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Iran

September 30, 2026

Tehran 9:56 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

ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

Iran-Pakistan ties tighten in economic commission

Iran has been seeking better ties with the South Asian country since the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan.

Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and his deputy and chief nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani, in Tehran on Aug. 16, 2022.

Iran nuclear deal: The devil remains in the details

The White House denies any concessions beyond the 2015 deal.

A picture taken on Jan. 17, 2016, shows a medical bus escorted by German and American police leaving the US air base.

Tehran urges US to immediately release jailed Iranians

Iran's demand came as expectations were growing for a prisoner swap alongside an EU-mediated possible agreement on reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

Iran oil

Analysis

The Takeaway: Iran deal may come too late to stave off energy crisis in Europe

Turkey’s mysterious foreign currency; Israel and Russia; Islamic Jihad says Tel Aviv reneges on truce; Palestinian activists claim social media crackdown; Iraq’s Coordination Framework.

Andrew Parasiliti

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Andrew Parasiliti , Elizabeth Hagedorn

ALEX HALADA/AFP via Getty Images

Iran’s response to EU conveys 'initiatives' on restoring nuclear deal

After submitting its response to the European Union’s proposal on reviving the 2015 nuclear deal, Iran says it's waiting answers on its own “practical ideas and initiatives.”

Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani.

Iran sends EU response on text to revive nuclear deal

An advisor to Iran's negotiating team said the two sides are "closer than we've been before."

Author Salman Rushdie at the Blue Sofa during the 2017 Frankfurt Book Fair (Frankfurter Buchmesse), Frankfurt am Main, Germany, Oct. 12, 2017.

Hard-line Iranian media praises Rushdie attack

Hard-liners in Iranian media have praised the attack on author Salman Rushdie.

KARIM JAAFAR/AFP via Getty Images

Republicans push Biden to deny Raisi’s visa request

President Ebrahim Raisi’s planned address to the UN General Assembly comes weeks after the Department of Justice charged an Iranian national with plotting to kill former US official John Bolton.

Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi.

Iranian government intensifies crackdown

Iran has arrested three of its most prominent filmmakers.

Salman Rushdie

Culture

Explainer: Salman Rushdie stabbed on NY stage; Iran denies involvement

The Indian-British author whose novel provoked the ire of the late Ayatollah Khomeini was stabbed by an apparent Iranian government sympathizer in New York.

YASIN AKGUL/AFP via Getty Images

Tracker: ships carry grain from Ukraine to Middle East

Ships have left Ukraine for Turkey, Iran and elsewhere since the agreement between Ukraine and Russia on safe passage through the Black Sea.

Russia's governor to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Mikhail Ulyanov.

Restoring Iran deal may see trade-off between past, present knowledge

Sticking points to kickstarting the Iran nuclear deal include Iran’s "demand that the IAEA end its investigation of uranium particles found at three sites in 2019."