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Iran

August 15, 2026

Tehran 3:49 pm

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A Baluch Iranian man rides a bicycle

Analysis

Why Iran is intensifying wartime crackdown in restive Baluchistan

A string of security operations in Iran's southeast has underscored Tehran's enduring fears that wartime instability could aggravate longstanding ethnic, sectarian and economic grievances.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Motorists drive vehicles past a billboard depicting Iran's late supreme leader Ali Khamenei along a street in central Tehran on August 8, 2026. Hopes for an imminent US-Iran deal to end the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz added to optimism that oil and gas, along with other key products, would again start flowing freely after more than five months of war. But oil prices turned higher ahead of the weekend in the absence of any confirmation of an accord, amid reports that Iran was planning to block US and Is

Explainer

What would BRICS Bank membership mean for Iran's reeling economy?

Iran’s Central Bank governor said the country will soon join the New Development Bank as he traveled to India this week for a meeting of the group’s finance leaders.

A photograph obtained from the Iranian Students’ News Agency shows an oil slick along the southern coast of Qeshm Island, Iran, August 13, 2026.

Oil spills off Oman, Iran's Qeshm Island reap environmental havoc amid war

One oil leak off the coast of Oman is estimated to cover more than 772 square miles, devastating local habitats.

Latest News

Iran’s Hormuz authority denies Trump claims of control over strait: What to know

Children swimming in the Strait of Hormuz

Hormuz traffic sinks to one-week low as ships attacked, talks stagnate

port attack

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

Vice President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Masoumeh Ebtekar delivers a speech during the opening session of the World Climate Change Conference 2015 (COP21) at Le Bourget, near Paris, France, November 30, 2015. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe - RTX1WKDZ

Iranian women demand inclusion in Rouhani's Cabinet

Despite having appointed three female vice presidents, Iran's President Hassan Rouhani remains under pressure from women's rights activists to appoint more women to his Cabinet.

Iran's Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh talks to journalists during a meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Vienna, Austria, November 30, 2016. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader - RTSTYU0

Iranian media praises OPEC deal as victory over Saudi Arabia

Iranian media welcomes OPEC's agreement to exempt Iran from cutting output, characterizing it as a victory over Saudi Arabia.

Iranian soldiers march during the annual military parade marking the anniversary of the start of Iran's 1980-1988 war with Iraq, on September 21, 2016, in the capital Tehran. / AFP / CHAVOSH HOMAVANDI (Photo credit should read CHAVOSH HOMAVANDI/AFP/Getty Images)

Should IRGC be worried by latest Iran army promotion?

The appointment of a new deputy head of the army may represent more than a simple promotion for Ahmad Reza Pourdastan.

Iranian MP appears before court for 'spreading lies'

The issuing of a warrant for the arrest of an Iranian lawmaker apparently over his call for more transparency in the judiciary fans political infighting.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L) meets with Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., April 22, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid - RTX2B9VC

Kerry urges Senate Democrats to back off Iran sanctions renewal

The US secretary of state is on a mission to protect President Barack Obama's foreign policy legacy — and his own.

Stephane Michel, Total's head of Middle East exploration and production, speaks during a conference with Iran's Oil Minister after signing an offshore gas field agreement in Tehran, on November 8, 2016.
Iran signed a deal with France's Total to develop a major offshore gas field, its first big contract with a Western energy firm since sanctions were loosened in January.

/ AFP / ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)

Will Total deal pave way for other oil majors' return to Iran?

After six years, French oil giant Total has become the first major Western energy company to return to Iran in what Tehran hopes is only the first step in the reopening of the Iranian market.

Turkish army tanks and military personal are stationed in Karkamis on the Turkish-Syrian border in the southeastern Gaziantep province, Turkey, August 25, 2016. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RTX2MYWR

Erdogan's shifting rationale on Syria

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's latest rationale for Turkish forces entering northern Syria point to a long-term engagement.

Cuba's former President Fidel Castro (R) and Iran's President Hassan Rouhani (L) meet in Havana, Cuba, September 19, 2016. Courtesy of Estudios Revolucion/Cubadebate/Handout via Reuters ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTSOIH4

Castro’s death elicits mixed coverage in Iranian media

Cuban leader Fidel Castro’s death has drawn varied reactions from politicians, commentators and media in Iran.

U.S. President elect Donald Trump walks up a staircase to depart the lobby of the New York Times building after a meeting in New York, U.S., November 22, 2016. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson - RTSSUCX

How Trump can deal with Iran-GCC conflict

Looking ahead, the election of Donald Trump can pave the way for the establishment of initiatives to jump-start a dialogue between Iran and the Gulf Cooperation Council.

Iranian minister of transportation Abbas Ahmad Akhoundi speaks during the CAPA 2016 Iran Aviation Summit in the capital Tehran, on January 24, 2016.
Iran says it will buy 114 Airbus planes to revitalise its ageing fleet, in the first major commercial deal announced since the lifting of sanctions under its nuclear agreement. News of the Airbus deal came as aviation representatives from 85 companies met in Tehran to assess ways to do business in the Islamic republic after sanctions were removed. / AFP / STR

Deadly train crash in Iran prompts resignation, arrests

The backlash over one of the deadliest train crashes in the history of Iran brings down the head of the country’s railways and leads to the arrests of multiple officials.

An Iranian-Kurdish female fighters mans a weapon during a battle with Islamic State militants in Bashiqa, near Mosul, Iraq November 3, 2016. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTX2RRHD

Iranian Kurds fighting IS in Iraq put Tehran on alert

Iran appears increasingly alarmed about the Iranian Kurdish separatists who are fighting the Islamic State alongside Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga.

Iraqi-Kurdistan

Men ride on a vehicle amidst dust after a strike on the rebel held besieged al-Shaar neighbourhood of Aleppo, Syria, November 26, 2016. REUTERS/Abdalrhman Ismail - RTSTFC7

Putin not waiting for Trump to press advantage in Syria

Russian president seeks gains in Syria in the final weeks of the Obama administration; Saudi Arabia encouraged by Trump’s take on Iran; Liberman as gatekeeper between Trump and Netanyahu.