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Iran

October 12, 2026

Tehran 4:38 am

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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 Shi'ite Muslims from Hashid Shaabi (Popular Mobilization) march during a parade marking the annual al-Quds Day, or Jerusalem Day, in Baghdad, Iraq June 23, 2017. REUTERS/Khalid al Mousily - RTS18BPH

Is Iran running Iraq's Popular Mobilization Units?

Some leaders and members of Iraq's PMU are heavily swayed by Iran, which is pressuring Iraq to distance itself from the United States.

Rise of new Saudi crown prince stirs serious concerns in Iran

While the elevation of Mohammed bin Salman was no surprise to many observers in Tehran, his de facto rule over Saudi Arabia is raising serious concerns in Iran.

People hold up pictures of the victims of the AMIA Jewish center bombing during a ceremony to mark the 22nd anniversary of the 1994 attack that left 85 dead in Buenos Aires, Argentina, July 18, 2016. REUTERS/Enrique Marcarian - RTSIJ2R

Iran ready to work with Interpol over 1994 Argentina bombing

Iran expressed readiness to start talks over its alleged involvement in a 1994 bombing in Argentina.

(down L-R)Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Bolivian president Evo Morales and North Korea's nominal head of state Kim Yong Nam pose during the photo family after the opening ceremony of the Non-Aligned Movement summit in Porlamar, Margarita Island, Venezuela, on September 17, 2016.
With the left increasingly isolated by a crushing political and economic crisis, Venezuela is seeking the support of old friends at the Non-Aligned Moveme

Iran-PA relations continue to nosedive

Palestinians criticized the Fatah parliamentary bloc’s participation in the Iranian opposition conference held recently in Paris, and considered it to be interference in Iran’s internal affairs.

Volunteers, who have joined the Iraqi Army to fight against predominantly Sunni militants, carry weapons and a portrait of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani during a parade in the streets in Baghdad's Sadr city June 14, 2014. An offensive by insurgents that threatens to dismember Iraq seemed to slow on Saturday after days of lightning advances as government forces regained some territory in counter-attacks, easing pressure on the Shi'ite-led government in Baghdad. REUTERS/Wissm al-Okili (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL

Iran congratulates Iraqis on Mosul liberation

A number of Iranian officials congratulated the Iraqi people and the army for the liberation of Mosul, underlying the importance of good relations between the two countries.

Iranian Principlists maneuver to contain hard-liners

Most Principlists are actively working to contain radicals within their camp, but their endeavor isn’t being helped by pride among Reformists riding on the back of consecutive electoral successes.

Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (front seat) arrives to greet U.S. President Donald Trump for his address to the Arab Islamic American Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia May 21, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RTX36VOB

Saudi king shows no signs of slowing aggressive foreign policy

Saudi Arabia has overextended itself militarily and economically and it would behoove it to return to a more traditional approach in its foreign policy.

Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (L) speaks during a news conference with Iraqi Kurdish regional President Masoud Barzani in Arbil, north of Baghdad, August 26, 2014. Iran supplied weapons and ammunition to Iraqi Kurdish forces, Barzani said Tuesday at a joint news conference with Zarif in Arbil, capital of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY CONFLICT CIVIL UNREST) - RTR43T95

Referendum on independent Kurdistan puts Iran at crossroads

While Iran is the only country that has long enjoyed close ties with Iraqi Kurds, the upcoming referendum on independence for Iraqi Kurdistan puts it at a crossroads.

Iraqi-Kurdistan

Two-year-old Emad is evacuated during an attack on the Iranian parliament in central Tehran, Iran, June 7, 2017. Omid Vahabzadeh/TIMA via REUTERS/ File Photo ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. THIS PICTURE WAS PROCESSED BY REUTERS TO ENHANCE QUALITY. AN UNPROCESSED VERSION HAS BEEN PROVIDED SEPARATELY. SEARCH "IRAN EMAD" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTS181NE

IRGC makes changes in Tehran after Islamic State attacks

The commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has made two important changes within its units in Tehran.

Europe must adopt long-term vision for trade with Iran

European countries are pressuring Iran to change its foreign policy in exchange for profitable trade deals, but this approach may backfire and damage the standing of incumbent moderates in Tehran.

Hamas Chief Ismail Haniyeh looks up before giving a speech in Gaza City July 5, 2017. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem - RTX3A66V

Hamas turns to Iran

Instead of trying to appease tensions with Egypt and the Palestinian Authority, head of Hamas' political bureau Ismail Haniyeh makes provocative statements about rapprochement with Iran.

Ali Kardor (2-L), Managing Director of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), Patrick Pouyanne, Chairman and CEO of French energy company Total (C-L), Ezzatollah Akbari (3-R), Managing Director of Petropars Group and CNPC International president Lyu Gongxun (2-R) sign an offshore gas field agreement in Tehran, on July 3, 2017.
French energy giant Total defied US pressure, signing a multi-billion-dollar gas deal with Iran, the first by a European firm in more than a decade. / AFP PHOTO / ATTA KENARE

Iran signs first energy contract since nuclear deal

Iran's first energy deal since the lifting of nuclear-related sanctions on the country is a major breakthrough in the development of the massive South Pars gas field.