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October 22, 2026

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Explainer

What Iran’s threats to Hormuz internet cables mean for Gulf

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has threatened to cut crucial internet and communications routes in the region if US aggression escalates.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

US sanctions law firm based in Panama, Greece over Iran shipping ties

The Treasury Department accused Karnakis and Karnakis of registering shipping companies linked to Iran's so-called shadow fleet.

Latest News

Analysis

How Lavrov's Tehran visit tests limits of Russia's influence over Iran

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (L) and Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrive to hold a press conference after a meeting in Tehran on October 19, 2026. The Russian foreign minister arrived in Iran on October 19, in his first visit since the outbreak of the Middle East war as Moscow seeks to play a mediating role. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP via Getty Images)

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

IRGC claims it downed US drone, set two tankers ablaze near Hormuz

Ships are anchored off the coast of Khasab in Oman's Musandam Governorate, near the Strait of Hormuz, on Oct. 2, 2026.

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

Safin HAMID / AFP via Getty Images

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

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

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

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu points to a red line he has drawn on the graphic of a bomb as he addresses the 67th United Nations General Assembly at the U.N. Headquarters in New York, September 27, 2012. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR38I6N

Israel's Hypocritical Attack On Rouhani

While Israel accuses Iran of buying time with its charm offensive, it is doing exactly the same with the Palestinians as negotiations stall and settlements continue.

Presidential candidate Saeed Jalili (C) casts his ballot during the Iranian presidential election in Tehran June 14, 2013. Millions of Iranians voted to choose a new president on Friday, urged by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to turn out in force to discredit suggestions by arch foe the United States that the election would be a sham. REUTERS/Fars News/Armin Karami (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FO

Collapse of US-Iran Negotiations Will Result in Return of Extremists

Collapse of the negotiations between Presidents Barack Obama and Hassan Rouhani will mean the return of Iranian extremists.

U.S. President Barack Obama talks with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani during a phone call in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington September 27, 2013. U.S. President Barack Obama and new Iranian President Hassan Rouhani held the historic phone call on Friday, in the highest level conversation between the estranged nations in more than three decades. Speaking to reporters at the White House, Obama said both men had directed their teams to work expeditiously toward an agreement on Iran's nuclear

Obama-Rouhani Phone Call Thaws Relations

The phone call between Presidents Barack Obama and Hassan Rouhani is a beacon for future US-Iran relations.

Iran's President Hassan Rohani laughs as he speaks during an event hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations and the Asia Society in New York, September 26, 2013. REUTERS/Keith Bedford (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX14198

Call With Obama Caps Rouhani's UN Charm Offensive

Hassan Rouhani, Iran’s new president, says his first visit to the United States exceeded his expectations, but he leaves many who met him puzzled about what he is really prepared to do.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad wears 3-D glasses to watch a programme about an Iranian rocket during a visit to the control centre for Iran's space programme near Tehran February 4, 2008. Iran launched a rocket on Monday designed to send its first homemade research satellite into orbit in the next year, state television said, a move likely to add to Western concerns about Tehran's nuclear plans. REUTERS/Fars News (IRAN) also see GF2DXFSYXNAA - RTR1WNQL

Ahmadinejad’s Legacy Lingers In Iran’s Happiness Report

Iran ranked low on the World Happiness Report, but that may be changing under President Hassan Rouhani.

Can Turkey, Iran Cooperate on Syria?

Working with Iran could help end Turkey’s growing isolation over the Syrian civil war.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to the media after a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry at the prime minister's office in Jerusalem September 15, 2013. Kerry briefed Netanyahu on Sunday on a U.S.-Russian deal to remove Syria's chemical weapons, an accord that drew a guarded response from the Israeli leader. REUTERS/Larry Downing (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX13M58

Netanyahu Swimming Upstream After Iran's Diplomatic Flurry

US President Barack Obama, Palestinian President Abu Mazen and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's told the UN: Israel must compromise on Palestine, while Iran compromises on its nuclear program.

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 leaves an exchange office at a shopping centre in northern Tehran 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, who said April's int

Iran Should Reconsider Foreign Exchange Policy

Iran would benefit from a shift to a single exchange rate.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L) and Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (R) are seated during a meeting of the foreign ministers representing the permanent five member countries of the United Nations Security Council, including Germany, at UN Headquarters in New York September 26, 2013. Iran's new government began its first talks on its nuclear program with the United States and five other world powers on Thursday, with the Iranian foreign minister taking a seat next to U.S. Secretary of St

US, Iran Officials Make Diplomatic History

US Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif took the first step to reaching a deal by speaking together for half an hour yesterday.

Iranian women walk past a mural showing an interpretation of the Statue of Liberty bearing the face of a skull on the wall of the former US embassy in Tehran on September 25, 2013. Leaders from Iran and the United States have not met since the 1979 Islamic Revolution brought often open hostility to their contacts, particularly over Iran's contested nuclear program. AFP PHOTO/ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)

Iran’s 'Guidance Patrols' Stir Controversy

A rise in street confrontations over morals violations raises new questions about Iran's enforcement of morality laws.

(L-R) Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party Leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu, Chief of Staff General Necdet Ozel, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and Chairman of the Parliament Cemil Cicek pray as they attend an official farewell ceremony for fallen Turkish pilots, Captain Gokhan Ertan and Lieutenant Hasan Huseyin, at the 7th Jet Main Air Base in the eastern Turkish city of Malatya July 6, 2012. Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and top military officials attend the funeral of the two pilots of the

Rouhani Offers Chance for Turkey, Too

Better relations with Iran could relieve some of the pressure on Ankara caused by the Syrian war.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during the inauguration ceremony of a hi-tech industry park in the southern city of Beersheba September 3, 2013. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY) - RTX135KM

Netanyahu to Adapt His Position On Changing Iran

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seems unable to readjust his conservative position on Iran, when facing President Hassan Rouhani's new approach to the West.