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Iran

October 17, 2026

Tehran 9:44 pm

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A vessel transits the Gulf of Oman

Analysis

How much oil can cushion another Middle East supply shock?

Global oil inventories stood at 3.35 billion barrels in October, the lowest level on record since January 2017, according to Kpler.

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

A woman walks past a wall painting in the colours of the Iranian flag in Tehran on February 25, 2026. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

How hijab dispute is opening new front in Iran-Azerbaijan tensions

Iran's longstanding unease over Azerbaijan's strategic ties with Israel is spilling into a dispute over religious freedoms and Baku's position in the Islamic world, testing already fragile relations between the two neighbors.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

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.

Latest News

Analysis

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

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.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

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

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.

Exclusive

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

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

Iran’s sagging housing market may face price shock

With a nuclear deal in hand and the business environment improving, Iranian investors may begin piling cash into the country's ailing housing market — causing a price shock.

Ahmadinejad’s chief of staff accused of links to embezzlement

Iran's justice minister said that former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's chief of staff is linked to an Iranian embezzlement case.

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on their ability to film or take pictures in Tehran.†

Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Chairman of the Assembly of Experts, delivers the opening speech during the biannual meeting of the assembly in Tehran September 22, 2009. REUTERS/Caren Firouz (IRAN POLITICS) - RTR284SA

Exclusive: Rafsanjani on future of Iran-US ties, Saudi Arabia

In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani speaks about the future of Iran-US ties, Tehran's troubled relationship with Riyadh and how to move forward.

How will Iran ratify the deal?

In Tehran, there is intense debate about how the nuclear deal with six world powers should be ratified, with the government and conservatives split about whether to involve parliament.

The head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization Ali Akbar Salehi and U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz (3rd R) leave after a group picture at the United Nations building in Vienna, Austria July 14, 2015. Iran and six major world powers reached a nuclear deal on Tuesday, capping more than a decade of on-off negotiations with an agreement that could potentially transform the Middle East, and which Israel called an "historic surrender". REUTERS/Carlos Barria - RTX1KA5B

Iranian negotiator discusses talks with Moniz

The head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, Ali Akbar Salehi, discusses negotiations with his counterpart, Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (L) and his Syrian counterpart Walid al-Moualem (3rd R) hold a meeting in Tehran August 5, 2015. Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem arrived in Tehran on Tuesday for talks with officials from allies Iran and Russia that are expected to focus on efforts to end the civil war in his country. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi/TIMA ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION

Iran-authored Syria plan en route to UN

Not much can be done for Syria until major Middle East players agree to put aside their differences and form a united front against the Islamic State — and Iran has a four-step plan for the next phase.

Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri (R) and his Saudi Arabian counterpart Adel al-Jubeir listen to a journalist's question during a news conference at the foreign affairs headquarters in Cairo, Egypt May 31, 2015. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh - RTR4Y7WP

Cairo, Riyadh pledge cooperation as each weighs nuclear deal

Predictably, though neither Egypt nor Saudi Arabia has been enthusiastic in its response to the Iranian nuclear deal, Egypt has so far been vaguely more welcoming.

Will Rouhani, Larijani reshape Iran’s political landscape?

With parliamentary elections coming up, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and parliament Speaker Ali Larijani may join forces to counter the hard-liners.

Rafsanjani announces he will run in Assembly of Experts elections

Reformist Iranian media has welcomed the news that Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani will run in the February 2016 elections.

Rouhani: 'Merchants of sanctions' upset by nuke deal

In a televised interview, President Hassan Rouhani says the gates of the world have opened up to the Iranian people.

A group of Mirage fighter planes prepare to take off during a visit to the air force 499th wing as part of a model unit's tour organised by the Taiwan Ministry of National Defense, in Hsinchu, August 29, 2008. REUTERS/Nicky Loh (TAIWAN) - RTR21SWA

Will Iran buy French warplanes?

With restrictions set to come off in the medium term, Iran has an even greater incentive to modernize its antiquated air force.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (2nd L) poses for members of the media with foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council as they meet to discuss Middle East concerns about an emerging nuclear deal with Iran, at the Chief of Mission Residence in Paris, France, May 8, 2015. REUTERS/Andrew Harnik/Pool - RTX1C3NI

How Iran should approach the GCC

After reaching the nuclear deal, Iran has a chance to improve relations with the GCC states — but it must tread cautiously.