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October 16, 2026

Tehran 6:29 pm

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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.

Trump rules out US troops in Iran, leaves Pickaxe Mountain strike on the table

He did not dispute reports that the US military is weighing use of the "mother of all bombs."

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 that it can make passage through the Strait of Hormuz costly enough to pressure Washington while exploiting the election-related pressures facing President Trump.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

A member of the Saudi security forces stands guard as other demonstrate their skills during a military exercise in Arar, near Saudi Arabia's northern border with Iraq March 18, 2015. REUTERS/Faisal AlNasser (SAUDI ARABIA - Tags: MILITARY POLITICS) - RTR4TWNJ

Hoping to counter Iran, former Israeli defense official calls on Riyadh to add 'security annex' to Arab Peace Initiative

With Iran getting stronger and more self-confident, Saudi Arabia should add a "security annex" to its original Arab Peace Initiative to establish a defense cooperation framework between Israel and select Arab states.

Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal attends a news conference, during his official visit to Russia, in Moscow February 8, 2010. REUTERS/Denis Sinyakov (RUSSIA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR29Z2Y

Is Russia Hamas' bridge to global diplomacy?

Hamas is seeking to improve its international relations by reinforcing some ties and mending others following a period of relative isolation.

Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak gestures during the 49th Conference on Security Policy in Munich February 3, 2013. Senior politicians along with the leader of the Syrian opposition are in Munich providing a rare opportunity for talks to revive efforts to end the civil war in Syria. REUTERS/Michael Dalder(GERMANY - Tags: MILITARY POLITICS) - RTR3DAJM

Audio tapes reveal how Ehud Barak attempted to rewrite history with Iran

Associates of former Prime Minister Ehud Barak leaked tapes indicating that Barak supported an attack on Iran in 2012, but other sources suggest that he then changed his mind and was the person who actually blocked an eventual strike.

A baby from Syria lies on lifejackets moments after Syrian refugees arriving on a dinghy on the island of Lesbos, Greece, August 23, 2015. Greece, mired in its worst economic crisis in generations, has been found largely unprepared for a mass influx of refugees, mainly Syrians. Arrivals have exceeded 160,000 this year, three times as high as in 2014. The crisis has exposed massive shortages in Greece's available facilities, but also striking discord within the European Union on how to handle the humanitaria

Security Council: Syria 'largest humanitarian crisis in the world'

UN, Russia and Iran coordinate new diplomatic effort on Syria; what did Zarif tell Nasrallah?; Egyptian government rejects mediation with Muslim Brotherhood; did US-trained force coordinate with Jabhat al-Nusra?

Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal talks during a news conference in Doha July 23 ,2014. Meshaal said he was ready to accept a humanitarian truce in Gaza where the Islamist group is fighting an Israeli military offensive, but would not agree to a full ceasefire until the terms had been negotiated. REUTERS/Stringer (QATAR - Tags: CIVIL UNREST MILITARY POLITICS CONFLICT) - RTR3ZVTJ

Hamas caught between Tehran and Riyadh

Hamas is trying to rebuild its relationship with Iran, but mistrust on both sides is impeding the process.

Iran's former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani delivers his speech during Friday prayers in Tehran April 24, 2009. Rafsanjani urged the United States on Friday to stop threatening Iran with more sanctions if it wanted to hold talks with the Islamic state over its disputed nuclear work. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl (IRAN RELIGION POLITICS) - RTXEBPS

Hard-liners rage against Rafsanjani as elections near

Ayatollah Rafsanjani's announcement that he intends to run in the upcoming Assembly of Experts elections prompts hard-liners to launch a wave of attacks.

Will US sanctions disrupt Iran-Russia economic ties?

Washington’s concerns about Russian actions, including its relations with Iran, and Moscow’s diminishing interest in accommodating them seem set to heighten competition and tensions in the Middle East.

IRGC head warns Rouhani

President Hassan Rouhani drew the ire of the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps for criticizing the Guardian Council's role in approving candidates for the elections.

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Netanyahu playing chess, not checkers on Iran deal

Behind closed doors, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu concedes that he can't muster the required congressional majority to override a presidential veto on the Iranian nuclear deal and is therefore aiming for a "resounding moral majority."

Even without sanctions, Iranian aviation faces turbulent future

Iranian aviation is faced with multiple challenges, even in the aftermath of long-sought sanctions relief.

Iran to export gas to Iraq soon, says Iranian official

After the nuclear deal, Iran will need to deepen economic ties with Iraq, including the Kurdish Regional Government.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (R) listens to his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov (back facing) during their meeting in Moscow, Russia, August 17, 2015. Lavrov and Zarif met on Monday to discuss the Iranian nuclear programme and peace efforts in Syria, Russia's foreign ministry said. Moscow sees the recent nuclear deal, which offers Iran relief from sanctions in exchange for curbing its nuclear programme, as opening the way to selling Tehran missile defence systems and winning lucrative new

Iran to Russia: Where are those missiles you promised us?

Following Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif’s trip to Moscow, Iranian media has been abuzz with talk about the long-awaited delivery of a long-rang S-300 missile defense system, which is still being held up by Russia.