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Iran

October 11, 2026

Tehran 12:53 pm

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In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia's President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian shake hands during a meeting in Turkmenbashi on Oct. 8, 2026.

Analysis

Putin offers to help end Iran war, but can Russia deliver?

As Washington and Tehran weigh their next moves, Moscow is seeking a diplomatic foothold in a war where influence may prove harder to convert into concrete results.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

US President Donald Trump speaks at the "Golden Age of American Innovation Summit" at the Institute of Peace in Washington, DC, on Oct. 8, 2026.

Trump offers Iran path to nuclear deal while keeping up military pressure

Iran has previously discussed compromises on enrichment.

GRAND ISLAND, NEBRASKA - OCTOBER 05: U.S. President Donald Trump wraps up an appearance at a campaign rally at Pinnacle Bank Expo Center on the Nebraska State Fairgrounds on October 05, 2026 in Grand Island, Nebraska. Trump is campaigning for incumbent U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-NE) and Gov. Jim Pillen ahead of the November midterm elections. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Analysis

Deal or war? Israel fears fallout from Trump’s next move on Iran

Israel is struggling to decipher the White House’s intentions toward Iran, given Washington's contradictions around launching a fresh military campaign.

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

A Baluch Iranian man rides a bicycle in Zahedan, in the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan bordering Afghanistan on Dec. 18, 2025, during a media tour organized by the Iranian government.

Iran’s Sistan and Baluchistan province witnesses uptick in attacks

Iranian authorities accuse foreign-backed armed groups of being behind a string of deadly attacks in the southeast, amid concerns about the resumption of war with the United States.

Latest News

Trump says no Iran strikes before midterms amid ‘productive’ talks

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House on Oct. 7, 2026 in Washington, DC.

Pezeshkian to meet Putin as Iran looks to Russia for support: What to know

Russia's President Vladimir Putin and Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian hold a meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Bishkek, on Sept. 1, 2026.

Meet Mehrdad Akhlaghi Ketabchi, Iran's defense minister nominee

An undated image of Mehrdad Akhlaghi Ketabchi.

Iran joins SCO drill as China resists direct intervention in US-Iran war

Kyrgyz servicemen take part in the "Eurasia-Antiterror 2023" joint military drills

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

Iraqi girls play in a yard of a school in Mosul, Iraq July 18, 2017. REUTERS/Ari Jalal - RC1CE6912440

Is Iran seeking to impose its influence in Iraq's liberated Sunni areas?

The opening of a school in Ninevah province under the name of Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of Iran’s Islamic Revolution, stirred a wide debate within political and public circles in Iraq, as some saw the move as an attempt to provoke some Iraqis.

Participants attend the round of Syria peace talks in Astana, Kazakhstan September 15, 2017. REUTERS/Mukhtar Kholdorbekov - RC18D4821F20

Latest Syria peace talks solidify final de-escalation zone

Russia, Turkey and Iran met with opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime to ink an agreement on the four safe zones.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani delivers remarks at a news conference during the United Nations General Assembly in New York City, U.S. September 20, 2017. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith - RC16C2DAA980

Iran looks to Europe over fate of nuclear deal

At this stage, Iran believes only the European signatories to the nuclear deal can prevent it from collapsing, whether the United States walks away from it or not.

A picture taken on March 22, 2017 near the town of Maardes in the countryside of the central Syrian province of Hama, shows an armoured vehicle carrying rebel fighters, and bearing the flag of the Tahrir al-Sham rebel alliance. / AFP PHOTO / Omar haj kadour (Photo credit should read OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP/Getty Images)

Is this beginning of the end for Idlib's jihadi groups?

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham is facing several setbacks in Idlib including internal discord as foreign powers plan a military offensive against them.

TO GO WITH AFP STORY OF CYRIL JULIEN
A picture shows an Iranian Sunni mosque in the Teis district of the southern Iranian coastal city of Chabahar on May 11, 2015. Chabahar, located on the coast of Sistan-Baluchistan (south-east), is open to the Oman Sea and the Indian Ocean. It is Iran's gateway to Pakistan and Afghanistan in the east, the Central Asian countries to the north, and Turkey and the Gulf countries in the west. AFP PHOTO / ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Imag

Tehran's Sunnis still waiting for their own mosque

The campaign pushing for Iranian authorities to allow the construction of a purpose-built Sunni mosque in Tehran is gaining steam.

Iranians welcome Rouhani’s response to Trump at UN

Most Iranians, with the exception of some hard-liners, praised President Hassan Rouhani for his speech at the UN General Assembly.

U.S. President Donald Trump addresses the 72nd United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York, U.S., September 19, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid - HP1ED9J1MR9WE

Rouhani on Trump UN speech: 'Ignorant, absurd and hateful'

Iranians reacted harshly to US President Donald Trump’s speech at the United Nations against Tehran and the JCPOA.

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

Iranian Sunni worshippers (centre) pray as they stand with Shi'ite Muslims during Tehran's Friday prayers October 14, 2011. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS RELIGION) - GM1E7AE1UKE01

A trip through Iran's Sunni heartland

A journey into Iran's northwest cities of Bukan, Mahabad and Saqqez indicates that while Iranian Sunnis face discrimination, it is rooted in politics, not religion.

At UN, Netanyahu uses Iran threat to sideline Palestinians

In a move that seemed coordinated with the White House, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revived the Iranian nuclear threat in Israel and around the world, pushing the Palestinian issue off the international agenda.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani waits for the arrival of his French counterpart at New York's Millenium Hotel for a meeting on September 18, 2017 on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. / AFP PHOTO / ludovic MARIN (Photo credit should read LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP/Getty Images)

Rouhani tries to talk Europe into saving nuclear deal

Iranian media is abuzz with reports of Rouhani’s attempts to rally Europe to stand up against Trump’s efforts to kill the nuclear deal.

U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley (2nd R) receives information, as U.S. President Donald Trump and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres participate in a session on reforming the United Nations at UN Headquarters in New York, U.S., September 18, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RC12FAAB1990

Trump talks up peace prospects with Netanyahu at UN meeting

The US president made a stirring case for Middle East peace at his UN debut with Netanyahu, but the Israeli leader steered the conversation back to Iran.

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA - APRIL 19: Saudi Arabia's Deputy Crown Prince and Defense Minister Mohammed bin Salman (2nd L) takes his seat to meet with U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis and his delegation on April 19, 2017 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Jonathan Ernst - Pool/Getty Images)

Saudi Arabia stuck with self-inflicted wounds in battle with Iran

Policies driven by a narrow-minded focus on Iran have left Saudi Arabia with self-inflicted wounds, but it is not too late for a course correction.