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Iran

August 14, 2026

Tehran 5:02 am

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Motorists drive vehicles past a billboard depicting Iran's late supreme leader Ali Khamenei along a street in central Tehran on August 8, 2026. Hopes for an imminent US-Iran deal to end the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz added to optimism that oil and gas, along with other key products, would again start flowing freely after more than five months of war. But oil prices turned higher ahead of the weekend in the absence of any confirmation of an accord, amid reports that Iran was planning to block US and Is

Explainer

What would BRICS Bank membership mean for Iran's reeling economy?

Iran’s Central Bank governor said the country will soon join the New Development Bank as he traveled to India this week for a meeting of the group’s finance leaders.

A photograph obtained from the Iranian Students’ News Agency shows an oil slick along the southern coast of Qeshm Island, Iran, August 13, 2026.

Oil spills off Oman, Iran's Qeshm Island reap environmental havoc amid war

One oil leak off the coast of Oman is estimated to cover more than 772 square miles, devastating local habitats.

Children swimming in the Strait of Hormuz

Iran’s Hormuz authority denies Trump claims of control over strait: What to know

Trump administration officials have said oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz are rising, but maritime traffic remains diminished.

Latest News

Hormuz traffic sinks to one-week low as ships attacked, talks stagnate

port attack

Analysis

What Qaani's Baghdad visit reveals about Iran's post-war dilemma

The commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Esmail Qaani, speaks during a commemoration ceremony marking the anniversary of the 2020 killing of Guards general Qasem Soleimani (on screen) in the capital Tehran on Jan. 3, 2024.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

IRGC chief Qaani reportedly in Iraq ahead of militia deadline

Qaani

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

Members of the Sinjar Resistance Units (YBS), a militia affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), sit with an Arab tribal fighter (L) in a house in the village of Umm al-Dhiban, northern Iraq, April 30, 2016. They share little more than an enemy and struggle to communicate on the battlefield, but together two relatively obscure groups have opened up a new front against Islamic State militants in a remote corner of Iraq. The unlikely alliance between the Sinjar Resistance Units, an offshoot of a le

Despite deadly border clash, Iran-PKK war unlikely

Though attributed to the PJAK, the recent deadly border clash along Iran’s border with Turkey involved the PKK and is unlikely to escalate.

In eye of regional storm, Hamas pushed closer to Tehran

Iran has recently welcomed the election of Hamas’ new leadership, which raises questions about Hamas’ next step in forming and mending its regional relations.

Kurdish Regional Government President Masoud Barzani speaks to the media during his visits in the town of Bashiqa, after it was recaptured from the Islamic State, east of Mosul, Iraq, November 16, 2016. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari - RTX2TYYB

Iraqi Kurdistan faces many obstacles to independence referendum

Amid a strong regional disagreement, Iraqi Kurdistan is insisting on holding a referendum on independence in the fall.

TOPSHOT - A Bahraini protester holds a placard depicting a portrait of Sheikh Ali Salman, head of the Shiite opposition movement al-Wefaq, during clashes with riot police following a protest against Salman's arrest in the village of Sitra, south of the capital Manama, on January 29, 2016. / AFP / MOHAMMED AL-SHAIKH (Photo credit should read MOHAMMED AL-SHAIKH/AFP/Getty Images)

Bahrainis' shrinking political space

The Bahraini government is sending a message about loyalty to its population by removing the organizations representing its Shiite and secular opposition from the political arena.

Iranian president Hassan Rouhani gestures during 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. - RTX372F9

Iranian hard-liners launch wave of attacks on Rouhani administration

Iranian hard-liners have launched a new wave of attacks against the administration of recently re-elected President Hassan Rouhani.

Tehran, Washington set for proxy clash on Syrian-Iraqi border

Due to its strategic position and impact on the future of Syria, the Iraqi-Syrian border is likely to be the site of a new conflict between the allies of Washington and Tehran soon after the Mosul operation concludes.

An Iranian woman takes pictures with her mobile phone in front of a portrait of Ali Motahari, a candidate for the upcoming parliamentary elections, during a campaign meeting in Tehran on February 23, 2016.
Iranians go to the polls on February 26, 2016 to elect a new 290-seat parliament and the powerful Assembly of Experts which supervises the work of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. / AFP / BEHROUZ MEHRI (Photo credit should read BEHROUZ MEHRI/AFP/Getty Images)

Iranian hard-liners lose battle over parliament leadership

Iranian hard-liners fail to prevent outspoken member of parliament Ali Motahari from being re-elected as deputy parliament speaker while parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani remains in his post.

This young Iranian rapper may have cost Raisi the presidency

Iranians wonder whether hard-line presidential candidate Ebrahim Raisi’s attempt to attract young voters by meeting with an underground rapper cost him the election.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif meets with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras (not pictured) at his office at the Maximos Mansion in Athens, Greece, April 23, 2017. REUTERS/Michalis Karagiannis - RTS13KI8

Questions about Zarif as Rouhani’s second term agenda emerges

Major questions remain about Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s foreign policy approach for the next four years.

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

Iranian judiciary chief attacks Rouhani over promise to free opposition leaders

Iran’s judiciary chief attacks the president over his campaign promise to free the leaders of the Green Movement.

The commander of the Iranian border guards Qassim Rezai speaks during a press conference with his Iraqi counterpart, Musatafa Abdulkarim, after signing a cooperation agreement between the two countries on April 22, 2015 in of Arbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq. AFP PHOTO / SAFIN HAMED (Photo credit should read SAFIN HAMED/AFP/Getty Images)

Iran blames Turkey for PKK-affiliate clash on border

An Iranian Kurdish militia's attack on Iranian border guards has further muddled the often contradictory actions of Turkey, Iran and their respective proxies and enemies who occasionally double up as both.

U.S. President Donald Trump (4-L) speaks with Oman's Deputy Prime Minister Fahd bin Mahmoud Al-Said (3-L) during a family photo with Gulf Cooperation Council leaders at their summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia May 21, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RTX36TI7

In wake of Trump visit, Saudi-led Sunni bloc already splintering

Less than two weeks after Trump's summit in Saudi Arabia, "Arab NATO" is showing signs of division due to fears of widening the regional political divide and doubts over Washington's reliability.