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Iran

August 20, 2026

Tehran 1:38 pm

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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 leaving the office to report, film or take pictures in Tehran.

Former Iranian Vice President Mohammad Ali Abtahi smiles as he sits at his home in Tehran, after he was released from jail November 22, 2009. Abtahi, accused of fomenting street unrest after Iran's June election, was released on bail of about $700,000 (424, 062 pounds) on Sunday, the judiciary said, after reports he had been sentenced to six years in jail. REU

Former Iran VP speaks on interreligious outreach

In an interview with Al-Monitor, former Iranian Vice President Mohammad Ali Abtahi talks about the challenges of his work in interreligious outreach.

U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) arrives for a vote on whether to overturn a presidential veto of the Keystone XL pipeline, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, March 4, 2015. The U.S. Senate failed on Wednesday to overturn Obama's veto of legislation approving the Keystone XL oil pipeline, leaving the contentious project to await an administration decision on whether to allow it. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS ENERGY ENVIRONMENT) - RTR4S47R

Democrats slam brakes on Iran action

Forget about voting on anything before March 24 deadline, House and Senate Democrats warn.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses a joint meeting of Congress in the House Chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 3, 2015. REUTERS/Gary Cameron (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4RWHO

Rafsanjani: Iran’s hard-liners 'in harmony with Netanyahu'

Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani has said that Iran's hard-liners are in line with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in opposing a nuclear deal with the West, drawing the ire of one of Iran's most conservative newspapers.

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

A customer buys Iranian gold coins at a currency exchange office in Tehran's business district October 24, 2011. Iranian media reported last week that monetary authorities had reversed a six-month-old decision to cut interest on bank deposits, aiming to mop up excess cash in the economy and halt a dangerous rise of inflation. The news made sense to economists,

Iranian banks on shaky ground

Toxic loans coupled with crippling sanctions have led Iranian banks to be running out of capital, pushing deposit-taking banks to offer higher rates than monetary officials insist on.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress at the Capitol in Washington March 3, 2015. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4RX0B

Bibi's 'House of Cards' moment

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has maneuvered himself into a win-win position: If an Iranian agreement isn’t reached, he'll celebrate all the way to the ballot box; if not, he can say that at least he tried to avert the catastrophe.

Iranian journalists of leading moderate daily, Shargh (East), stand by their desks 06 August 2007 in Tehran after it was shut down for the second time in less than a year for publishing an interview with a woman accused of being a homosexual activist. The ban on Shargh (East), the favourite newspaper of Iranian liberals, comes amid growing pressure on the press in Iran and follows the closure of fellow moderate daily Ham Mihan last month. AFP PHOTO/ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty

Iran's female editors rise to the top despite challenges

Despite a growth of female journalists in Iranian media, they still face various barriers and limits.

People sit under a television broadcasting Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to the U.S. Congress, at a kiosk in the southern city of Ashkelon March 3, 2015. Netanyahu warned U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday against accepting a nuclear deal with Iran that would be a "countdown to a potential nuclear nightmare" by a country that "will always be an enemy of America". REUTERS/Amir Cohen (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4RWZN

Focused on Iran, Bibi ignores Israel's economic crisis

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke eloquently to Congress about Iran and the reception he received was warm, but now he has to win the support of an Israeli electorate struggling financially and increasingly alienated from him.

An Iranian woman registers her candidacy for the upcoming parliamentary elections at the interior ministry in Tehran on December 24, 2011. Iranians began to register their candidacy for the upcoming elections set for March 2, 2012 for a four-year tenure in parliament. AFP PHOTO/ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)

Iran's female MPs show mixed record

Iran's female members of parliament have been few in number but have had a large impact on national policies.

U.S. Senators' Lindsey Graham (front L) (R-SC), John McCain (Back L) (R-AZ), Charles Schumer (C) (D-NY) and Bob Corker (R) (R-TN) talk on the floor of the House Chamber prior to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's address to a joint meeting of Congress in the House Chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 3, 2015. REUTERS/Gary Cameron (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4RX59

Congress races to act on Iran after Bibi's speech

The Senate is to take up a bill demanding a say on the nuclear deal next week.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses a joint meeting of Congress in the House Chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 3, 2015. U.S. Speaker of the House John Boehner (L) (R-OH) and President pro tempore of the U.S. Senate Orrin Hatch (R-UT) look on from behind Netanyahu. REUTERS/Gary Cameron (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4RWHE

Iran paper sees conspiracy in Netanyahu speech

While reactions have been mixed in Iranian newspapers, hard-line Kayhan believes that Netanyahu and Obama are actually deceiving the Iranian negotiators.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gestures as he addresses the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) policy conference in Washington, March 2, 2015. Netanyahu said on Monday that the alliance between his country and the United States is "stronger than ever" and will continue to improve. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4RS6O

US, EU battle Netanyahu for public's trust on Iran

Israeli leader sees Congress as crucial backstop against "bad deal."

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

A Nour missile is test fired off Iran's first domestically made destroyer, Jamaran, on the southern shores of Iran in the Persian Gulf March 9, 2010. A newly inaugurated Iranian destroyer test fired a surface-to-surface missile in the Gulf on Tuesday, Iran's Fars news agency reported. REUTERS/Ebrahim Noroozi/IIPA (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY IMAGES OF TH

IRGC: Naval exercise also 'media-psychological' operation

The head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps public relations has said that Iran's publicized naval exercises were meant to prepare for threats from countries beyond the region and praised the media coverage of them.