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June 12, 2026

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Members of the Iranian national soccer team including midfielder Alireza Jahanbakhsh (R) arrive at Tijuana International Airport on June 7, 2026, in Tijuana, Mexico.

Culture

World Cup opens amid visa disputes for Iran, Iraq and Somalia

Iran says a number of team staff were denied entry into the US, with Trump administration officials touting efforts to prevent affiliates of designated terrorist groups from entering.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Bessent says Iran's frozen assets will pay for Gulf damage, Hormuz tolls

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that any damage Iran inflicts on Gulf allies will be paid for with funds extracted from Iranian accounts.

Scott Olson/Getty Images

Explainer

US strategic oil stockpile nears four-decade low as Iran war drags on

The US Strategic Petroleum Reserve fell to 349.2 million barrels amid the global energy shock caused by the war in Iran.

President Donald Trump speaks to the press before boarding Air Force One prior to departure from John F. Kennedy International Airport, in New York, on June 9, 2026.

Trump weighs releasing billions to Iran after blasting past payments

As mediators scramble to broker a peace deal, a key hurdle remains the release of Iranian assets frozen under US sanctions.

Latest News

Trump vows continued ‘very hard’ strikes on Iran as negotiators leave Qatar

Samuel Corum/Getty Images

Trump launches new airstrikes on Iran as deal stalls

In this US Navy released handout, an F/A-18E Super Hornet, attached to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 14, prepares to take off from the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) in support of Operation Epic Fury on March 1, 2026 at Sea.

US, Iran trade strikes after downing of Apache helicopter: What to know

In this US Navy released handout, an F/A-18F Super Hornet, attached to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 41, makes an arrested landing on the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in support of Operation Epic Fury, Feb. 28, 2026

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

A picture taken on August 14, 2016 in a abandoned village near the southern Iranian city of Sirjan shows dead pistachio trees at a field that farmers left behind due to the lack of water.
The pistachio trees at the village in southern Iran are long dead, bleached white by the sun -- the underground water reserves sucked dry by decades of over-farming and waste. The last farmers left with their families 10 years ago, and the village has the look of an abandoned Martian colony. / AFP / ATTA KENARE / TO GO WIT

Environment official says Iran looking for more international cooperation

US opposition to lending to Iran by multinational organizations has undercut Tehran's ability to face growing environmental challenges, the deputy head of Iran's Department of Environment says.

Iranian soldiers march during the annual military parade marking the anniversary of the start of Iran's 1980-1988 war with Iraq, on September 22, 2015, in the capital Tehran. AFP PHOTO / ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)

Rafsanjani takes aim at Iranian military spending amid furor

Remarks by Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani on the benefits of less military spending have stirred controversy in Iran.

A man walks inside a building destroyed by a Saudi-led air strike in the Red Sea port city of Houdieda, Yemen, September 5, 2016. REUTERS/Abduljabbar Zeyad - RTX2O5W7

Senate tacitly endorses US role in Yemen war

The upper chamber overwhelmingly defeated a bill to block US arms sales to Saudi Arabia.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani addresses attendees during the 70th session of the United Nations General Assembly at the U.N. headquarters in New York, September 28, 2015. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri - RTX1SX71

Rouhani set to address UNGA amid high expectations at home

President Hassan Rouhani is in New York to address the UN General Assembly amid high expectations at home about the outcome of his trip.

Iranian protesters hold pictures of prominent Shi'ite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr during a demonstration against the execution of al-Nimr in Saudi Arabia, at Imam Hussein square in Tehran January 4, 2016. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi/TIMA ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. - RTX20Z33

Why Iran and Saudi Arabia will jaw-jaw but not war-war

Despite increasingly tough rhetoric and a breakdown in diplomatic relations, neither Iran nor Saudi Arabia appears to be looking for a new fight.

WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 20: Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) (L) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) hold a news conference about military assistance to Israel at the U.S. Capitol September 20, 2016 in Washington, DC. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is threatening to stall approval of an agreement on military assistance between the U.S. and Israel by introducing legislation that would boost the aid above what the countries agreed on. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

US aid to Israel takes a partisan turn

Senate Republicans push for $1.5 billion boost days after signing off on a record $38 billion package.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani addresses attendees during the 70th session of the United Nations General Assembly at the U.N. headquarters in New York, September 28, 2015. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri - RTX1SX6L

Multiple arrests in Iran as Rouhani arrives in New York

Iranian authorities appear to be stepping up their crackdown on media workers amid President Rouhani’s arrival in New York to address the UN General Assembly’s annual meeting.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (C), United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (L) attend the International Syria Support Group Meeting at the Palace Hotel in Manhattan, New York, U.S., September 20, 2016. REUTERS/Darren Ornitz - RTSOL96

Why Iran never counted on US-Russia agreement

Despite welcoming the US-Russia agreement on Syria, Iran never had much faith in the initiative. As such, the collapse of the deal does not appear to have left anyone in Tehran fazed.

Shiite Muslim pilgrims gather in front of the shrine of Imam Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Mohammed, on Arafah day, referring to a prayer performed by Shiites in Saudi Arabia's Arafat plain on the second day of hajj, on September 11, 2016 in the holy city of Karbala, 80 kilometres south of the capital Baghdad.
Barred from Mecca amid an escalating spat between Tehran and Saudi Arabia, masses of Iranian Shiite faithful have converged on the holy Iraqi city of Karbala for an alternative pilgrimage. The r

Will Iranian pilgrims forsake Mecca for Karbala?

Iran and Saudi Arabia are expanding the conflict over Islamic religious sites as they continue to exploit religion for their political interests.

People stand on the rubble of a school destroyed by a Saudi-led air strike in an outskirt of the northwestern city of Saada, Yemen September 14, 2016. REUTERS/Naif Rahma - RTSNNEQ

Iran looms large over Senate fight to block arms sales for Saudi war in Yemen

Resolution sponsors insist: It’s a civil war, not a proxy war.

(L-R) Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, Saudi King Salman, and Saudi Arabia's Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman stand together as Saudi Arabia's cabinet agrees to implement a broad reform plan known as Vision 2030 in Riyadh, April 25, 2016. To match Insight SAUDI-PLAN/PRINCE Saudi Press Agency/Handout/File Photo via REUTERS. ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVE. - RTX2CU2M

Riyadh's bold gamble

King Salman's costly foreign adventures and high-risk interventions are a significant departure from past Saudi foreign policy.

Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian (L) looks upon Syria's Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad during a joint press conference in Damascus, Syria September 3, 2015. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki - RTS6SCV

Iran says US in cahoots with terrorists in Syria

The US-led coalition's bombing of Syrian government forces triggered harsh condemnation from Iran, which accused Washington of being in cahoots with terrorists in Syria.