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Iran

October 12, 2026

Tehran 10:36 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

An Iranian man walks past a Qatar Airways branch in the capital Tehran on June 6, 2017.
A ban on Qatari flights imposed by Saudi Arabia and its allies took effect as first efforts were made to resolve the biggest feud to hit the Arab world in years. Saudi Arabia and allies including Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain cut diplomatic ties and transport links with Qatar on Monday, accusing the Gulf state of supporting extremism.
/ AFP PHOTO / ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/A

Iranians debate whether to take advantage of Qatar crisis

The crisis surrounding Qatar has caught the attention of Iranian media, with debate emerging about whether to take advantage of Doha’s isolation from its Arab neighbors.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim (C) arrives to welcome Qatar's Prime Minister Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani (Unseen) before their meeting at Cankaya Mansion in Ankara, on September 8, 2016. / AFP / ADEM ALTAN (Photo credit should read ADEM ALTAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Turkey can't afford to take sides in Qatar crisis

A rattled Ankara is trying to keep to the middle ground in the crisis around its ally Qatar, but its soft calls for dialogue are unlikely to have much impact.

Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal gestures as he announces a new policy document in Doha, Qatar, May 1, 2017. REUTERS/Naseem Zeitoon - RTS14OTL

New 'rules of the game' for Israeli-Hamas standoff

The expulsion from Qatar of Hamas leaders and the movement's reconciliation with Iran has potentially changed the "rules of the game" between Israel and Hamas.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) and Jordan's King Abdullah attend a meeting at the Bocharov Ruchei state residence in Sochi, Russia November 24, 2015. Speaking before a meeting with Jordan's King Abdullah, Putin called Turkey's downing of a Russian fighter jet "a stab in the back" carried out by the accomplices of terrorists, saying the incident would have serious consequences for Moscow's relations with Ankara. REUTERS/Maxim Shipenkov/Pool TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Jordan pins hopes on US-Russian accord on southern Syria

Amid talks about secret trilateral meetings being held in Amman between Jordan, the United States and Russia to establish a de-escalation zone in southern Syria, Jordan would reject the presence of Islamic State militants on its northern borders, or fighters supported by Iran.

The curious timing of the Qatar crisis

The latest Middle East crisis, the rift between Qatar and its Gulf Cooperation Council partners, has come at a sensitive time for the Gulf states.

Smoke rises after shelling on a rebel-held area of Deraa, Syria, June 4, 2017. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Faqir - RTX3909A

Applying the ‘Bosnian model’ to Syria’s crisis

Could the United States and Russia learn from the Dayton Agreement to reach a lasting peace deal in Syria?

A supporter of Iranian president Hassan Rouhani holds his poster as she celebrates his victory in the presidential election, in Tehran, Iran, May 20, 2017. TIMA via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. - RTX36R4M

Re-elected Rouhani now stuck in 'middle-class trap'

The Iranian middle class made sure President Hassan Rouhani was elected to a second term, but if their grievances are not properly addressed, the middle class could also ensure the rise of another hard-liner to power.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivers a speech during a ceremony marking the death anniversary of the founder of the Islamic Republic Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, in Tehran, Iran, June 4, 2017. TIMA via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. - RTX38ZP3

Iran’s supreme leader attacks US for support of Saudi Arabia

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that Iran must not compromise with Western demands.

U.S. President Donald Trump poses for a photo with Arab and Islamic countries' leaders during Arab-Islamic-American Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia May 21, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RTX36UH3

Saudi bloc splinters over hard line on Iran

Riyadh summit may have fueled sectarian animosities; Hamas resets its ties with Iran and Russia.

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.