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Iran

October 23, 2026

Tehran 1:09 pm

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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

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 man looks at the headline of a newspaper at a news stand in Tehran March 4, 2012. Hardliners allied with Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei maintained their lead in the country's parliamentary vote, with partial results on Sunday showing supporters of the president trailing behind. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR2YT

Does Khamenei Have A Favored Candidate?

The perception of being Khamenei's candidate could mean 12 million votes in Iran’s presidential election.

Iranians sit next to electoral posters of Hassan Rohani (L) and Mohsen Rezai (C) in the religious city of Qom some 130 kilometres south of the capital on June 9, 2013. Iran elects on June 14 a successor to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose eight years in office have been marked by stiff Western sanctions over Tehran's controversial nuclear drive and the economic turmoil they have caused. AFP PHOTO/BEHROUZ MEHRI (Photo credit should read BEHROUZ MEHRI/AFP/Getty Images)

Iranian Press Mostly Quiet In Run-up to Election

The crackdown on the media which started five months before the election has effectively stifled critical press inside Iran.

A general view of the Bushehr nuclear power plant, some 1,200 km (746 miles) south of Tehran October 26, 2010. Iran has begun loading fuel into the core of its first nuclear power plant on Tuesday, one of the last steps to realising its stated goal of becoming a peaceful nuclear power, state-run Press TV reported on Tuesday. REUTERS/IRNA/Mohammad Babaie (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS ENERGY) - RTXTUIA

Iran’s Next President and The Third Nuclear Strategy

US President Barack Obama and Iran’s next president should expand the nuclear talks to include regional security matters, including Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria.

Nabilloah Bagheriha of Iran's Persepolis (L) fights for the ball with Rivaldo Vitor Borba Ferreira of Uzbekistan's Bunyodkor during their AFC Champions League soccer match at Tehran's Azadi stadium May 27, 2009. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi (IRAN SPORT SOCCER) - RTXOLC7

Sports an Issue in Iran's Elections

Iran's sports clubs have become politicized in recent years and are an issue in the presidential contest.

Iran's former chief nuclear negotiator Hassan Rohani attends a meeting of Iran's Assembly of Experts in Tehran on March 5, 2013. Iran's Assembly of Experts is an 86-seat body that selects the supreme leader and supervises his activities and holds sessions twice a year. AFP PHOTO/ ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)

New Poll on Iranian Election Shows Rouhani as Front-Runner

Iran's presidential candidate Hassan Rouhani's outspokenness on important issues could propel him to the presidency at the last minute.

Rouhani's Biopic Surprises Iranian Voters

Presidential candidate Hassan Rouhani's 30-minute documentary on state TV has captured voters' attention.

Lebanon's Hezbollah supporters wave Palestinian and Hezbollah flags during a demonstration, organised by Lebanese and Palestinian factions, against Israel's military operation in Gaza, in front of the U.N. headquarters in Beirut November 17, 2012. Israeli aircraft bombed Hamas government buildings in Gaza on Saturday, including the prime minister's office, after Israel's cabinet authorised the mobilisation of up to 75,000 reservists, preparing for a possible ground invasion. REUTERS/Jamal Saidi (LEBANON - T

Hamas-Hezbollah Ties Deteriorate Over Syria

The second segment of a three-part series on Hamas reveals a sharp deterioration in its ties with a former close ally, Hezbollah.

Iranian former Vice-President Mohammad Reza Aref flashes the sign of victory as he registers his candidacy for the upcoming presidential election at the interior ministry in Tehran on May 10, 2013. Iran began a five-day registration period for candidates in Iran's June 14 presidential election, with a string of conservative hopefuls in the running but with key reformists yet to come forward, media reports said. AFP PHOTO/ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)

Iranian Candidate’s Wife An Electoral Asset

Hamideh Moravvej, wife of reformist presidential candidate Mohammad Reza Aref, is pushing boundaries in her frequent campaign appearances and style of dress.

Campaign pins of Iranian presidential candidate and lead nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili are displayed for sale at Tehran University in the Iranian capital on June 3, 2013. The eight candidates standing for president this month may differ on several issues, but when it comes to Iran's nuclear drive they are united in pursuing what they see as its peaceful atomic ambitions. AFP PHOTO/ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)

Iranian Candidates Vie For 'Party of the Wind'

Presidential candidates are jockeying for position among Iran’s political factions and for the unpredictable swing vote.

A cleric reads a book in the library of a religious research center associated with the seminary in Qom, 120 km (75 miles) south of Tehran February 2, 2009. REUTERS/Caren Firouz (IRAN) - RTXB5VE

The Forbidden Libraries Of the Qom Seminary

While confiscated and sensitive books are kept hidden from most religious students and scholars in Iran's religious city of Qom, copies have thrived online.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry testifies at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on national security and foreign policy priorities for the 2014 international affairs budget, on Capitol Hill in Washington, April 18, 2013. Kerry on Thursday asked senators pressing for tougher sanctions over Iran's nuclear ambitions to be patient, saying there is uncertainty in the Islamic republic two months before its June 14 election. REUTERS/Jason Reed (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS BUSINESS) - RTXYQVB

Obama Administration Quick To Chide Iran on Elections

The Obama administration will not withhold its criticism if Iran cracks down during its presidential elections.

Iran's chief negotiator Saeed Jalili attends a news conference at the Iranian Consulate in Istanbul May 16, 2013. Iran is prepared to pursue nuclear diplomacy with world powers before or after next month's presidential election in the Islamic Republic, its chief negotiator said on Thursday. REUTERS/Osman Orsal (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) ENERGY) - RTXZOPP

Cold Start in Tehran As Elections Heat Up

Excitement over Iran's presidential election is missing, despite election day being two weeks away.