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Iran

August 20, 2026

Tehran 9:13 am

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AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP via Getty Images

Explainer

Iraq seeks special Hormuz access from Iran in scramble to keep oil flowing

As Iran's parliament speaker holds talks in Baghdad, Iraq has asked Tehran for special consideration for its oil exports.

Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf speaks during a press conference at the site where Qasem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was killed by a US airstrike in 2020 near the airport upon his arrival in Baghdad, on Aug. 19, 2026.

Iran’s Ghalibaf makes high-level visit to Iraq ahead of disarmament deadline

The Iraqi parliament speaker is calling on his Iranian counterpart to help Iraq export oil through Hormuz amid the regional conflict.

Pedestrians walk past a billboard depicting Iran's late Supreme Leaders Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Tehran, Iran, June 15, 2026.

With talks stalled, Iran ups threats against Gulf, Europe: What to know

The threats have raised concerns that the conflict between Iran and the United States could expand beyond the region.

Latest News

Analysis

How failing US-Iran diplomacy is giving way to fresh confrontation

Vessels in the Strait of Hormuz

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

UAE halts all trade ties with Iran after missile attack

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.

United Arab Emirates

Oil nears $92 on UAE missile alert as Trump claims Iran talks stuck

Leon Neal/Getty Images

United Arab Emirates

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

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

An Iranian operator monitors the nuclear power plant unit in Bushehr, about 1,215 km (755 miles) south of Tehran, November 30, 2009. Russia plans to start up Iran's first nuclear power station in March 2010 to coincide with the Iranian New Year, two sources closely involved with the project told Reuters. Russia agreed in 1995 to build the 1,000 megawatt nuclear power plant

Will R&D agreement seal the Iran deal?

Research and development for Iran's nuclear program will play a large role in how the final nuclear agreement looks.

Iranian vendor dies after setting himself on fire

Iranian activists are questioning why the self-immolation of a fruit vendor in Iran did not lead to mass protests.

Shi'ite fighters chant slogans as they advance into the town of Tal Ksaiba, near the town of al-Alam, March 7, 2015. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT)

Thaier Al-Sudani: "It was me and a few other Iraqi journalists working for local outlets. We went to the frontlines in coordination with the Iraqi government forces and supporting militias.

The press officer would come in the morning and take us to the frontline in a convoy.

Whenever an area was won from Islamic Sta

Iran wages psychological war against IS

Iran is waging a psychological war against the Islamic State in Iraq, promoting and highlighting the prominent role of Iraqi fighters among the country's paramilitary groups.

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

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivers a sermon during Friday prayers at Tehran University June 19, 2009. Khamenei on Friday demanded an end to street protests that have shaken the country since a disputed presidential election a week ago and said any bloodshed would be their leaders' fault. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl (IRAN POLITICS ELECTIONS RELIGI

What is Khamenei thinking on removing sanctions?

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, said that the removal of sanctions has to be part of the nuclear agreement, not something that happens after the deal.

Iranians shop for Noruz, the Persian New Year, at a market in Tehran on 19 March 2014. Iranians are preparing to celebrate Noruz, an ancient Zoroastrian feast starting 21 March, by buying flowers, green plants and goldfish. Noruz is calculated according to a solar calendar, this year marking 1393. AFP PHOTO/ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)

Khamenei calls for greater domestic production

In his New Year's speech, Ayatollah Ali Khameini, the Iranian supreme leader, urges greater national economic cooperation and says the country needs more domestic capacity building as part as being an "economy of resistance."

Southern Movement militants man a weapon in the Jabal al-Ierr area of Yemen's southern Lahej province, as they prepare to secure the area against Shi'ite Houthi fighters, March 7, 2015. Most of Yemen has been left without state services or authority, and deadly violence is a daily occurrence as Houthis, state security forces, tribesmen, southern separatists and al Qaeda militants clash with each other. REUTERS/Stringer (YEMEN - Tags: CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTR4SG0C

Saudi anguish over Iranian gains

The withdrawal of the remaining US military personnel from Yemen only adds to Riyadh's desperation, with Riyadh worried that Washington's priority is a nuclear deal with Tehran, not stopping Iranian subversion in the Arab world.

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan takes part in a welcoming ceremony in Kiev March 20, 2015. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich - RTR4U5UG

Turkey sidelines itself in US-led coalition against IS

Turkey prefers to be a "reluctant subcontractor" rather than active participant in the international coalition against the Islamic State; US envoy seems to contradict Kerry on Syria diplomacy; Israel faces possible "diplomatic siege" after election; majority of Americans back US negotiations with Iran; Al-Monitor endorses new global standards to protect freelance journalists.

Representative Steve King (R-NY), Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH), U.S. President Barack Obama and Irish Taoiseach Enda Kenny walk down the step of the House of Representatives after having lunch to celebrate St. Patrick's Day on Capitol Hill in Washington on March 17, 2015. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS ANNIVERSARY) - RTR4TQH7

Iran's past nuclear activities come under scrutiny

A look at the Middle East issues Congress will be addressing the week of March 23.

UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka meets with Shahindokht Molaverdi, Vice-President for Women and Family Affairs of Iran.

Photo: UN Women/Ryan Brown

Iranian VP works for change from within

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Shahindokht Molaverdi, vice president for Women and Family Affairs, talks about her role advocating for women's rights and the importance of working from within the administration for change.

Iran's former judiciary chief Mohammad Yazdi attends a session of the Assembly of Experts in the capital Tehran on March 10, 2015, before being appointed as the new head of the Assembly. The Assembly of Experts, the clerics who appoint and can dismiss the country's supreme leader, picked the ultraconservative Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi as their new chairman in a surprise appointment. AFP PHOTO / BEHROUZ MEHRI (Photo credit should read BEHROUZ MEHRI/AFP/Getty Images)

Did Rafsanjani lose today to win tomorrow?

Hashemi Rafsanjani lost in the Assembly of Experts election for the chairmanship, but was it a gambit to bring voters out next year?

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on their ability to film or take pictures in Tehran.
Motorists travel on a highway in Tehran as the city is covered in dust July 6, 2009. The government closed private educational centres, state offices, industrial units and military bases for two days and raised its pollution alert status due to the dust, which an official from Tehran's environment office attributed the source to dust from dried marshland in Iraq blown towar

Iran may turn to biofuels amid worsening pollution

As pollution increases in Iran, Iran may finally turn to biofuels, despite previous failed attempts to do so.

Iranian Revolutionary Guard Commander Qassem Soleimani uses a walkie-talkie at the frontline during offensive operations against Islamic State militants in the town of Tal Ksaiba in Salahuddin province March 8, 2015. Picture taken March 8, 2015. REUTERS/Stringer (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT POLITICS) - RTR4TU0N

Will Qasem Soleimani enter politics?

With all of the media attention Qasem Soleimani is getting, it raises the possibility the Quds Force commander will go into politics.