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Iran

September 30, 2026

Ostān-e Tehrān 3:47 am

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A woman crosses a street near a giant billboard erected on the facade of a building depicting a member of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps placing his foot on a US sea drone, reportedly seized by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz, in Vanak Square in Tehran, on Sept. 24, 2026.

Analysis

As Iran’s grip on Hormuz weakens, what leverage does Tehran have left?

Six months into the war, Iran's grip on the Strait of Hormuz is weakening. The world is slowly learning to live with it, oil flows are recovering, alternative routes are expanding and Tehran's own economy is bearing the cost of keeping the waterway under pressure.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Iranian-made Zolfaghar missiles are seen on display beside a large portrait of Iran's supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei at Baharestan Square in Tehran on Sept. 28, 2026.

After indirect talks, new US sanctions target Iran's weapons supply

The latest sanctions come after the two sides held another round of indirect talks over a possible deal to end the war.

Saudi stocks hit wartime low as Aramco slides, Gulf oil exports rebound

Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All-Share Index fell 1.17% on Tuesday, dragged down by oil giant Aramco, as investors digested signs that Gulf oil exports are recovering.

A man counts Iranian rial notes

Iran’s rial hits record low as pressure on oil exports mounts

The rial was trading at more than 2.5 million to the dollar in Tehran's open market on Tuesday.

Latest News

Iran’s IRGC slams Trump as Ghalibaf threatens oil infrastructure

Ghalibaf

Iraq announces Iran flights to resume: What to know

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.

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

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

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

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

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 rials

Iran wants to use national currencies with Caspian states

At the Caspian Economic Forum, Iran promoted the idea, which would allow it to evade international financial sanctions.

AFP via Getty Images

Security forces reportedly fire on crowds as protests rock Kurdish city

Iranian security forces have been seen firing indiscriminately into residential neighborhoods in the Kurdish city of Sanandaj, which has hot spot of anti-government protests.

ROSH HANIKRA, ISRAEL - OCTOBER 11: Wind surfers surf by an Israeli navy boat in the mediterranean sea at the Israeli side of the border with Lebanon on October 11, 2022 in Rosh Hanikra, Israel. The agreement should resolve a territorial dispute in the eastern Mediterranean sea, where Lebanon wants to explore for natural gas. Israel is already extracting natural gas at nearby fields. (Photo by Amir Levy/Getty Images)

New PRO Memo: Israel-Lebanon maritime agreement to prompt working relations

Israel and Lebanon stand to gain much more than just new maritime borders after their recent deal. (access now with a free trial)

A picture obtained by AFP outside Iran on Sept. 21, 2022, shows Iranian demonstrators taking to the streets of the capital Tehran during a protest for Mahsa Amini, days after she died in police custody.

Iran’s Raisi heckled by female students as more protesters killed

Several deaths were reported in yet another day of turmoil in Iran, with women and men taking to the streets to confront armed riot police.

Iran protest

Teen deaths mark new episode in Iran's crackdown on protests

While the case of Mahsa Amini's death in custody is still far from being settled, Iranian officials have been embroiled by one report after another on the killing of teenage protesters.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Iran protests put Turkish government in tight spot

As their Western partners strongly react to the Iranian protests, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his administration remain curiously quiet.

A picture obtained by AFP outside Iran on Sept. 21, 2022, shows Iranian demonstrators taking to the streets of the capital Tehran during a protest for Mahsa Amini, days after she died in police custody.

US targets senior Iranian officials with new sanctions

Those sanctioned include Iran's interior and communications ministers.

Iranians walk past Sepah Bank in the capital Tehran, on June 15, 2022. - Iran has been wrestling with rampant price growth for years, exceeding 30 percent annually every year since 2018, according to the International Monetary Fund. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran's banking sector faces hurdles to reconnect to global financial system post-sanctions

Bijan Khajehpour

Bijan Khajehpour

In Vienna, reporting on Iranian politics

The flag of Iran is seen in front of the building of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Headquarters ahead of a press conference by Rafael Grossi, Director General of the IAEA, about the agency's monitoring of Iran's nuclear energy program on May 24, 2021 in Vienna, Austria.

Analysis

The Takeaway: As protests rage, is Iran moving toward nuclear deal?

Netanyahu weighs in on Israel-Lebanon gas deal; Russia relies on Iranian drones in Ukraine; Israel escalates raids in West Bank; Lebanon pegs lira to dollar; democracy under siege in Tunisia.

Andrew Parasiliti

By Andrew Parasiliti

A boy looks on during a candlelight vigil to pay tribute to those who have died protesting the death of Mahsa Amini.

Iran says average age of arrested protesters is 15

According to Iranian authorities, those protesting Mahsa Amini's death are some of the youngest ever seen in the country.

Namazi

Detained US citizen Baquer Namazi leaves Iran after six years

After arriving in the United Arab Emirates, 85-year-old Baquer Namazi will undergo urgent surgery at the Cleveland Clinic.

A protestor shouts slogans during a demonstration against the Iranian regime.

Iran unrest takes new turn as schoolgirls join protests

A fresh episode was seen in raging protests across Iran as schoolgirls defiantly twirled headscarves and chanted against Iran's supreme leader, who ordered a crackdown on the protesters.