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Iran

October 12, 2026

Ostān-e Tehrān 2:46 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

An Iranian Sunni Kurd couple is seen near Marivan in Kurdistan province, 512 km (320 miles) west of Tehran May 13, 2011. Iranian Shi'ite and Sunni Kurds live in harmony with each other in Marivan, although Sunni is the religion of the majority of the people. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl (IRAN - Tags: SOCIETY RELIGION) - RTR2ME01

Iran’s Kurds voice frustrations, hopes heading into election

Security and the economy remain high on the list of priorities for Iranian Kurds who depend on the smuggling of goods into their country.

Iranian presidential candidate Ebrahim Raisi (R-2) holds hands with former presidential candidate and mayor of Tehran, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf (L), as he greets his supporters during a campaign rally at Imam Khomeini Mosque in the capital Tehran on May 16, 2017.
Iran's presidential election on May 19 is effectively a choice between moderate incumbent Hassan Rouhani and hardline jurist Raisi, with major implications for everything from civil rights to relations with Washington. / AFP PHOTO / ATTA KENARE

After his withdrawal from presidential race, who will get Tehran mayor's votes?

Although Tehran Mayor Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has withdrawn from the presidential race and urged his supporters to back fellow conservative Ebrahim Raisi, there are doubts about voters heeding his call.

A girl holds posters of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani during a campaign rally in Tehran, Iran, May 17, 2017. Picture taken May 17, 2017. TIMA via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. - RTX36BFD

In final day before vote, Rouhani lashes out at Iran’s hard-liners

In his final campaign speech, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani issued criticisms of his main conservative rival, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Basij and state TV.

A ballistic missile is launched and tested in an undisclosed location, Iran, March 9, 2016. REUTERS/Mahmood Hosseini/TIMA ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS IMAGE. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. NO THIRD PARTY SALES. NOT FOR USE BY REUTERS THIRD PARTY DISTRIBUTORS. THIS PICTURE IS DISTRIBUTED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO

Trump waives nuclear sanctions but slaps Iran on missiles, human rights

The Trump administration sanctioned seven new entities for their alleged role in Iran’s ballistic missile program even as it complied with the letter of the nuclear deal.

Iranian Presidential candidate Ebrahim Raisi speaks during a campaign meeting at the Mosalla mosque in Tehran, Iran, May 16, 2017. REUTERS/TIMA ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. - RTX363P5

Do Iran's conservatives have a foreign policy agenda?

While Iran's 2013 presidential election focused primarily on foreign policy issues, this year's election is all about the economy.

Iranian Parliament speaker Ali Larijani (L) speaks with Hassan Khomeini, grandson of Iran's late founder of the Islamic Republic, during a mourning ceremony for the former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani at the Jamaran mosque in Tehran on January 9, 2017.
Rafsanjani died in hospital on January 8 after suffering a heart attack. Rafsanjani, who was 82, was a pivotal figure in the foundation of the Islamic republic in 1979, and served as president from 1989 to 1997. / AFP / ATTA KENARE (Photo

Khomeini family breaks taboo, backs Rouhani

For the first time after the demise of the founder of the Islamic Republic, the family of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini has expressed support for a candidate in a presidential election.

Who's behind campaign to probe Rouhani's doctoral thesis?

Accusations of plagiarism in President Hassan Rouhani’s doctoral thesis first surfaced in 2013. Four years later, ahead of Iran’s May 19 presidential election, a group of students has decided to look into the matter more closely.

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif attends a press conference in Berlin, Germany, June 15, 2016. REUTERS/Axel Schmidt - RTX2GGHH

Trump expected to waive Iran sanctions today

Issuing the waivers would be a sign of the Trump administration’s begrudging inclination to go along with the nuclear deal, at least for now, even as it huddles with Sunni allies and Israel to push back on Iranian expansionism.

U.S. President Donald Trump boards Air Force One as he departs from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, U.S. May 17, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RTX367P8

Did Trump endanger Israeli-US intelligence cooperation?

Israel is at loss over revelations that President Donald Trump exposed sensitive intelligence information to Russia.

Iranian presidential candidate Ebrahim Raisi looks on during a campaign rally in the capital Tehran on April 29, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)

The reason Tehran's mayor dropped out of presidential race

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the Tehran mayor and one of the leading conservative candidates, withdraws from the presidential race in Iran.

Tehran Mayor and Iranian presidential candidate Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf speaks at a campaign rally in Khomeinishahr in central Iran June 10, 2013. The Iranian presidential election will be held on June 14. Picture taken June 10, 2013. REUTERS/Fars News (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS PICTURE IS DISTRIBUTED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS -

Why Tehran's mayor just can’t seem to win over Iranian voters

Are Tehran Mayor Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf’s constant transformations responsible for the premature end of his third bid for the Iranian presidency in the past 12 years?

A satellite view of Sednaya prison complex near Damascus, Syria is seen in a still image from a video briefing provided by the U.S. State Department on May 15, 2017. Department of State/DigitalGlobe/Handout via REUTERSFOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNSTHIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS - RTX35Z4Y

Trump demands Russia, Iran halt Assad atrocities ahead of any deal

The Donald Trump administration accuses Bashar al-Assad's regime of building a crematorium to cover up evidence of mass murder.