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Iran

August 16, 2026

Tehran 5:07 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

People inspect a site hit by airstrikes in Idlib city, Syria June 12, 2016. REUTERS/Ammar Abdullah - RTX2FR1Q

Are major players shifting strategies in Syria?

Russia and the US find themselves in a complex situation in Syria, with plenty of doubt to go around.

Commuters ride in a bus during evening rush hour in Tehran, Iran May 2, 2016. REUTERS/Marius Bosch - RTX2CGB9

Iranians shocked after deaths of 19 soldiers in bus accidents

Iranian social media users and officials expressed grief and outrage after 19 Iranian soldiers were killed in two separate bus accidents.

An Iranian flag flutters in front of the head office of the Export Development Bank of Iran (EDBI) in Tehran November 9, 2008. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl (IRAN) - RTXAEWW

Why Iran should come off financial watchdog’s blacklist

Given major international banks’ continued reluctance to engage with Iranian counterparts despite the nuclear deal, getting Iran off of the FATF blacklist is a key step in addressing this threat to the nuclear deal.

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif listens as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (unseen) speaks to the media during a meeting in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., April 22, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid - RTX2B9VT

Could Foreign Ministry shakeup impact Iran's regional policies?

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has denied speculation that the recent change at the deputy foreign minister position is the result of appeasing foreign countries.

Iranian conservatives may be forced to embrace Rouhani

Iranian conservatives may have no choice but to find a way to engage with incumbent President Hassan Rouhani with the country only a year away from its next presidential election.

Soleimani issues rare political statement on Bahrain

The head of Iran’s Quds Force, Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, condemned the decision by Bahrain to strip the citizenship of Shiite leader Ayatollah Sheikh Isa Qassim.

Iranian economists worry about both Clinton and Trump

Iranian economists aren’t terribly excited about the departure of US President Barack Obama.

A general view of Ambarli gas-fired power station in Istanbul January 8, 2009. Production at three Turkish power stations has been halted as a Russia-Ukraine gas row had led to a shortage of gas supplies to Turkey, an Energy Ministry source told Reuters on Thursday, but this would not create a power supply problem, he said. On Tuesday Russian gas supplies coming via Ukraine to Turkey were completely cut, although some supplies are still coming via a pipeline which passes directly from Russia under the Black

How Turkish energy giant's plans to light up Iran could boost Rouhani

The Belgium-based Turkish energy firm Unit International’s announcement that it will build seven natural gas-powered electricity production plants worth $4.2 billion in Iran could bring major benefits for the two countries.

Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani attends the opening meeting of the Arab Summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, in the South Sinai governorate, south of Cairo, March 28, 2015. Arab League heads of state are holding a two-day summit to discuss a range of conflicts in the region, including Yemen and Libya, as well as the threat posed by Islamic State militants. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh - RTR4V93X

Can Saudis ease Egypt-Qatar tension after Al Jazeera death sentences?

Saudis want to bridge the divide between Qatar and Egypt so that its Sunni coalition can focus on Iran.

Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian speaks during a news conference in Moscow, Russia, September 22, 2015. Amir-Abdollahian said on Tuesday his country had no troops or military advisers in Syria or Yemen, the RIA news agency reported. REUTERS/Maxim Zmeyev - RTX1RTQL

Why was this influential Iranian deputy minister replaced?

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, deputy foreign minister for Arab and African affairs since 2011, has been replaced.

Tehran drags Moscow deeper into Syria

The war in Syria is hitting Iran ever closer to home, prompting Tehran to push for closer coordination with Russia, even as leaders on both sides complain of a lack of confidence and tactical misalignments.

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

Iran shifts on Syria

While the Obama administration is facing internal pressure to toughen its stance against Syria's Assad regime, Iran's Supreme National Security Council and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif are playing a larger role in setting Syria policy.