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October 20, 2026

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Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (L) shakes hands with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi upon his arrival in Tehran on Oct. 19, 2026.

Lavrov visits Tehran as Trump praises Russia's role on Iran: What to know

During a meeting with his Iranian counterpart earlier this month, Russian President Vladimir Putin renewed Moscow’s offer to mediate between Tehran and Washington.

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.

Latest News

Analysis

How much oil can cushion another Middle East supply shock?

A vessel transits the Gulf of Oman

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

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)

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 Shi'ite Houthi rebel walks at a checkpoint in Sanaa December 11, 2014. The Houthis are an armed Shi'ite faction whose fighters had swept down from the north and stunningly captured Sanaa from the army about a month earlier. Their arrival following anti-government protests threatens to further destabilise Yemen, already wracked by political turmoil since the Arab Spring revolutions of 2011. To match Insight YEMEN-HOUTHIS/ REUTERS/Mohamed al-Sayaghi (YEMEN - Tags: CIVIL UNREST TRANSPORT) - RTR4HNFD

Iran's role in Yemen draws Israel, Saudi Arabia closer

The Houthi takeover of the Yemen port city, the tribe's strong ties to Iran and its latest contacts with Palestine Islamic Jihad have both Israel and Saudi Arabia worried.

Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov (R) walks with Syria's Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal al-Miqdad upon his arrival in Damascus December 10, 2014.
REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4HEWY

Russia steps up its Middle East policy

Russia has recently increased its diplomatic efforts in the Middle East on a variety of fronts, ranging from Arab-Israeli peace to trade with Lebanon and military cooperation with Sudan.

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) (L) discusses a newly released Intelligence Committee report on the CIA's anti-terrorism tactics, in a speech on the floor of the U.S. Senate, in this still image taken from video, on Capitol Hill in Washington December 9, 2014. "Enhanced interrogation" techniques used by the CIA on militants detained in secret prisons were ineffective and never produced information which led to the disruption of imminent terrorist plots, the declassified repo

Iran official calls for UN investigation of CIA torture

Long a target of human rights sanctions, Iran has called for a UN investigation into human rights violations by the United States.

A customer prepares to fill up his tank in a gasoline station in Nice December 5, 2014. Wholesale petrol prices have slumped by 35.5 percent since reaching their peak for the year in June, but in more than half of European Union countries prices after tax have fallen by less than half this amount. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard (FRANCE - Tags: ENERGY BUSINESS) - RTR4GVAT

Iran VP: We'll manage even if oil drops to $40

Iranian officials and media outlets have expressed concern over the president’s budget for the next Iranian year, worrying that the administration has been overly optimistic in predicting oil prices.

Rouhani criticizes consolidation of power in government

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani has indirectly criticized the economic power and influence of the Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani gives a news conference on the sidelines of the 69th United Nations General Assembly at United Nations Headquarters in New York September 26, 2014. Rouhani said on Friday "courageous decisions" must be made to clinch a long-term nuclear agreement and that any deal without the lifting of all sanctions against Tehran was "unacceptable". REUTERS/Adrees Latif (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR47VNA

Rouhani speech interrupted by Green Movement chants

Speeches commemorating Student Day were disrupted across Iran's universities by outcries in support of Green Movement leaders and student activists.

Mohammad Javad Larijani (front, on R), secretary of Iran's High Council for Human Rights and advisor to the chief of the judiciary on international affairs, who is leading Iran's delegation, sits during the United Nations (U.N.) Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Working Group meeting to review Iran's human rights record, at the (U.N.) European headquarters in Geneva October 31, 2014. REUTERS/Pierre Albouy (SWITZERLAND - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4CA9W

Iran considers ending death penalty for drug offenses

Iranian judicial officials have once again stated publicly that the country's criminal prosecution and punishment of drug-related crime need to be reformed.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov looks on at the start of two days of closed-door nuclear talks at the United Nations offices in Geneva October 15, 2013. Iran will face pressure on Tuesday to propose scaling back its nuclear programme to win relief from crippling sanctions as talks between world powers and Tehran resume after a six-month hiatus. REUTERS/Fabrice Coffrini/Pool (SWITZERLAND - Tags: ENERGY POLITICS) - RTX14BOO

Russian envoy helps advance Iranian nuclear deal

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov has played a highly constructive role in helping to advance an Iran nuclear deal despite tensions between the Kremlin and the West.

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

Iran's Revolutionary Guards commander Mohammad Ali Jafari looks on while attending Friday prayers in Tehran February 10, 2012. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS RELIGION MILITARY) - RTR2XM2I

IRGC denies negotiations are source of Iran's security

The head of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps believes that the country's nuclear negotiators derived their strength directly from Iran's military and defensive abilities.

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

An Iranian AirForce F-5F fighter plane takes off during manoeuvres in southern Iran June 24, 2009. REUTERS/Fars News (IRAN MILITARY) - RTR24ZCE

Iran denies cooperating with US on IS strikes

Iranian officials have not confirmed whether Iran has conducted airstrikes against the Islamic State in Iraq but continue to officially reject cooperation with the US-led coalition.

Shi'ite volunteers, who have joined the Iraqi army to fight against militants of the Islamic State, formerly known as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), carry a picture of Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani during a graduation ceremony after completing their field training in Najaf, August 16, 2014. School is out, but northern Baghdad's classrooms are packed - not with students, but with people who have travelled further than most to escape the Sunni militant onslaught splitting Iraq. REUTERS/Alaa Al

Sistani denies supporting Soleiman's involvement in Iraq

The office of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has denied allegations that he supports the Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani's presence and Iranian involvement in Iraq in the fight against the Islamic State.

Customers use computers at an internet cafe in Tehran May 9, 2011. Websites like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and countless others were banned shortly after the re-election of Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the huge street protests that followed. Seen by the government as part of a "soft war" waged by the enemies of the Islamic Republic, social networking and picture sharing sites were a vital communication tool for the anti-Ahmadinejad opposition -- more than a year before they played a similar rol

No sign of pardon for Iran blogger sentenced to death

The deputy head of Iran's judiciary has said that there is no move to pardon blogger Soheil Arabi, sentenced to execution over Facebook comments, but there is a request to review his case.