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September 26, 2026

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An Iran Air Airbus A300 prepares for boarding at Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran, Iran, Aug. 16, 2016.

‘Free for all or for no one’: Iran warns neighbors over flight bans

Several countries in the region have suspended Iranian flights under US sanctions after Washington warned global companies they would no longer have access to the dollar system if they do business with Iranian airlines.

Hector RETAMAL / AFP via Getty Images

Iran flights continue, UAE route closes on day 2 of US sanctions

All flights by Iranian carriers to the UAE have been canceled, according to Iran's ISNA news agency.

AFP via Getty Images

Iran threatens to expand war to Indian Ocean: What to know

An adviser to Iran's supreme leader has threatened to open a new front in the Indian Ocean if the US resumes its strikes against Iran.

Latest News

Fresh clashes leave 6 dead in Iran's Sistan and Baluchistan: What to know

Iranian security forces stand guard in the capital city on July 03, 2026 in Tehran, Iran.

Rubio: US-Iran talks 'positive,' no breakthrough yet

Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images

Cargo vessel attack in Hormuz kills 1 as world leaders gather at UN

The Marshall Islands-flagged bulk carrier vessel Manta Ursula is pictured moored in Muscat on July 25, 2026.

Explainer

US moves to ground Iran’s airlines: Who is complying and who isn’t?

ATTA KENARE / AFP via 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

BARBOD KHORSHIDI/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

Grenade attack on IRGC kills 2 in Iran’s Kurdistan province: What to know

The deadly assault comes amid recurring tensions and clashes in Iran’s Kurdish-majority western region.

Iran's president, Masoud Pezeshkian, addresses members of parliament in Tehran on March 2, 2025.

Analysis

Reeling from Israel war, Iran expands espionage law, bans Starlink use

Iran has officially enacted a sweeping new espionage law imposing harsher measures — including the death penalty — for collaboration with Israel, as rights activists decry what they say is a new campaign of arbitrary arrests and deeper repression.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Iran's defense minister, Aziz Nasirzadeh, attends a meeting in eastern China's Shandong province on June 26, 2025.

Iran defense chief visits Turkey to boost military ties: What to know

The Iranian defense chief met with his Turkish counterpart as Tehran seeks to enhance its defense ties with Ankara.

A woman walks past a deactivated Kheibar Shekan ballistic missile in front of a picture of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran's Bahrestan Square on Sept. 27, 2025, as part of an exhibit to mark the "Sacred Defense Week" commemorating the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war.

US targets Iran's military tech with sanctions after allies trigger snapback

New sanctions aim to increase pressure on Iran to restrict the IRGC’s relentless development of ballistic missiles and military aircraft, but risk pushing Tehran further into the orbits of Russia and China.

Iranians drive next to a billboard displaying pictures of nuclear scientists, centrifuges and a sentence reading in Farsi, "Science is the power," at the Enqelab Square in Tehran, on Aug. 29, 2025.

Iran rial hits record low 1.13M to dollar as UN snapback sanctions resume: What to know

The sanctions, which were trigged by the three European signatories to the nuclear deal, will not hinder Iranian oil exports to China, an official said.

Taliban military vehicles parade to celebrate the third anniversary of Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan, at the Bagram Air Base, in Bagram, Parwan province on Aug. 14, 2024.

Analysis

How Afghanistan's Bagram base became focal point of US-China-Iran rivalry

Trump’s push to regain control of Bagram underscores Washington’s broader strategy to monitor China, counter Iran and project power across Central Asia.

Sabena Siddiqui

By Sabena Siddiqui

In Karachi, reporting on South Asia, Middle East, Iran

President of Iran Masoud Pezeshkian speaks during the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at the United Nations headquarters on Sept. 24, 2025 in New York City.

Analysis

'Prepared for any scenario': What are Iran's options after sanctions snapback?

As the snapback nears, Iran weighs diplomacy, escalation and changes to its nuclear policy.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Screenshot, YouTube.

Israeli-American indicted for spying for Iran as Tehran steps up espionage in Israel

Iran has been seeking to recruit both Jews and Arabs for surveillance activities inside Israel.

Special envoy Steve Witkoff speaks as President Donald Trump holds a cabinet meeting with members of his administration in the White House on Aug. 26, 2025, in Washington, DC.

Snapback ‘too late’ to reverse despite quiet US-Iran talks

Months after US and Israeli strikes derailed the nuclear talks, Steve Witkoff confirmed his talks with the Iranians are ongoing.

Thomas Kronsteiner/Getty Images

Russia, Iran sign deal to build small nuclear power plants: What to know

As Iran grapples with energy shortages and renewed sanctions pressure, Tehran and Moscow signed a memorandum Wednesday to expand nuclear cooperation through the construction of small nuclear power plants.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi attends a joint press conference following the signing of an Egypt-backed agreement on practical modalities to resume nuclear inspections on the Iranian nuclear program on Sept. 9, 2025 in Cairo, Egypt.

Araghchi pushes last-ditch diplomacy at UN as Iran braces for sanctions snapback

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi pursued urgent diplomacy in New York to block the looming snapback of UN sanctions, warning Western powers against "confrontation," as lawmakers at home demanded radical revisions of Tehran's nuclear doctrine.

Mohammad Eslami, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, speaks during the 69th annual International Atomic Energy Agency general conference on Sept. 15, 2025, in Vienna, Austria.

Iran's nuclear chief in Moscow, eyes nuclear power plant deal with Russia

Mohammad Eslami’s visit comes just a week after Russia’s energy minister was in Tehran, and a month after the CEO of Rosatom confirmed ongoing negotiations with Iran to build new nuclear plants in the country.