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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

Iraq's transport minister Hadi al-Amiri (2nd R), head of the Badr Organisation, visits members of the Iraqi security forces after clashes with the predominantly Sunni militants from the radical Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the town of Dalli Abbas in Diyala province, June 26, 2014. Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, the most influential Shi'ite cleric in Iraq, called on the country's leaders on Friday to choose a prime minister within the next four days, a dramatic political intervention that cou

Iran news site profiles head of Iraq’s Badr Organization

Conservative Iranian website Mashregh News has run a glowing profile of the Iraqi Badr Organization's leader, Hadi al-Amiri.

Admiral Ali Shamkhani, Iran?s Supreme National Security Council Director, speaks to the media after his arrival at Damascus airport, September 30, 2014. REUTERS/Khaled al-Hariri (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CONFLICT CIVIL UNREST) - RTR48C04

Iran official: Obama’s letters have been answered

The secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council has said that some of President Barack Obama's letters have received responses.

Rouhani raises concern over falling oil price 'plot'

Hosting Iraq’s Vice President Nouri al-Maliki this week in Tehran, Iran’s president raised the issue of falling oil prices and their implications for the region.

Jon Stewart: My film not meant to demonize Iran

"Rosewater," the first movie by "Daily Show" host Jon Stewart is being released 10 days before the deadline for an Iran nuclear deal and some Iran experts worry that critics of a deal may cite the human rights abuses depicted in the film to try to sabotage an agreement.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (R) and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (L) shake hands as Omani Foreign Minister Yussef bin Alawi (2nd R) and EU envoy Catherine Ashton watch in Muscat November 9, 2014. Zarif began talks with Kerry and Ashton in Oman on Sunday to try to advance efforts to end a standoff over Tehran's nuclear program, a witness said. REUTERS/Nicholas Kamm/Pool (OMAN - Tags: POLITICS ENERGY) - RTR4DEJ8

Iran negotiator thanks supreme leader for support

In an interview, Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has praised Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for supporting and guiding Iran's nuclear negotiators.

Syrians wait to cross back into Syria at the Turkish Cilvegozu border, opposite the Syrian commercial crossing point Bab al-Hawa, in Reyhanli, Hatay province, May 14, 2013. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTXZLW2

Turkey's border security problem

Political factors are not the only cause of Turkey’s border security vulnerability.

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 meets with Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in Tehran October 18, 2010. REUTERS/Khamenei.ir (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS) ) THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS - RTXTK0D

Newspaper close to Iran leader reacts to Obama’s letter

Iranian newspaper Kayhan reports that US President Barack Obama's letter to Iran's supreme leader is a sign that the United States has reached a dead end in Iraq.

A general view shows what activists said is the area of Aleppo controlled by the Syrian Regime April 26, 2014. REUTERS/Mahmoud Hebbo (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTR3MQN6

Syrian official: negotiations with US blocked by Saudi Arabia

A Syrian official spoke on the continued gains of the Syrian army, the failings of the international coalition and chances of talks between the opposing parties.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry addresses the media during a news conference in Vienna July 15, 2014. Kerry on Tuesday dismissed the idea that Iran could maintain its current number of nuclear enrichment centrifuges as part of a long-term deal with six world powers that would lead to a gradual end of sanctions. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader (AUSTRIA - Tags: POLITICS ENERGY) - RTR3YQCC

Iran conservatives limit discussion topics at nuclear talks

Conservative Iranian officials have not formally responded to claims that the US president asked for cooperation in a letter to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei but insist that the nuclear talks will not cover any other issues.

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

Members of the revolutionary guard attend the anniversary ceremony of Iran's Islamic Revolution at the Khomeini shrine in the Behesht Zahra cemetery, south of Tehran, February 1, 2012. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS ANNIVERSARY MILITARY) - RTR2X5DT

Iranian students who took US Embassy: Where are they now?

An Iranian news agency has published a special report following the careers of some of the most prominent students involved in the 1979 hostage crisis.

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

Iranian students holding pictures of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei stand in front of an anti U.S. mural, painted on the wall of the former U.S. Embassy in Tehran November 4, 2011. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR2TLUF

Iran quietly celebrates US Embassy takeover anniversary

The Nov. 4 commemoration of the 1979 takeover of the US Embassy in Tehran, coinciding this year with the Shiite holy day of Ashoura, was relatively muted, perhaps in consideration for the ongoing negotiations with the West.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (R) and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif participate in a trilateral meeting at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York September 25, 2014. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR47QH5

Iran diplomat calls to mend 'old wound' of 1979 hostage crisis

A senior Iranian adviser has acknowledged "amicable" US contributions to reaching a nuclear deal and said that it's time for Iran to finally resolve the hostage crisis that has prevented trust between the two countries.