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Iran

April 13, 2026

Tehran 7:45 am

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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

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) military personnel are participating in the Ela Beit Al-Moghaddas (Al-Aqsa Mosque) military rally in Tehran, Iran, Nov. 24, 2023.

Iran holds military drill near Iraqi border to counter ISIS infiltration

The stated goal of the exercise appeared as a shift from Iran's older official line, in which it had declared and taken credit for a "full eradication" of the Islamic State (ISIS).

A truck carries Iranian drones during the annual military parade marking the anniversary of the outbreak of the devastating 1980-1988 war with Saddam Hussein's Iraq, Tehran, Iran, Sept. 22, 2023.

Iran unveils new Karrar drones upgraded with air-to-air missiles

Iran’s drone fleet has raised concerns among the United States and its allies.

CNN's Becky Anderson interviews Iran's Minister of Foreign Affairs Hossein Amir Abdollahian over a videocall during the Doha Forum in the Qatari capital on December 11, 2023. (Photo by SALIM MATRAMKOT / AFP) (Photo by SALIM MATRAMKOT/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran’s FM confirms US messages on Iraq, dodges questions on protests

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said Washington has been dispatching weekly messages to Iran to rein in militants in Iraq and Syria attacking its forces.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi hold a meeting in Tehran on July 19, 2022.

Despite visits, deals, Russia's Putin does not acquiesce to Iran's Raisi on Gaza

The Iranian leadership is finding global sentiments for Gaza civilians as a unique opportunity it shouldn't miss to weaken and corner Israel, the sworn enemy.

Raisi and Putin

After Su-35 deal, Putin hosts Iran’s Raisi as Russia looks East

Iran and Russia, both facing growing sanctions by the West, have deepened their relations in the past year.

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps speedboats cruise past an oil tanker off the port of Bandar Abbas, southern Iran, on July 2, 2012.

Iran says it seized ships in Gulf for alleged fuel smuggling

The seizure and arrest of the foreign crew members occurred south of the disputed Abu Musa island, according to Iranian state media.

TOPSHOT - Protesters hold pictures of Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani, during a demonstration outside the US consulate in Istanbul, on January 5, 2020, two days after top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani was killed by a US drone strike. - A US drone strike killed top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani at Baghdad's international airport on January 3, dramatically heightening regional tensions and prompting arch enemy Tehran to vow "revenge". (Photo by Yasin AKGUL / AFP) (Photo by YASIN AKGUL/AFP via Getty

Iran court orders US to pay $49 billion over Soleimani assassination

Qasem Soleimani led Iran’s elite Quds Force until he was assassinated by the United States in Baghdad in 2020 in response to attacks on US forces in Iraq.

President Miguel Diaz-Canel of Cuba, left, and President Ebrahim Raisi of Iran reviewing the honor guard during a welcoming ceremony in Havana on June 15, 2023.

Cuba, Iran ink economic agreements as Khamenei hosts Diaz-Canel

In its revolutionary foreign policy, Iran has for decades gone out of its way to unite like-minded nations — with a special focus on leftist nations — for an idealistic global campaign to weaken the American hegemony.

DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images

Iran-backed militias test new front with Washington’s Syrian Kurdish allies

A US base in northeast Syria has been attacked twice so far by rockets launched in the last month from within the country, and officials with the Syrian Defense Forces point to Iran-backed Shiite militias.

INTERNATIONAL WATERS RED SEA, YEMEN - NOVEMBER 20: This handout screen grab captured from a video shows Yemen's Houthi fighters' takeover of the Galaxy Leader Cargo in the Red Sea coast off Hudaydah, on November 20, 2023 in the Red Sea, Yemen. On Monday, the Houthi movement in Yemen released footage and photos of the Houthi-run coastguard taking over the Israeli-linked Galaxy Leader Vessel in the Red Sea, which had 52 people onboard. Galaxy Leader is owned by Galaxy Maritime Ltd in the Isle of Man and is li

US threatens response after Houthi missiles hit cargo ships in Red Sea

Iran-backed factions across the Middle East opened a new volley of attacks targeting Israeli-linked cargo vessels in the Red Sea and US troops in Iraq and Syria since Israel's truce with Hamas collapsed on Friday.

Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard boats attack a naval vessel during a three-day military drill in the Gulf on April 22, 2010.

What is scope of Iran-Oman joint military drill near Hormuz?

The drill was held only days after the Pentagon dispatched one of its largest aircraft carriers to the strategic waters, causing unease in Tehran amid risks of potential confrontations stemming from the Israel-Hamas war.

A Mil Mi-28 Night Hunter military helicopter takes part in a military aviation competition in Russia's Krasnodar region on March 28, 2019.

Why Iran's military aircraft deal with Russia is significant leap for both

Tehran receives the equipment as it continues to boost a military alliance with Moscow that has come under the international spotlight and scrutiny since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.