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Iran

October 20, 2026

Tehran 7:47 pm

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Iran says deal reached with Iraq to expel Kurdish separatists: What to know

Iran said an agreement was reached with Iraq to expel or hand over members of Kurdish separatist groups based in Iraqi Kurdistan.

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

Latest News

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

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

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.

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.

A woman wearing an Iranian flag uses a mobile phone on the streets of Tehran June 16, 2009. Picture taken June 16, 2009. REUTERS via Your View (IRAN ELECTIONS POLITICS CONFLICT) - RTR24S98

Iran judiciary gives final order to shut down WhatsApp, Viber

Jokes about the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran circuiting on WhatsApp and Viber has resulted in the judiciary ordering the communications minister to close the mobile messaging platforms.

Do Syrians support US airstrikes in Syria?

Syrians worry about US airstrikes; Iran could be bridge to Syria in international coalition against the Islamic State (IS); Syrian Revolutionary Forces reject report of pact with IS; Syrian Kurds lose ground to IS; Iran claims leadership in battle against IS terrorists.

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

Iran cleric: They used to say loudspeakers were forbidden

Two prominent clerics have taken opposing views on the issue of high-speed Internet, which is currently being debated in the Iranian media.

A Shi'ite volunteer from brigades loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, keeps guard as he mans a machine gun in front of a picture of Iraqi Shi'ite radical leader Muqtada al-Sadr (L) and the Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Sadiq al-Sadr, in Samarra, July 13, 2014. Followers of radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who fought U.S. troops under the banner of the Mehdi Army during the 2003-2011 occupation, have returned as Sadr's new "Peace Brigades." The black-turbaned cleric was shown on television this week surround

Political rifts threaten Iraq's anti-IS coalition

While a coalition of the willing is being formed to tackle the Islamic State (IS), international and local political divisions still threaten to tear it apart, leaving IS the only winner.

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

Mohammad Ali Jafari, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp, attends a news conference in Tehran February 7, 2011. REUTERS/STRINGER (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) - RTXXKFA

IRGC announces improved economic relations with Rouhani

The commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said that despite initial doubts, relations between the organization and the administration of President Hassan Rouhani have improved.

Iranian President Mohammad Khatami (L) makes a point to Iranian Supreme
Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (R) as he introduces the new cabinet to
the Leader in Tehran August 27, 2001. Iran's reformist parliament
approved all 20 ministers nominated by President Mohammad Khatami
despite earlier misgivings the new cabinet would not do enough to bring
about rapid change. Khatami, re-elected with a landslide 77 percent of
the vote in June, had promised in his second four-year term to press
for a freer, but many refo

Why didn't Khatami visit Iran's supreme leader in hospital?

Iranians have speculated over social media on why former President Mohammad Khatami failed to visit Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during his hospital stay.

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

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei waves to the crowd in the holy city of Qom, 120 km (75 miles) south of Tehran, October 19, 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 - RTXTL7O

Khamenei: Iran rejected US offer to cooperate against IS

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said that despite statements by US officials, it was Iran who had rejected cooperation with the United States against the Islamic State group.

Iraqi Shiite militia fighters hold the Islamic State flag as they celebrate after breaking the siege of Amerli by Islamic State militants, September 1, 2014. Picture taken on September 1, 2014. REUTERS/Youssef Boudlal (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS MILITARY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR44N6G

Iran conservatives reject cooperation with US against IS

Conservative Iranian figures and media outlets have resoundedly rejected the idea of Iran joining a US-led coalition against the Islamic State.

U.S. President Barack Obama speaks on the phone with Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah from the Oval Office of the White House in Washington September 10, 2014. President Barack Obama called Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah on Wednesday ahead of an evening speech in which the U.S. leader plans to lay out his strategy for defeating the militant group Islamic State, the White House said. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR45PEQ

Israel skeptical about US strategy on IS

While the US finds a new interlocutor in Israel's opposition leader, the Israeli security establishment is not reassured by President Barack Obama's latest speech, since it fears that much like Hamas, the Islamic State cannot be defeated by airstrikes alone.

Iran Foreign Ministry casts doubt on US coalition against IS

Iran's Foreign Ministry said that the US-led coalition to fight the Islamic State includes countries that had helped fuel terrorism in the region.

Hezbollah supporters wave Lebanese, Syrian, Palestinian and Hezbollah flags as they listen to their leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah addressing his supporters during a rally to mark "Quds (Jerusalem) Day" in Beirut's southern suburbs July 25, 2014. REUTERS/Sharif Karim (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST RELIGION) - RTR4056R

Hezbollah parliamentarian: We will defend Lebanon from IS

In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, Hezbollah lawmaker Ali Fayyad said Lebanon was under direct threat from the Islamic State and that Hezbollah stood ready to confront it.

Fun boats lie on the bank of the dried-up Zayanderood River in Isfahan, 450 km (281 miles) south of Tehran, June 27, 2008. The river dried up due to low rainfall and the water being re-channelled for hydroelectricity purposes. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl (IRAN) - RTX7EUD

Drought triggers protests in Iran

Climate change, drought and decades of mismanagement have led to serious water shortages in Iran, leading to protests in a number of cities.