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Iran

August 17, 2026

Tehran 6:56 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

Is corruption suspect's US arrest bad news for Erdogan?

The US arrest of Reza Zarrab, allegedly a key figure in Turkey’s bribery and corruption scandal, has set off alarm bells in Ankara.

Banking sanctions take center stage as Iranian rhetoric toughens

There is a strong and shared interest between Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and US President Barack Obama that ordinary Iranians imminently see — and feel — in the normalization of Iran’s economic engagement with the world.

After criticism, Rouhani defends his economic performance

After receiving criticism for not yet having implemented the resistance economy, President Hassan Rouhani answered back that his administration has already fulfilled many economic promises.

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (L) shakes hands with his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu during a joint news conference in Istanbul January 4, 2014. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX1724F

Is Turkey swaying back toward Iran?

The recent visits of Turkey’s prime minister to Iran and the Iranian foreign minister to Turkey may indicate a turning point in relations between these two important neighbors.

Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump addresses the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) afternoon general session in Washington March 21, 2016. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts - RTSBJTM

Trump no longer 'neutral' on Israel

Republican and Democratic presidential candidates vied to prove their pro-Israel credentials before the annual AIPAC convention, with Ted Cruz threatening to shoot down Iranian ballistic missiles and Hillary Clinton channeling her inner Queen Esther and Golda Meir.

Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal (R) attends a rally in Tehran university February 2, 2009. A delegation from Hamas, headed by its leader Meshaal, arrived in Tehran on Sunday as part of a regional push to reinforce support for the Palestinian group after the Israeli invasion of Gaza. The portraits on the left are that of Late Leader Ayatollah Rouollah Khomeini (L) and Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi (IRAN) - RTXB5LP

Why Hamas closed down Iranian charity in Gaza

The Gaza Interior Ministry’s decision to shut down an Iranian-affiliated charity association in the Gaza Strip raised questions on whether this move will affect the fragile and fluctuating ties between Hamas and Iran.

Is Khamenei’s Nowruz message bad news for Rouhani?

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei designated this year as the year of "Resistance Economy: Action and Implementation."

Chief of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Lieutenant General Sergei Rudskoy attends a briefing in Moscow, Russia, March 18, 2016. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin - RTSB316

How Tehran and Damascus view Russia’s latest Syria move

Regardless of the partial Russian military withdrawal, it appears that other allies of the Syrian government are holding their ground.

Erdogan takes authoritarian rule to new heights in war on PKK

Terrorist bombing in Turkey kills two Americans as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan resurrects "thought crimes" in confronting critics; Is Iran a spoiler in Palestinian politics? Israel cool to feelers from Sudan.

<<enter caption here>> on January 6, 2011 in Washington, DC.

Senate takes hard-line tack on Iran sanctions

Hawkish Republicans introduced their own bills as bipartisan alternative struggles to materialize.

The headquarters of HSBC bank in London's Canary Wharf financial district in slight morning mist early March 11, 2016.REUTERS/Russell Boyce - RTSABWM

Will Iran be able to win over Britain when it comes to banking sanctions?

To put pressure on the United States to uphold its commitments to facilitate the implementation of sanctions relief, it appears that the Iranians are now turning to Britain.

5 reasons Iran will be able to wait out low oil prices

Iran’s decision not to take action against low oil prices is primarily motivated by the ambition to reclaim market share.