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Iran

October 15, 2026

Tehran 4:19 pm

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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

Activists gather at a Capitol Hill rally to "Stop the Iran Nuclear Deal" in Washington September 9, 2015. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RTSCN4

Democrats launch Iran deal offensive

Pro-deal senators are touting Iran's denuclearization amid continued Republican pushback.

TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY ARTHUR MACMILLAN
Iranian Culture Minister Ali Jannati (R) looks at US artist Jackson Pollock's "Mural on Indian Red Ground" (1950) during the opening ceremony of an exhibition of modern art at Tehran's Museum of Contemporary Art (TMOCA) in the capital, on November 20, 2015. Some of the world's most expensive and rarely seen modern art, including works by the Americans Jackson Pollock and Andy Warhol, which are part of a collection bought in the 1970s by dealers acting for Farah, the

Iran is spending more money on culture, but where's the accountability?

In Iran, President Hassan Rouhani is moving to increase spending allocated to administration-controlled cultural entities. Yet a vast portion of cultural spending continues to go to organizations that are not held accountable.

Rome's nude cover-up remains mystery

At a press conference in Italy, Iran's President Hassan Rouhani addressed the controversy over two nude statues covered in boxes.

Will Iran deal mean more money for Hamas?

Now that sanctions have been lifted against Iran, Palestinian resistance factions in Gaza are waiting to see if Iran will restore or perhaps increase its military and financial support.

Employees from a Turkish-owned company in Israel protest against the recent tensions between the two countries outside the Turkish embassy in Tel Aviv December 28, 2010. Israel will not apologise to Turkey for a May raid on a Turkish-led convoy that killed nine Turkish activists and talks to mend ties have so far fallen short, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday. REUTERS/Nir Elias (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS) - RTXW1ZV

Why Israel needs Turkey now more than ever

Israel and Turkey are strengthening their relations as both keep a wary eye on Iran's outreach to the world and regional countries.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry shakes hands with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) verified that Iran has met all conditions under the nuclear deal, in Vienna January 16, 2016. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTX22P8Q

Is Iran deal gateway to Israeli-Palestinian peace?

J Street aims to put $3 million behind pro-diplomacy lawmakers in 2016 election cycle.

Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz (R) walks with Iraq's President Fuad Masum during a welcoming ceremony upon Masum's arrival to attend the Summit of South American-Arab Countries, in Riyadh November 10, 2015. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser - RTS6BLS

Could Iraq mediate Iran, Saudi strife?

Utilizing Iraq as a mediator to address its dispute with Iran would allow Saudi Arabia to both improve relations with Tehran and build important relations with Iraqi Shiites. Why, then, is Riyadh not seizing this opportunity?

Rouhani makes up for lost time in Italy

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is eager to bring his country back to the point it was before the sanctions.

Who was behind Saudi Embassy attack in Iran?

Iranian officials have announced the name of the main culprits behind the attack on the Saudi Embassy in Iran.

Gas price hike, subsidy cuts shake up Saudis

The Saudi government's new year is off to a shaky start financially — a burden it's sharing with its citizens, leaving them to wonder just how bad things will get.

The truth about the Saudi executions

Why the executions of cleric Nimr al-Nimr and three other Shiites in Saudi Arabia are not the result of Sunni-Shiite sectarianism as many have claimed.

Hamas leader in Gaza Ismail Haniyeh delivers a sermon during Friday prayers in Gaza City October 9, 2015. Haniyeh called on Palestinians to step up their fight against Israel, describing the recent surge in violence in Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank as the beginning of a new uprising, or intifada. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem - RTS3QIL

Why Hamas hopes to keep low profile in Saudi-Iranian tensions

In light of the escalating dispute between Iran and Saudi Arabia, Hamas has remained silent to maintain good ties with each party, as both have provided it with financial or military support.