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Iran

October 19, 2026

Ostān-e Tehrān 12:06 am

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shoppers walking through the Tajrish Bazaar, a traditional market in Tehran

Analysis

As Iran’s oil lifeline runs dry, can it outlast Trump's economic siege?

The country's last barrels of crude stockpiled beyond the reach of a US naval blockade fell to zero in October, raising the stakes for Tehran amid mounting economic distress.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (L) and Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi holds a press conference in Tehran on November 30, 2025.

Analysis

Turkey turns to Iran to contain Houthis as Saudi defense commitments grow

Ankara is trying to contain the fighting between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis through Tehran’s help, but Iran may see an advantage in allowing the Houthis to maintain pressure on the kingdom.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

US President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at the Oncenter Convention Center in Syracuse, New York, on Oct. 9, 2026.

Window for diplomacy with Iran may be closing as Trump again threatens Pickaxe Mountain

Israel still wary of Damascus, writes Ben Caspit from Israel; our correspondent in Tehran and Amberin Zaman explain how Iran and Turkey look to exploit Azerbaijan’s headscarf controversy; Qatar’s top diplomat offers energy assistance to Lebanon, Beatrice Farhat reports from Beirut.

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

Latest News

Analysis

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

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)

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

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

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.

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

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)

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

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

Former Iranian president and election front-runner Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani casts his ballot in the Iranian presidential election in Tehran June 17, 2005. Iran holds presidential election on Friday under international scrutiny for its nuclear programme, its rocky relationship with the United States and by observers keen to see which direction the Islamic Republic will move in now that the presidency of reformist Mohammad Khatami has ended. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj CJF/DY - RTREON2

Iran court upholds sentence of Rafsanjani's son

An appellate court has upheld the corruption case against Mehdi Hashemi, son of Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani.

Iranian President-elect Hassan Rouhani (2nd R) pays his respects to the grave of the founder of the Islamic Republic Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini at his mausoleum in Tehran June 16, 2013. Reuters/Fars News/Seyed Hassan Mousavi (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS) ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS PICTURE IS DISTRIBUTED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS - RTX10Q4E

Khomeini's supporters defend extravagant shrine

Critics have assailed the apparent lavishness of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's shrine, saying he would have opposed the "palace-like" building.

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Iran MP emerges as Instagram rabble-rouser

Conservative Iranian parliament member Mehdi Koochakzadeh has taken to Instagram to attack his political rivals, attracting over 2,000 followers in just over a month.

Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff U.S. Marine Corps Gen. James Cartwright testifies at a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee on the situations in Iraq and Afghanistan, on Capitol Hill in Washington September 23, 2008. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (UNITED STATES) - RTX8UA8

Ex-Obama adviser: Missile defense may avert GCC proliferation

Retired Gen. James Cartwright, a former commander of US Strategic Command, says that missile defense could persuade Persian Gulf states to forswear nuclear weapons despite their concerns about an upcoming nuclear accord with Iran.

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (C) smiles as he attends the 66th United Nations General Assembly at the U.N. headquarters in New York, September 22, 2011. REUTERS/Eric Thayer (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR2ROEW

Former Ahmadinejad vice president arrested

Hamid Baghaei, former vice president for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is the second Ahmadinejad era Cabinet member to be arrested on alleged corruption charges.

A fighter from the Southern Popular Resistance mans a machine gun at the front line of fighting against Houthi fighters, on the outskirts of Yemen's southern port city of Aden June 6, 2015. REUTERS/Stringer

TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTX1FETF

Former Iran ambassador: Saudis must accept Houthis

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Seyed Ali Asghar Ghoreishi, former Iranian ambassador to Yemen, discussed the nature of Iran's support for the Houthis, elements necessary to end the fighting in Yemen and the possibility of extremist groups seizing large sections of territory in Yemen.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani arrives to attend the closing statement for the Asian-African Conference in Jakarta April 23, 2015.
REUTERS/Darren Whiteside - RTX19YAE

Rouhani: Saving environment starts with sanctions removal

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has been criticized for linking possible help for the country's environmental problems with sanctions relief from a nuclear deal.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a briefing at the Israeli army's Home Front Command base in Ramle near Tel Aviv, Israel June 2, 2015. Israel launched a five-day annual home front defence exercise on Sunday, preparing soldiers and civilians for missile attacks. REUTERS/Baz Ratner - RTR4YIVS

Why didn’t Netanyahu attack Iran?

This week it was disclosed that there was a serious disagreement between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the heads of the security apparatus in 2010, when Netanyahu considered attacking Iran.

Defense bill could keep sanctions pressure on Iran

A look at the Middle East issues Congress will be addressing the week of June 8.

Selahattin Demirtas, co-chairman of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), speaks as his supporters wave Kurdish (L) and Turkish national (R) flags in the background, during an election rally for Turkey's June 7 parliamentary election, in Istanbul, Turkey, June 6, 2015. Turkey's Kurdish-rooted opposition party, which could scupper Tayyip Erdogan's ambitions for sweeping new powers, accused the President on Saturday of a lack of respect for supporters killed in a bomb attack in an election rally an

Will voters reject Turkey’s ‘precious loneliness’?

Parliamentary elections on June 7 could signal a shift in Turkey’s foreign policy; Islamic State’s radicalization campaign extends to Iraqi Kurdistan; Iran not backing down in Syria; Soleimani promises "surprise" in battle against Islamic State.

Senators John McCain (R-AZ) (center), Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Ben Cardin (D-MD) (right) speak before Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Martin E. Dempsey, John Kerry, U.S. secretary of state, and Charles 'Chuck' Hagel, secretary of defense, arrive to present the administration's case for U.S. military action against Syria to a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on September 3, 2013. President Barack Obama on Tuesday urged quick congressional action authorizing the use of military force against Syria

Senate prepares to review Iran nuclear deal

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has started holding classified briefings to prepare members to review the terms of a prospective Iran nuclear deal next month.

A worker works at the Fuel Manufacturing plant at Isfahan Uranium Conversion Facility 440 km (273 miles) south of Tehran April 9, 2009. REUTERS/Caren Firouz (IRAN POLITICS ENERGY) - RTXDTQ0

How do we solve Iran talks' verification dilemma?

The issue of inspections of Iranian military facilities and the interrogation of Iranian scientists has quickly become the most controversial aspect of the nuclear negotiations in Iran.