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Iran

August 17, 2026

Tehran 12:21 am

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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

US, Russia compete to woo Syrian Kurds

The recent rapprochement between the Kurds and Russia is a new phase in the two sides' relations that date back to the 19th century, but Kurds do not want to alienate the United States either.

An Iranian woman casts her ballot to vote in the second round of parliamentary elections at a polling station in the town of Robat Karim, some 40 kms southwest of the capital Tehran, on April 29, 2016.
Iranians started voting in second round elections for almost a quarter of parliament's seats, the latest political showdown between reformists and conservatives seeking to influence the country's future. Polling stations opened at 8:00 am (0330 GMT) for the ballot which is taking place in 21 provinces, but no

Iran’s runoff elections to set economic agenda

The crucial runoff parliamentary elections today will determine how successful President Hassan Rouhani is in implementing his domestic and economic policies.

Oman's Sultan Qaboos bin Said (R) walks with Iran's President Hassan Rouhani upon Rouhani's arrival in Muscat March 12, 2014. REUTERS/Sultan Al Hasani (OMAN - Tags: POLITICS ROYALS) - RTR3GQAH

Oman and Iran: friends with many benefits

Oman is willing to brave the GCC's disapproval to take advantage of opportunities with and for Iran.

A truck carries Iranian-made cars in a parking at carmaker Iran Khodro, west of Tehran February 6, 2016. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi/TIMA ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. - RTX25Q85

What Iran’s first non-oil trade surplus means for its economy

Iran’s non-oil trade balance has turned positive for the first time in the history of the Islamic Republic of Iran, but is this good news?

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on leaving the office to report, film or take pictures in Tehran.

Iranian women walk past an anti-U.S. mural on the wall of the former U.S. embassy in Tehran October 12, 2011. U.S. authorities said on Tuesday that they had broken up a plot by two men linked to Iran's security agencies to kill the Saudi envoy, Adel al-Jubeir. One man was arrested last month while the other was believed to be in Iran. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl

How the nuclear deal's failings ignited anti-Western sentiment in Iran

In the absence of what Iranian officials see as the lack of full implementation of the nuclear deal, the factors that could reignite anti-US sentiment in Iran appear to be back in place.

Iranian army soldiers march during the Army Day military parade in Tehran April 18, 2007. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl (IRAN) - RTR1OR7Q

Who sent Iranian Green Berets to Syria?

For the first time since Iran’s 1980-88 war with Iraq, the Iranian army is conducting foreign military operations. But who sent its Green Berets to Syria?

Who’s to blame for US seizure of $2 billion in Iranian assets?

Iran's former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has rejected blame in a US Supreme Court case that ruled Iran's assets of $2 billion can be seized.

Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump delivers a foreign policy speech at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, US April 27, 2016. REUTERS/Jim Bourg - RTX2BXBK

Trump meets the DC foreign policy establishment

Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump rolls out his "America First" foreign policy speech, leaving many unanswered questions about his plans to secure the United States and stabilize the world's trouble spots.

Khamenei says US pushing 'Iranphobia' to block foreign investment

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei criticized the United States for removing the sanctions on paper but in effect scaring large banks from doing business with Iran.

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

How 'almost nothing' in DC turned into something in Tehran

In Iran, the remarks by the head of the Central Bank during his recent US visit that Tehran has gotten "almost nothing" from the JCPOA has become a rallying cry for hard-liners.

Khamenei adviser calls US court ruling 'international stealing'

Iran has filed an official complaint against the US Supreme Court ruling that would allow families of terrorist attack victims to collect nearly $2 billion in frozen Iranian funds.

Egypt sets conditions for dialogue with Iran

Egypt's foreign minister has made a list of measures Iran must take before the two countries can discuss normalizing relations, but it's doubtful that he really expects Iran to meet them.