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Iran

August 11, 2026

Tehran 12:39 pm

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image of Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei

Iran’s Khamenei appoints six military commanders: What to know

The appointments, which replace figures killed in the war, follow Khamenei naming a new leader of the Islamic Republic’s top security body.

Mohsen Rezai

Explainer

Who is Iran’s Mohsen Rezaei, hard-line IRGC veteran appointed to top security post?

Mohsen Rezaei's appointment comes as Iran navigates a fragile halt in hostilities with the US and negotiations over reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

This aerial photograph shows boats anchored off Oman's northern Musandam Peninsula near the Strait of Hormuz on June 27, 2026.

Analysis

How Hormuz crisis is boosting IRGC and Iran’s security establishment

Iran’s Hormuz strategy shows how the prolonged crisis is shifting power from political institutions toward the security establishment.

Jamshid Jamshidi

By Jamshid Jamshidi

Latest News

Analysis

How Saudi-Turkey-Pakistan pact puts Iran's regional strategy to test

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and Pakistani Prime Minister Shebaz Sharif in Mecca after signing the defense pact, Aug. 7, 2026.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Analysis

Jordan shores up US lifelines as Iran targets Amman’s reliance on Washington

US President Donald Trump (R) meets with Jordanian King Abdullah II in the Oval Office of the White House, Washington, DC, Feb. 11, 2025.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Analysis

As US rethinks regional presence, Israel shifts focus to destabilizing Iran

Hussein FALEH / AFP via Getty Images

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

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

Jordan keeps close tabs on southern Syria amid heightened tensions

With reports that Iranian militias have withdrawn from southern Syria and the army is preparing to launch a military assault against rebels there, Jordan fears the cease-fire agreement could be jeopardized.

Iranian student stands up to Khamenei, calls for democratization

Iran’s supreme leader met with a group of students and responded to a number of criticisms of his performance.

Can the EU meet Iran’s expectations for keeping nuclear deal?

As Iran and other remaining signatories to the JCPOA labor to keep the nuclear deal intact, rising regime cohesion amid Ayatollah Khamenei’s outlining of effective “red lines” indicate the predominance of realism in Tehran.

Putin, Macron explore what they have to offer each other on Iran, Syria

The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum set the stage for French President Emmanuel Macron to pursue a broad agenda and perhaps bring his country and Russia closer regarding Syria and Iran.

Iran-Israel restraint may hinge on nuclear deal

As tensions between Iran and Israel reach new highs, saving the nuclear deal could be the only path to containing further dangerous escalation in the region.

Israel pushes US to recognize Golan Heights sovereignty

Some Israeli senior officials believe the Trump administration might agree to recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights.

Iraqi Shiite cleric and leader Moqtada al-Sadr (C-L) shows his ink-stained index finger and holds a national flag while surrounded by people outside a polling station in the central holy city of Najaf on May 12, 2018 as the country votes in the first parliamentary election since declaring victory over the Islamic State (IS) group. - Polling stations opened at 7:00 am for the roughly 24.5 million registered voters to cast their ballots across the conflict-scarred nation. (Photo by Haidar HAMDANI / AFP)

Iraq's Sadr sends positive sign to both the US and Iran

In an attempt to prevent the United States and Iran from objecting to his move toward forming the new Iraqi government, Sadr sends positive messages to both, stating that he will not stand against them.

TEHRAN, IRAN - JULY 12: Young Iranian high-tech and start-up specialists work their computers at Sarava, a local venture capital firm that invests in start-ups at Pardis Technology Park, 15 miles east of Tehran, Iran, on July 12, 2015. After the Iran nuclear deal was signed on July 14 that will lift sanctions in exchange for capping Iran's nuclear program, Iranian companies are preparing to return to global financial and trade networks, and expect billions of dollars in investments. President Hassan Rouhani

How US sanctions will impact Iranian startups

While established Iranian startups are likely to withstand the impact of US sanctions, the return of increasing tension between Tehran and Washington will nonetheless choke investment and business confidence.

Yahya Sinwar leader of the Islamist Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip, speaks during a protest east of Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip on April 6, 2018, demanding the right to return -- meaning Palestinian refugees being allowed to go back to the land they fled or were expelled from during the 1948 war surrounding Israel's creation. - Clashes erupted on the Gaza-Israel border a week after similar demonstrations led to violence in which Israeli force killed 19 Palestinians, the bloodiest day since a 20

Can Hamas spin itself out of crisis?

Recent remarks by Hamas Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar about Iran assisting the movement to grow stronger are intended to sideline criticism within the Gaza Strip against it, and to pressure Israel into accepting a long-term cease-fire.

Iran's supreme leader gives Europe list of demands to salvage nuclear deal

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei outlined conditions that Europe must take if Iran is to remain in the nuclear deal.

Kuwait's Emir Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah (L) and U.S. President Donald Trump hold a news conference after their meetings at the White House in Washington, U.S. September 7, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RC182A22B640

Kuwait's careful balancing act with Iran, Saudi Arabia

The muted responses to the US withdrawal from the Iran deal among smaller Gulf Cooperation Council member states reflect careful policies designed to balance ties with Iran and Saudi Arabia.

A Syrian boy holds the Iranian flag as a truck carrying aid provided by Iran arrives in the eastern city of Deir Ezzor on September 20, 2017 while Syrian government forces continue to press forward with Russian air cover in the offensive against Islamic State group jihadists across the province.
Two separate offensives are under way against the jihadists in the area -- one by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, the other by Russian-backed government forces. The Syrian army now controls around 70 percent

Iran rejects removing forces from Syria

Iranian officials have rejected the idea of pulling forces from Syria.