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Iran

October 11, 2026

Tehran 10:27 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

Iranian president Hassan Rouhani arrives for his swearing-in ceremony for a further term, at the parliament in Tehran, Iran, August 5, 2017. Nazanin Tabatabaee Yazdi/TIMA via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RTS1AIIV

Rouhani’s proposed second-term Cabinet draws ire

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's proposed second-term Cabinet draws criticism from both moderates and Reformists.

Iran steps up pressure on Iraqi Kurds to halt referendum

Iran is stepping up pressure on Iraqi Kurdish political parties to refrain from holding their upcoming referendum on independence.

Iranian MPs face backlash over selfies with Mogherini

Iran's parliamentarians are under fire for taking selfies with visiting EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini.

A man takes a picture of his daugther near the Kurdistan flag at the castle of Erbil, Iraq, July 29,2017. REUTERS/Khalid Al-Mousily - RTS19OL9

Iraqi Kurdistan’s risky independence referendum

Iraqi Kurdistan President Massoud Barzani may seek leverage from Sunni Arabs to balance opposition from Baghdad, Tehran and Ankara.

Rouhani uses inauguration to send message of moderation

Endorsed by Iran's supreme leader and sworn in at the parliament, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani begins his second term with a message of moderation and continued focus on constructive engagement with the world.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meets with Iraqi Shi'ite leader Muqtada al-Sadr in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia July 30, 2017. Bandar Algaloud/Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RTS19RFJ

Saudi Arabia engages Iraq after a quarter century

A resurgence of Saudi diplomacy with Iraq is aimed at keeping Iranian regional power in check.

A picture taken in the capital Tehran on July 16, 2017 shows the front pages of Iranian newspapers bearing portraits of the top female scientist Maryam Mirzakhani, who died of cancer a day earlier.
Iranian-born mathematician, who became the first woman to win the coveted Fields Medal in 2014, died on July 15 in a US hospital after the breast cancer she had been battling for four years spread to her bone marrow, at the age of 40. / AFP PHOTO / ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Get

Talent continues to leave Iran in droves

The untimely death of Iranian-American math genius Maryam Mirzakhani gives rise to renewed debate on the issue of "brain drain" in Iran.

Iraqi fighters from Hashid Shaabi take part in a training at Makhmur camp in Iraq December 11, 2016. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem - RTX2UHUL

Iraq, Iran struggle for control over Popular Mobilization Units

The Popular Mobilization Units are divided into two rival groups, with some wanting to join the Iraqi army and others wanting to remain independent.

Clouds pass behind the White House in Washington, U.S., August 3, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts - RTS1AASJ

Iran hawks, Bannon loyalists booted in White House purge

A civil war for the soul of the Donald Trump administration has emerged into the open, pitting a motley array of anti-globalists and Iran hawks against more moderate national security professionals.

Rouhani officially begins second term

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is set to begin his second term after being officially endorsed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani waves as he stands next to a portrait of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, after he registered for February's election of the Assembly of Experts, the clerical body that chooses the supreme leader, at Interior Ministry in Tehran December 21, 2015. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi/TIMA ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTX1ZKHQ

Rouhani, Reformists battle over Cabinet picks

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani is facing pushback over his second-term Cabinet appointments.

A picture taken on August 1, 2017 in Istanbul shows attendees participating in the Executive Committee Meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). / AFP PHOTO / OZAN KOSE (Photo credit should read OZAN KOSE/AFP/Getty Images)

Iran-Saudi handshake offers glimmer of hope for talks

Iranian media welcome the Iranian and Saudi foreign ministers’ handshake in Istanbul, viewing it as a possible beginning of talks between Tehran and Riyadh.