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Iran

November 9, 2026

Tehran 9:19 am

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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

World financial watchdog keeps punting on Iran

Iran had hoped to be removed from an international financial watch list but will have to settle for a continuation of an ambiguous status quo.

Ahmadinejad asks Khamenei for free and immediate elections

Former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has written a letter to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei calling for free and immediate elections.

Iranian authorities, Sufi leader move toward reconciliation

The Iranian authorities and Gonabadi dervishes seem to be moving toward reconciliation following deadly clashes in Tehran.

A picture taken in the northern Israeli Kibbutz of Harduf on February 10, 2018, shows the remains of an Israel F-16 that crashed after coming under fire by Syrian air defences during attacks against "Iranian targets" in the war-torn country. / AFP PHOTO / Jack GUEZ (Photo credit should read JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images)

Why Iran doesn’t want escalation in Syria

Contrary to the narrative that Iran wants to drag Israel into the Syrian war, Tehran appears to have no incentive to do so.

Has Gaza joined the axis of resistance?

Palestinian factions, with the exception of Fatah, are threatening to open a Gaza front against Israel if it goes to war in Syria, Lebanon or Iran.

Kurdish Peshmerga fighters gather north of Kirkuk, Iraq October 19, 2017. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed - RC1244BF1E20

Pentagon stops budgeting for peshmerga salaries

The Pentagon’s fiscal year 2019 budget doesn’t specifically dedicate payments for Iraq’s Kurdish fighting force after it stepped back from the front lines of the fight against the Islamic State.

Members of emergency and rescue team search for the plane that crashed in a mountainous area of central Iran, February 19, 2018. REUTERS/Tasnim News Agency ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC18A45E46C0

Iranian rescuers find missing plane after two days of searching

Iranian rescuers find the wreckage of a missing passenger plane after two days of searching.

An Iraqi money dealer counts Iranian rial banknotes bearing a portrait of the late founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, at an exchange office in Baghdad on February 3, 2012. Tens of thousands of Iranian visitors have been finding difficulty in using the Iranian currency in Iraq due to a depreciation of the rial against the dollar. AFP PHOTO/ ALI AL-SAADI (Photo credit should read ALI AL-SAADI/AFP/Getty Images)

Six factors driving Iran’s sudden currency devaluation

A confluence of political, economic and psychological factors appears to be behind the recent plunge in the Iranian currency’s value on the free market.

Iranian film on Tehran's role in Syria war creates controversy

The first Iranian film depicting Tehran’s fight against Islamic State terrorists divides observers into two camps: those who think it is a great film by a great director and those who think it is just a cliche.

U.S. President Donald Trump declares his opposition to domestic violence during a working session regarding the Opportunity Zones provided by tax reform in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, U.S., February 14, 2018. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts - RC11BECC88B0

What Trump needs to know about Iranians

US President Donald Trump must take note of the erosion in goodwill toward the United States among Iranians before it is too late.

Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army fighter stands near stacked sandbags in Eastern Afrin, Syria, February 13, 2018. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi - RC1A6D3C0CA0

Turkey’s assault adds to 'climate of repression and decline' in northern Syria

Iran tries to broker deal between Ankara and Damascus to contain fighting over Syrian Kurds.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani together with his counterparts Russia's Vladimir Putin and Turkey's Tayyip Erdogan attend a joint news conference following their meeting in Sochi, Russia November 22, 2017. Sputnik/Mikhail Klimentyev/Kremlin via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC11C14BA4C0

Afrin puts Turkish-Iranian-Russian mistrust on full display

More than anything, the situation in Afrin puts on full display the deep and lingering mistrust between Iran, Turkey and Russia.