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Iran

October 15, 2026

Tehran 12:37 am

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Ships are docked along a pier at the Khor Fakkan Container Terminal, the only natural deep-sea port in the region and one of the major container ports in Sharjah Emirate, along the Gulf of Oman on July 14, 2026.

Analysis

What's behind Iran’s intensifying attacks on shipping in Hormuz?

With renewed tanker attacks, Tehran is betting to make Hormuz passage costly enough for Washington and strengthen the tool with election-related pressure President Trump is currently facing.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

This picture shows the border wall between Iran and Afghanistan at the Milak border crossing near the town of Zabol, in the southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchistan bordering Afghanistan, on Dec. 17, 2025.

Iran’s IRGC says 5 killed in Baluchistan after dismantling ‘militant cell’: What to know

Iran’s IRGC announced a new operation against armed militants in the southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchistan, which is witnessing almost daily attacks and clashes.

A giant electoral poster for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party with the slogan "no surrender" is displayed on the facade of a building in Tel Aviv on Sept. 29, 2026

Exclusive

In bid to win over Saudi Arabia, Netanyahu may strike Yemen before elections

Attacks on Iran or its Yemeni proxy before the elections cannot be ruled out, but the Israeli prime minister appears more inclined to support Saudi Arabia against the Houthis in Yemen.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia's President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian shake hands during a meeting in Turkmenbashi on Oct. 8, 2026.

Analysis

Putin offers to help end Iran war, but can Russia deliver?

As Washington and Tehran weigh their next moves, Moscow is seeking a diplomatic foothold in a war where influence may prove harder to convert into concrete results.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Latest News

Trump offers Iran path to nuclear deal while keeping up military pressure

US President Donald Trump speaks at the "Golden Age of American Innovation Summit" at the Institute of Peace in Washington, DC, on Oct. 8, 2026.

Analysis

Deal or war? Israel fears fallout from Trump’s next move on Iran

GRAND ISLAND, NEBRASKA - OCTOBER 05: U.S. President Donald Trump wraps up an appearance at a campaign rally at Pinnacle Bank Expo Center on the Nebraska State Fairgrounds on October 05, 2026 in Grand Island, Nebraska. Trump is campaigning for incumbent U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-NE) and Gov. Jim Pillen ahead of the November midterm elections. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Iran’s Sistan and Baluchistan province witnesses uptick in attacks

A Baluch Iranian man rides a bicycle in Zahedan, in the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan bordering Afghanistan on Dec. 18, 2025, during a media tour organized by the Iranian government.

Trump says no Iran strikes before midterms amid ‘productive’ talks

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House on Oct. 7, 2026 in Washington, DC.

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

Will 'free financial center' lure foreign banks to Iran?

Iranian authorities are weighing whether to launch a free financial center to encourage capital inflow into the economy.

Khamenei claims US is anti-Iran and anti-Shiite

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has delivered one of his most anti-American speeches in years.

Rouhani moves to slash IRGC budget, empower army

The Rouhani administration has moved to cut spending for the IRGC while increasing funding for the army, but not without a backlash.

English language classes set to become next battleground in Iran

President Hassan Rouhani emphasized the learning of foreign languages in helping Iran’s economy, which put him at odds with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Will Iran's new undercover morality agents have any impact?

The plan to dispatch 7,000 undercover morality agents has stirred much criticism in Persian-language media and social networks, with the backlash mostly focused on the project's social costs.

Why big European banks are reluctant to return to Iran

Iranians and Americans see different reasons for major European banks’ reluctance to return to the Iranian market after the nuclear deal.

Did Rouhani call for North Korea to give up nuclear weapons?

South Korean officials have welcomed Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s comments about a Korean Peninsula free of nuclear weapons.

Four reasons Sisi won’t turn against Iran

The Saudi efforts to forge an alliance with Egypt come in the context of Riyadh’s efforts to expand its anti-Iran coalition. But will Saudi Arabia succeed in bringing Egypt onboard?

Pro-Rouhani candidates scoop up most seats in runoff

The second round of Iran’s parliamentary elections gave most remaining seats to the Reformist-moderate camp that supports President Hassan Rouhani.

Khamenei to US Navy: Keep your drills in the Bay of Pigs

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that Iran would not refrain from holding military drills in the Persian Gulf.

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.