear green during the funeral of Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri in the holy city of Qom December 21, 2009. Big crowds of mourners chanted anti-government slogans during the funeral of Iran's leading dissident cleric, Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, in the holy city of Qom on Monday, websites reported. REUTERS/v

Deadlock continues over fate of Iran's Green Movement leaders

The three Iranian opposition leaders detained during the 2009 election protests are still languishing under house arrest as Reformists and hard-liners argue endlessly.

Hard-liner accuses Rouhani of blocking Telegram

A hard-line politician in Iran has accused President Hassan Rouhani of ordering the ban on a popular social media app in the wake of the nationwide protests in early 2018.

Azzam al-Ahmad (L), head of the Fatah group, and Mousa Abu Marzook (C), a senior member of Hamas, speak after a news conference in Cairo April 27, 2011. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah group has inked a deal with bitter rival Hamas to end their long-running feud and form an interim government ahead of elections this year, officials said on Wednesday. REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS) - GM1E74S0BG101

Fatah slams Iran for funding Gaza Strip while skirting PA

Relations between the Palestinian Authority and Iran have taken another bad turn, with a top Fatah official accusing Iran of worsening the Palestinian division by financially “adopting” families of Gazans killed or wounded in the Great Return protests.

Palestinian militants of the Islamist movement Hamas' military wing Al-Qassam Brigades, attend the funeral of seven Palestinians, killed during an Israeli special forces operation in the Gaza Strip, on November 12, 2018, in Khan Younis. - A clash that erupted during an Israeli special forces operation in the Gaza Strip and killed eight people threatened on Monday to derail efforts to restore calm to the Palestinian enclave after months of unrest. (Photo by SAID KHATIB / AFP) (Photo credit should read

Will Iran ask Hamas to ignite Gaza front in support of Hezbollah?

The recent Israeli operation to expose Hezbollah’s tunnels on the Lebanese border raised questions about Iran-backed Hamas’ exposure should Tehran request it to open a second front against Israel in the event of an Israeli-Hezbollah confrontation.

Iran, Russia-led bloc move toward free trade

The Iranian government is widening channels of trade with Eurasia and India in an effort to dodge the impacts of reimposed US sanctions.

A money changer holds U.S. dollar banknotes as he counts other currency banknotes at Grand Bazaar in Tehran, Iran October 14, 2017. Nazanin Tabatabaee Yazdi/TIMA via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC1B64997900

Iran judiciary upholds another death sentence for economic corruption

Iran’s judiciary has sentenced dozens of individuals to prison for cases related to the fluctuation in the currency market earlier in the year.

Israeli soldiers stand guard at a check-point on a raod leading to the border line between Israel and Lebanon, on the Israeli side of the border December 9, 2018. REUTERS/Amir Cohen - RC11450F0E90

The unlikely war between Iran, Hezbollah and Israel

Despite increasingly tough rhetoric and the launch of an operation along the border with Lebanon, Israel is unlikely to enter all-out war against Iran and its regional allies.