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October 16, 2026

Ostān-e Tehrān 4:14 am

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People attend the funeral ceremony of Mahan Setareh, a member of the paramilitary Basij force who was killed in the recent Israeli attacks on June 26, 2025 in Tehran, Iran. A cease-fire between Israel and Iran has brought an end to 12 days of daily aerial attacks that started with Israel's strikes on Iranian military and nuclear sites on June 13. (Photo by Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)

Female commander in Iran's Basij units assassinated: What to know

Violence in the Sistan and Baluchistan province has become a regular occurrence, marked by clashes with armed groups and ambushes on Iranian security forces.

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

Latest News

Analysis

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

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.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

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.

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

U.S. Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson speaks at a news conference at the Green Valley Ranch resort in Henderson, Nevada November 16, 2015. Carson announced that he sent to a letter to Congress urging the termination of all public funding for the resettling of Syrian refugees into the U.S. REUTERS/David Becker - RTS7EUA

Congress threatens to shut down government over Syrian refugees

A look at the Middle East issues Congress will be addressing the week of Nov. 30.

Will Canada change its policy toward Iran?

Canada's new Liberal prime minister has expressed an interest in changing policy toward Iran — but will rapprochement happen any time soon?

Who is Iran's Nategh-Nuri?

The possible leadership of Ali Akbar Nategh-Nuri in Iran's upcoming parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections may very well change the nature of the game in Iranian politics.

Khamenei uses Tehran gas summit to slam US

In meetings with world leaders, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned about US goals in the Middle East and Latin America.

U.S. President Barack Obama (R) and French President Francois Hollande hold a joint news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington November 24, 2015. REUTERS/Carlos Barria - RTX1VN6X

Will downing of Russia warplane thwart France’s efforts for broader anti-IS coalition?

Turkey’s downing of a Russian warplane threatens to complicate French efforts to bolster closer Western coordination with Moscow in combating IS.

Iran has high hopes for slick new oil contract model

Iran's soon-to-be unveiled oil contract is designed to attract foreign investment amid the toughest investment climate in years, but what distinguishes it from the current model contract?

Will Putin, Khamenei negotiate Assad's ouster?

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei praised Russian President Vladimir Putin as they reaffirmed their agreement that the United States is wrong to try to oust Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Do Iranian hard-liners really want to stop foreign investment?

Despite criticism and warnings of "infiltration" in the aftermath of the nuclear deal, are Iranian hard-liners really opposed to foreign investment?

Iran hedges its bets in Syria

After joining the Vienna II talks on Syria, Iran continues to hedge its bets, including beefing up the Syrian National Defense Forces, to ensure its ability to protect its interests in the country and the region.

An undated photograph of a man described as Abdelhamid Abaaoud that was published in the Islamic State's online magazine Dabiq and posted on a social media website. A Belgian national currently in Syria and believed to be one of Islamic State's most active operators is suspected of being behind Friday's attacks in Paris, acccording to a source close to the French investigation. "He appears to be the brains behind several planned attacks in Europe," the source told Reuters of Abdelhamid Abaaoud, adding he wa

Is defeating the Islamic State impossible?

The Islamic State's stringing together of religion, power and modernity of sorts is a tough knot to untie.

Will Rouhani only serve one term as president?

The publication associated with Iran's Ansar-e Hezbollah argues that President Hassan Rouhani has failed in both his economic and diplomatic promises.

Will Iran pursue high-cost strategy in Syria?

A previously unpublished speech by an Iranian general who was killed in Syria may reveal efforts to justify Iran's growing involvement in Syria.