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Iran

August 17, 2026

Tehran 5:52 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.

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In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

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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

Is Iranian economy weighing Rouhani down?

Polls show the Iranian president’s voter base is broadening in the aftermath of the country’s parliamentary elections, but that he also faces immense challenges related to the state of the Iranian economy.

A ballistic missile is launched and tested in an undisclosed location, Iran, March 9, 2016. REUTERS/Mahmood Hosseini/TIMA ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS IMAGE. IT IS DISTRIBUTED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. NO THIRD PARTY SALES. NOT FOR USE BY REUTERS THIRD PARTY DISTRIBUTORS. -

Are Iranian missiles a shield against better relations with US?

After Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said that discourse and not missiles is the way of the future, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called such talk treasonous.

Who will be the next chair of Iran's Assembly of Experts?

Iranian conservatives and moderates alike have their sights set on the Assembly of Experts' chairmanship vote on May 24.

Iran officials defend Rouhani's Pakistan trip

After criticism suggesting that President Hassan Rouhani’s trip to Pakistan did not achieve anything, officials from the administration and media linked to the administration have fired back.

What Zarrab's arrest means for Rouhani

While it is unclear whether Reza Zarrab’s prosecution will yield greater cooperation between Turkey, the United States and Iran, it appears that the case could strengthen Iranian President Hassan Rouhani rather than weakening Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

A new medium-range missile is fired from a naval ship during Velayat-90 war game on Sea of Oman near the Strait of Hormuz in southern Iran January 1, 2012. Iran test-fired a new medium-range missile, designed to evade radars, on Sunday during the last days of its naval drill in the Gulf, the official IRNA news agency quoted a military official as saying. REUTERS/Jamejamonline/Ebrahim Norouzi (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUT

US looks to sidestep UN on Iran missiles

Blocked at the UN Security Council, the Obama administration considers other multilateral tools.

Why does Rouhani want a second JCPOA?

Talk of a second, domestic Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or "Barjam 2," among rival Iranian factions is stirring heated debate in the Islamic Republic.

Iran optimistic after Syrian forces retake Palmyra

The recapture of Palmyra by the Syrian government has Iranian officials and media optimistic about the direction of Syria’s civil war.

Ahmad Sheikhzadeh (C), a consultant to the Iranian mission to the United Nation, leaves Brooklyn Federal Court in New York, March 23, 2016. Sheikhzadeh, 60, is accused of charges related to sanctions violations, money laundering and tax matters, his lawyer Steve Zissou said at the hearing. REUTERS/Pearl Gabel - RTSBYWL

Is this Iranian man charged in US actually a 'hostage'?

After an Iranian man was charged in a US court for violating laws on Iran, a conservative analyst accused the United States of seeking to obtain the release of two Iranian-Americans held in Iran.

A plaque is displayed outside the Iranian embassy in central London, Britain August 20, 2015. Britain will reopen its embassy in Iran this weekend nearly four years after protesters ransacked the elegant ambassadorial residence and burned the British flag. The move to restore full diplomatic relations marks a thawing of ties with Iran since it reached a nuclear deal with the United States, China, Russia, Germany, France and Britain. REUTERS/Paul Hackett - RTX1OYJ1

MP says Iran shuttered embassies over lack of funding

According to one Iranian parliamentarian, financial issues were behind Iran's closing of a number of embassies, for which the Foreign Ministry has long complained of a lack of funding.

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

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri (R) looks at weapons with Iran's Defense Minister Mohammad Najar (2nd R) at a military exhibition in Tehran November 28, 2010. REUTERS/Ministry of Defence/Vahid Reza Alaei/Handout (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A

Is Iran becoming a major regional arms producer?

If the current trajectory of arms deliveries continues, it appears that countries such as Iran, Russia and China are set to become the Middle East’s main weapons suppliers.

Head of Iran's state TV skips 10 days of work ... or did he?

Iran's national television is once again caught up in rumors, this time about the resignation of its president.