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Iran

September 29, 2026

Tehran 4:31 am

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An Airbus A321 airliner arrives at the Mehrabad international airport during the delivery of the first batch of planes to the Iranian state airline Iran Air in the capital Tehran on Jan. 12, 2017.

Iraq announces Iran flights to resume: What to know

Iraqis protested the latest move aimed at pressuring Iran and an Iran-backed militia vowed a response if the flights do not come back.

In this handout released by the US Navy on July 15, 2010, the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) transits the Pacific Ocean.

New US aircraft carrier heads to Middle East as Iran war stretches on

The USS Theodore Roosevelt is expected to be the fifth US Navy carrier to participate in the now seven-month war against Iran.

Members of Iran's Basij paramilitary force march with riffles during a military rally named Jan-Fada in Tehran, Sept. 18, 2026.

Iran rallies thousands of volunteer fighters as talks with US stall: What to know

Iran has been leading a volunteer recruitment drive and providing military training to civilians as talks with the US remain stalled.

In this picture obtained from Iran's ISNA news agency on June 18, 2026, vessels are seen anchored in Bandar Abbas along the Strait of Hormuz.

Oil rises amid Hormuz impasse, Trump attack threat

Oil rose after weekend reports suggested talks to reopen the Strait of Hormuz had stalled.

Latest News

Analysis

Could Iran's 7-day Hormuz proposal culminate in diplomatic deal?

A tugboat guides a ship at the Khor Fakkan Container Terminal, the only natural deep-sea port in the region and one of the major container ports in Sharjah Emirate, along the Gulf of Oman on July 14, 2026.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

‘Free for all or for no one’: Iran warns neighbors over flight bans

An Iran Air Airbus A300 prepares for boarding at Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran, Iran, Aug. 16, 2016.

Iran flights continue, UAE route closes on day 2 of US sanctions

Hector RETAMAL / AFP via Getty Images

Iran threatens to expand war to Indian Ocean: What to know

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

A Taliban security personnel take pictures of his colleague using a mobile phone at the Wazir Akbar Khan hilltop overlooking the Kabul city on April 4, 2023.

Iran, Russia, China FMs meet, see opportunity in post-US Afghanistan

The summit in Uzbekistan brought together regional powers who have been competing in the vacuum left by the US departure from Afghanistan.

Here are the biggest Middle East disclosures in the leaked intel docs

Turkey, Israel and the United Arab Emirates are among the Middle East countries named in a major leak of classified US intelligence documents.

The US Central Command Commander General Michael Kurilla speaks at the 18th IISS Manama Dialogue in Bahrain's capital on November 19, 2022. (Photo by AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

CENTCOM eyeing artificial intelligence to counter Iran’s drones, says Kurilla

The top commander of US forces in the Middle East expressed concerns over China's inroads the region and told Al-Monitor he wants to turn up the heat at the next Red Sands exercise in Saudi Arabia to simulate more complex drone attacks.

Washington Connection

Iranian and Saudi foreign ministers in China

Iranian Embassy reopens its gates in Saudi Arabia after 7 years of closure

The move comes as Saudi Arabia and Iran advance their deal to normalize full relations, while Washington scrambles to maintain its relations with the Gulf kingdom.

Iranian Armenian schoolgirls walk home after class in the Julfa neighbourhood in the historic city of Isfahan, some 400 kms south of the capital, Tehran on April 21, 2015. Julfa neighborhood in Isfahan is where the biggest Armenian community in Iran resides and was established as an Armenian quarter by Persian Safavid King Shah Abbas I in 1606. Some 180.000 Armenians were living in Iran before the Islamic revolution in 1979, compared to some 60000 today, according to official figures. Most of the community

Fury in Iran as officials fail to address schoolgirls' poisonings

Iranian authorities either looked the other way or blamed the students, failing to soothe the public rage at the fresh suspected gas attacks on schoolgirls.

TOPSHOT - Israeli soldiers take up a position with a tank near Shtula, bordering Lebanon, on April 7, 2023. - Israel launched air strikes before dawn on April 7 in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, saying it was targeting Palestinian militant group Hamas in retaliation for several dozen rockets fired at Israel from both territories. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP) (Photo by JALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Israeli fears grow of united Hezbollah-Hamas-Iran front

Netanyahu’s dream of a regional Israel-led alliance with Sunni Arab states against Iran has been shattered, as Israel’s fierce enemies unite.

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

Alinejad

Iranian-born US woman sentenced in plot to kidnap Masih Alinejad

Niloufar Bahadorifar, sentenced to prison, had pleaded guilty in December for unknowingly supporting an alleged Iranian plot to kidnap activist Masih Alinejad.

Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) and French President Emmanuel Macron (R) speak as they visit the garden of the residence of the Governor of Guangdong, on April 7, 2023, where Chinese President XI Jinping's father, XI Zhongxun lived. (Photo by Jacques WITT / POOL / AFP) (Photo by JACQUES WITT/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

In China, Macron eyes bigger role for France on Iran and Middle East

On the sideline of French efforts to construct a healthy economic relationship with the Chinese giant, Paris also signals it is willing to cooperate with Beijing on talks regarding Iran's nuclear program.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

The USS Florida sails during "Giant Shadow," a Naval Sea Systems Command/Naval Submarine Forces exercise to test the capabilities of the Navy's future guided missile submarines January 22, 2003 off the coast of the Bahamas.

US Navy sends guided-missile submarine to Middle East amid Iran tensions

US show of force comes as Pentagon extends aircraft carrier deployment following last month's lethal attack by Iran-backed militias on US personnel in Syria.

Yorkshire County Cricket Club

Analysis

Yorkshire cricket club is latest UK team to seek Middle East investment

Experts see a growing trend in Middle Eastern investors wanting to get involved in British sports, as countries in the region diversify their economies.

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

CIA Director William Burns testifies during a House Select Committee on Intelligence hearing concerning worldwide threats, on Capitol Hill March 9, 2023 in Washington, DC. The leaders of U.S. intelligence agencies testified on a wide range of issues, including China, Russia, Covid-19 origins, and TikTok. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

CIA director visited Saudi Arabia, aired 'frustration' over Iran, Syria thaw

The CIA director met the country's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and reportedly expressed displeasure with Washington being "blindsided" over agreements brokered by China and Russia.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian (L), Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang (C) and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud (R) in Beijing on April 6, 2023. - SPA

Iran media hails thaw with Saudi Arabia as top diplomats meet in China

Saudi and Iranian foreign ministers met in Beijing on Thursday as China's role expands in the Middle East.