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Iran

April 12, 2026

Tehran 7:30 pm

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) walks with Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif upon his arrival during an official ceremony at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, Turkey on June 1, 2022. (Photo by Adem ALTAN / AFP) (Photo by ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Inside Turkey’s role in the US-Iran ceasefire

Turkey used its intelligence networks and rare access to both Washington and Tehran to quietly facilitate the US-Iran ceasefire while advancing its own regional security priorities.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

People gather under a large portrait of Iran's new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, during a memorial to mark the 40th day since his father, Ali Ayatollah Khamenei, was killed in US-Israeli joint strikes, on April 9, 2026, in Tehran, Iran.

Analysis

Ceasefire without relief: How Iranians are grappling with post-war repression

Despite the ceasefire, pressure is mounting inside Iran: arrests are rising, the internet remains largely shut down, and millions face deep economic uncertainty.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

A woman walks past a digital screen displaying news of US-Iran peace talks along a road in Islamabad on April 10, 2026.

In Islamabad, US set to face a more defiant Iran at negotiating table

Iran's widening ambitions after the war include a bid to exercise permanent control over the Strait of Hormuz.

Latest News

Analysis

Ahead of Washington talks, Israel has little choice but to accept ceasefire in Lebanon

TOPSHOT - Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli strike that targeted an area in Beirut on April 8, 2026. Israel launched a series of strikes on Beirut on April 8, the most violent attack on the Lebanese capital since the start of war. The strikes came as Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah, which drew Lebanon into the Middle East war by attacking Israel on March 2, claimed it was close to a "historic victory". (Photo by Dylan COLLINS / AFP via Getty Images) /

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Analysis

Sanctions relief, Pakistan role propel China backing of Iran-US ceasefire

Fu Cong, China's permanent representative to the UN, speaks during a UN Security Council meeting regarding the situation in the Middle East on April 7, 2026, in New York City. A vote on a resolution in the Security Council introduced by Bahrain focusing on reopening the Strait of Hormuz failed after opposition from Russia and China. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Joyce Karam

By Joyce Karam , Rosaleen Carroll

UAE says no more 'niceties' with Iran, seeks clarity on fragile truce terms

TOPSHOT - People watch from a street as a tall smoke plume billows following an explosion in the Fujairah industrial zone on March 3, 2026. Iran's strikes on Gulf neighbours since February 28, following the US-Israeli attack, forced the UAE to shut its airspace, blindsiding travellers who thought they were headed to one of the region's safest holiday destinations. (Photo by Fadel SENNA / AFP via Getty Images)

United Arab Emirates

Lebanon rejects Iran negotiating on its behalf, PM says only Beirut handles talks

This picture taken on April 9, 2026, shows the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the Basta neighbourhood of Beirut the day before. Calls were mounting for the ceasefire between the US and Iran to be extended to Israel's war with Hezbollah, after a massive wave of Israeli strikes on Lebanon killed more than 200 people. (Photo by FADEL itani / 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

Participants attend the round of Syria peace talks in Astana, Kazakhstan September 15, 2017. REUTERS/Mukhtar Kholdorbekov - RC18D4821F20

Latest Syria peace talks solidify final de-escalation zone

Russia, Turkey and Iran met with opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime to ink an agreement on the four safe zones.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani delivers remarks at a news conference during the United Nations General Assembly in New York City, U.S. September 20, 2017. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith - RC16C2DAA980

Iran looks to Europe over fate of nuclear deal

At this stage, Iran believes only the European signatories to the nuclear deal can prevent it from collapsing, whether the United States walks away from it or not.

A picture taken on March 22, 2017 near the town of Maardes in the countryside of the central Syrian province of Hama, shows an armoured vehicle carrying rebel fighters, and bearing the flag of the Tahrir al-Sham rebel alliance. / AFP PHOTO / Omar haj kadour (Photo credit should read OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP/Getty Images)

Is this beginning of the end for Idlib's jihadi groups?

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham is facing several setbacks in Idlib including internal discord as foreign powers plan a military offensive against them.

TO GO WITH AFP STORY OF CYRIL JULIEN
A picture shows an Iranian Sunni mosque in the Teis district of the southern Iranian coastal city of Chabahar on May 11, 2015. Chabahar, located on the coast of Sistan-Baluchistan (south-east), is open to the Oman Sea and the Indian Ocean. It is Iran's gateway to Pakistan and Afghanistan in the east, the Central Asian countries to the north, and Turkey and the Gulf countries in the west. AFP PHOTO / ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Imag

Tehran's Sunnis still waiting for their own mosque

The campaign pushing for Iranian authorities to allow the construction of a purpose-built Sunni mosque in Tehran is gaining steam.

Iranians welcome Rouhani’s response to Trump at UN

Most Iranians, with the exception of some hard-liners, praised President Hassan Rouhani for his speech at the UN General Assembly.

U.S. President Donald Trump addresses the 72nd United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York, U.S., September 19, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid - HP1ED9J1MR9WE

Rouhani on Trump UN speech: 'Ignorant, absurd and hateful'

Iranians reacted harshly to US President Donald Trump’s speech at the United Nations against Tehran and the JCPOA.

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

Iranian Sunni worshippers (centre) pray as they stand with Shi'ite Muslims during Tehran's Friday prayers October 14, 2011. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS RELIGION) - GM1E7AE1UKE01

A trip through Iran's Sunni heartland

A journey into Iran's northwest cities of Bukan, Mahabad and Saqqez indicates that while Iranian Sunnis face discrimination, it is rooted in politics, not religion.

At UN, Netanyahu uses Iran threat to sideline Palestinians

In a move that seemed coordinated with the White House, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revived the Iranian nuclear threat in Israel and around the world, pushing the Palestinian issue off the international agenda.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani waits for the arrival of his French counterpart at New York's Millenium Hotel for a meeting on September 18, 2017 on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. / AFP PHOTO / ludovic MARIN (Photo credit should read LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP/Getty Images)

Rouhani tries to talk Europe into saving nuclear deal

Iranian media is abuzz with reports of Rouhani’s attempts to rally Europe to stand up against Trump’s efforts to kill the nuclear deal.

U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley (2nd R) receives information, as U.S. President Donald Trump and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres participate in a session on reforming the United Nations at UN Headquarters in New York, U.S., September 18, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RC12FAAB1990

Trump talks up peace prospects with Netanyahu at UN meeting

The US president made a stirring case for Middle East peace at his UN debut with Netanyahu, but the Israeli leader steered the conversation back to Iran.

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA - APRIL 19: Saudi Arabia's Deputy Crown Prince and Defense Minister Mohammed bin Salman (2nd L) takes his seat to meet with U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis and his delegation on April 19, 2017 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Jonathan Ernst - Pool/Getty Images)

Saudi Arabia stuck with self-inflicted wounds in battle with Iran

Policies driven by a narrow-minded focus on Iran have left Saudi Arabia with self-inflicted wounds, but it is not too late for a course correction.

Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani during a joint news conference following their meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia March 28, 2017. Sputnik/Aleksey Nikolskyi/Kremlin via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. EDITORIAL USE ONLY. - RC1DD5047B80

Sanctions give Moscow, Tehran something to talk about

US sanctions are indeed drawing Russia and Iran closer, but the question now becomes just how close.