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Iran

October 12, 2026

Tehran 4:44 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

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

Iran's dark horse candidate for president

Conservative cleric Ebrahim Raisi is attempting to project a nonpartisan image while adopting stronger positions against incumbent Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.

Iran’s Rouhani shifts strategy in presidential race

Iran’s moderate president, Hassan Rouhani, has changed his tactics, attacking his conservative rivals who are determined to unseat him.

Financial tech gaining steam in Iran

In addition to trying to lure foreign investors, Iranian authorities hope to boost the country’s struggling finance sector by jumpstarting the country’s fledgling fintech industry.

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

Khamenei increases pressure on Rouhani ahead of elections

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's criticism of a UNESCO program promoting gender equality is seen as an attack on President Hassan Rouhani.

Iranian presidential candidate Ebrahim Raisi greets his supporters 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)

Rouhani’s rivals are making pledges Iran cannot afford

While incumbent Hassan Rouhani’s main challengers in the Iranian presidential race are making grand pledges of bigger cash handouts and more jobs, there is little to suggest that the promises can be realized.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan makes a speech at the ruling AK Party's headquarters in Ankara, Turkey, May 2, 2017. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RTS14S9L

Can Ankara ever balance its policy in Syria?

Turkey, Iran and Russia sign an agreement to establish safe zones in Syria, but the United States voices its concerns.

Nuclear deal in focus in second Iranian presidential debate

The second Iranian presidential debate sees candidates trade barbs on the nuclear deal.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Saudi Deputy Crown Prince and Minister of Defense Mohammed bin Salman take their seats for lunch in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, U.S., March 14, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RTX30ZV5

Trump goes to Riyadh

US President Donald Trump may want to learn lessons from previous presidential encounters with Saudi kings if he wants his trip to visit King Salman to be a success.

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a news conference following the talks with his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan in Sochi, Russia, May 3, 2017. REUTERS/Alexander Zemlianichenko/Pool - RTS14ZO6

Putin changes conversation on Syria with cease-fire plan

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says the de-escalation zones are linked to US safe zone discussions.

A boy walks at a site hit yesterday by barrel bombs in a rebel-held area, south of Deraa city, Syria May 1, 2017. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Faqir - RTS14NH7

Syria to get civilian safe zones

Cease-fire mediators have agreed to establish and enforce areas free from fighting in Syria.

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

Will bigger cash handouts land conservatives Iranian presidency?

Iranian conservative presidential candidates continue their strategy of making promises focused on increasing monthly cash subsidy payments and creating millions of jobs.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (L) and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif arrive for a plenary meeting of the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit 2015 at United Nations headquarters in Manhattan, New York, September 25, 2015. More than 150 world leaders are expected to attend the U.N. Sustainable Development Summit from September 25-27 at the United Nations in New York to formally adopt an ambitious new sustainable development agenda a press statement by the U.N. stated REUTERS/D

4 reasons Rouhani is winning Iran's foreign policy debate

As in the 2013 presidential polls, foreign policy has increasingly become a key component of Iran's presidential elections.