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Iran

May 18, 2026

Tehran 6:43 pm

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Amid FARAHI / AFP via Getty Images

Iran confiscates assets of 129 alleged ‘traitors’ in West Azerbaijan province

Iranian authorities have cracked down on people accused of collaborating with the US and Israel since the war erupted in February while fears of renewed fighting remain high amid stalled peace talks.

Iranian cargo trucks cross into the Pakistan-Iran border at Taftan, Balochistan province, on June 18, 2025, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran.

Analysis

Pakistan’s six corridors offer Iran a trade lifeline, could outlast Hormuz crisis

Sabena Siddiqui

By Sabena Siddiqui

In Karachi, reporting on South Asia, Middle East, Iran

Women shop from a street vendor at Enghelab Square in the capital Tehran on Nov. 11, 2025.

Analysis

From hoarding to unemployment: Iran's economy buckles under US pressure

Iran's fast-rising inflation is driving aggressive state market controls, exposing deeper structural strains from war, sanctions and declining consumer confidence.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Latest News

Analysis

How the Iran war is exposing a growing Saudi-UAE divide

Explosions rattled buildings in Dubai and a large cloud of smoke hung over a central area of the Middle East financial hub on March 13, 2026.

Francesco Schiavi

By Francesco Schiavi

In Bologna, reporting on security, defense, economy, governance

Analysis

‘A reckless act’: Netanyahu sparks UAE fury by claiming secret visit

US President Donald Trump talks to UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan as he departs the Al Bateen Executive Airport on May 15, 2025, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

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

Uptick in Chinese tankers transiting Hormuz amid Trump-Xi summit

Jag Vasant, an Indian-flagged tanker carrying liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) that transited through the Strait of Hormuz amid the Middle East war, remains docked at an offloading terminal along the coast in Mumbai on April 1, 2026.

United Arab Emirates

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's economy a 'masterpiece of structural ambiguity'

For President Hassan Rouhani to realize his campaign pledge to revive the Iranian economy, he must find a way to rein in the quasi-state sector.

U.S. President Donald trump speaks during a lunch meeting with Senate Republicans to discuss healthcare at the White House in Washington, U.S., July 19, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RTX3C3ZR

Trump risks fallout from Iran deal assault

US President Donald Trump, in seeking options to exit the Iran nuclear deal, may jeopardize his administration’s goal of containing Iran’s other troubling behaviors.

Supporters of Iran's President Hassan Rouhani hold his posters during a campaign rally in Tehran, Iran, May 17, 2017. Picture taken May 17, 2017. TIMA via Reuters ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. - RTX36BFG

Victories put Iranian Reformists on path to repeat past failures

Consecutive electoral victories are giving rise to infighting in the Reformist camp.

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on leaving the office to report, film or take pictures in Tehran.

A security official talks to journalists in front of Bushehr main nuclear reactor, 1,200 km (746 miles) south of Tehran, August 21, 2010. Iran began fuelling its first nuclear power plant on Saturday, a potent symbol of its growing regional sway and rejection of international sanctions designed to prevent it building a nuclear bomb. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi

Iranians support restarting nuclear program if US backs out of deal

A growing percentage of Iranians also support their country’s military intervention in Syria in the aftermath of terrorist attacks in Tehran, according to a new poll.

An Iranian woman uses a mobile phone as a bank clerk proceeds her request at the Export Development Bank of Iran in the capital Tehran on July 27, 2015. Iran's central bank chief said that Iran has assets of $29 billion in overseas banks that could be unlocked under a nuclear deal struck on July 14, far less than reported estimates of over $100 billion. AFP PHOTO / BEHROUZ MEHRI (Photo credit should read BEHROUZ MEHRI/AFP/Getty Images)

Without reforms, Iranian banking crisis looms

As he prepares to begin his second term, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is faced with the prospect of a major banking crisis.

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on leaving the office to report, film or take pictures in Tehran.

Iran's presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi (3rd R) joins a crowd of supporters in Tehran June 17, 2009. REUTERS/Demotix (IRAN POLITICS ELECTIONS CONFLICT) - RTR24RIO

Iranian MPs request to visit imprisoned opposition leader

After news that Mehdi Karroubi and Mir Hossein Mousavi are reportedly suffering from serious illnesses, some are calling for their release.

A cleric speaks on his mobile phone on the campus of the Seminary in Qom, 120 km (75 miles) south of Tehran February 3, 2009. REUTERS/Caren Firouz (IRAN) - RTXB72O

Women gain foothold at Iran's seminaries

In Iran, institutional change in favor of women’s participation at seminaries is moving ahead at an exceptional pace.

Iranian president Hassan Rouhani takes part in a press conference near the United Nations General Assembly in the Manhattan borough of New York, U.S., September 22, 2016. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson - RTSP0V5

Rouhani: US House bill repetition of past sanctions

Iranian leaders indicate they are readying a response to the US House of Representatives passing fresh sanctions on the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the country’s ballistic missile program.

FILE PHOTO: Iranian-made Emad missile is displayed during a ceremony marking the 37th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, in Tehran February 11, 2016. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi/File Photo - RTX37KIM

Congress closes in on first new Iran sanctions since nuclear deal

Tehran has vowed to retaliate if a US bill imposing additional sanctions on Iran becomes law.

An official from Kuwait's interior ministry puts up a poster on July 20, 2017 in a Citizen Service Centre in Kuwait City, of fugitives convicted of belonging to a cell that had been formed and trained by Iran's Revolutionary Guards who were accused of plotting attacks in the state.
Kuwait expelled Iranian diplomats and closed some embassy missions after the emirate's top court convicted a "terror" cell of links to the Islamic republic, prompting Iran to threaten reciprocal measures. / AFP PHOTO / Yasser Al-

Kuwait-Iran diplomatic row could have wide-ranging impact

Kuwait's expulsion of Iranian diplomats over the Abdali terror cell case may affect domestic politics, business deals and Iranian relations with the Gulf Cooperation Council.

Surprise meeting sparks talk of Rouhani-IRGC conciliation

Commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps met with President Hassan Rouhani, giving rise to speculation that the two sides are ready to bury the hatchet after a period of public feuding.

Iranian president Hassan Rouhani arrives for a news conference in Tehran, Iran, May 22, 2017. TIMA via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. - RTX371X2

Inflation likely to rise in Rouhani’s second term

Despite its drastic cut in inflation to single digits for the first time in years, reports predict that Iran will see a return to its usual high inflation rates.