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Iran

February 24, 2026

Tehran 10:32 am

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(EDITOR'S NOTE: This Handout image was provided by a third-party organization and may not adhere to Getty Images' editorial policy.) In this handout photo obtained from the U.S. Defence Department, Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) sails alongside Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. (DDG 121) and Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo ship USNS Carl Brashear (T-AKE 7) in the Arabian Sea, Feb. 6, 2026. According to the U.S. government, the Abraham Lincoln

Analysis

Iran scrambles to shape endgame amid growing US military pressure

With Washington tightening deadlines and deploying assets, Tehran is mounting a rapid diplomatic campaign while preparing for what is increasingly seen as some level of unavoidable confrontation.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Oil, gas and Iran nuclear impasse: Can business deals sway Trump’s calculus?

As Iran-US nuclear negotiations continue, Tehran has been pushing the idea of striking business deals rather than military sites, with proposals spanning oil and gas to aviation.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stands amid debris outside the Soroka Hospital in the southern city of Beersheba, after it was hit by a missile fired from Iran on June 19, 2025. Israel's defence minister warned that Iran's supreme leader "can no longer be allowed to exist" after a hospital was hit in an Iranian missile strike on June 19, spiking tensions in the week-old war. (Photo by Marc Israel SELLEM / POOL / AFP) (Photo by MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Despite warnings from Israel's defense elite, Netanyahu pushes for Iran strike

Although Israeli advisers warn against appearing to drag the US into war, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not hidden his desire to help topple the Islamic Republic.

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

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi looks on upon his arrival to deliver a speech during a session of the United Nations Conference on Disarmament, on the sideline of a second round of US-Iranian talks with Washington pushing Tehran to make a deal to limit its nuclear program, in Geneva, on Feb. 17, 2026.

Iran's FM says US didn’t demand zero enrichment in nuclear talks

The top Iranian diplomat said the two sides have instead discussed “confidence-building measures" related to its nuclear program.

Latest News

Iran, Russia hold naval drills as Araghchi briefs Saudi FM on nuclear talks

This handout photo made available by the Iranian Army Office on March 11, 2025 shows the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy guided-missile destroyer Baotou (133) during joint military drills between Iran, Russia, and China in the Gulf of Oman.

US readies warships, jets, tankers for potential weekslong Iran war

DENMARK-NORWAY-US-FRANCE-NATO-ARMY-DEFENCE-EXERCISE Picture taken on September 24, 2025 from the French Navy frigate Bretagne shows F-18 fighter jets on the deck of the the world's largest aircraft carrier USS Gerald R Ford as both ships are taking part in the NATO Neptune Strike 2025 exercise in the North Sea. According to NATO, more than 10,000 sailors, soldiers, aviators and marines from 13 allied nations took part in the large-scale multinational enhanced Vigilance Activity, running from September 22 to

As Hezbollah vows to defend Iran, Lebanon braces for potential spillover

Joseph EID / AFP via Getty Images

Israel steps up Iran war preparations, keeps plans within small inner circle

Members of the Israeli security forces check the apparent remains of an Iranian ballistic missile lying on the ground in the Golan Heights, Northern Israel, on Thursday, June 19, 2025. (Photo by Michael Giladi / Middle East Images via AFP) (Photo by MICHAEL GILADI/Middle East Images/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

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (L) and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu (R) speak after a news conference in Ankara, on June 8, 2022. -

Russia to host Turkey, Syria, Iran diplomats on Wednesday

Senior Turkish, Syrian, Iranian and Russian diplomats are set to meet to advance the stalled rapprochement between Ankara and Damascus.

Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images for Freedom House

MidEast freedom rankings: Syria worst, Tunisia in decline, says Freedom House

Syria remains to be the least and Israel the best performing country when it comes civil and political freedoms while the biggest one-year decline has been observed in Tunisia.

Saudi-Iran-China

Analysis

China leaps into Saudi-Iran diplomacy as nuclear talks move

Iranian official says next move on prisoner exchange depends on US.

Week in Review

Andrew Parasiliti

By Week in Review , Andrew Parasiliti

OREN BEN HAKOON/AFP via Getty Images

Israeli leaders trade accusations over Saudi-Iran rapprochement via China

Coalition and opposition leaders are trading accusations over which government is to blame over the relations-renewal deal between Tehran and Riyadh.

china saudi iran

Iran, Saudi Arabia to resume relations in China-brokered deal

The deal to resume diplomatic ties was brokered by China and follows Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s visit to Beijing.

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi (C) waves to his supporters during a roadshow ahead of the BJP national executive meet in New Delhi on January 16, 2023. (Photo by SAJJAD HUSSAIN/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran-India ties strained by geopolitics, buoyed by economics

This decision by Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian to boycott a conference in India is a reminder of political, economic and military tensions between the two South Asian countries.

Barbara Leaf (L), US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, and Dana Stroul (C), US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence (DASD) for the Middle East, join a media roundtable in Kuwait City on October 19, 2022. (Photo by YASSER AL-ZAYYAT / AFP) (Photo by YASSER AL-ZAYYAT/AFP via Getty Images)

US will 'protect' its technology against China theft in Middle East: Leaf

Barbara Leaf, top Middle East official at the State Department told Al-Monitor that the Syrian government is participating in the drug trade, and blamed Iran for the failure of the nuclear deal.

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin meets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on March 9, 2023.

In Israel, US defense chief Austin warns of heightened Iran-Russia cooperation

US defense chief Lloyd Austin said Biden administration officials are "especially disturbed" by Israeli settler violence against Palestinians, but vowed nothing would get in the way of Washington's support for Israel's security as it faces threats from Iran.

An undated image of Shahid Mahdavi.

Iran unveils warship, missile launchers amid regional tensions

With the 2,100-ton vessel added to its fleet along with nearly 100 missile-launching boats, Iran appears to be flexing its muscles at sea.

Iranian Women in handmaiden costumes march along Whitehall as a peaceful protest for womens rights on International Womens Day on March 8, 2023 in London, England. Protests continue internationally in solidarity with Iranian women in their struggle for full gender equality and to have the freedom to choose how they want to dress and live their lives without fear, assault or intimidation. (Photo by Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images)

EU, UK sanction Iran, Taliban entities on International Women's Day

Marking International Women’s Day, the European Union and the British government each decided to sanction individuals and entities for violating human rights, particularly sexual and gender-based violence.

An exterior view of the building of US Department of the Treasury is seen on March 27, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Olivier DOULIERY / AFP) (Photo by OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images)

Breaking | Last Updated: March 8, 2023, 2:41 pm

US issues new Iran sanctions over violence against women, girls

Among those sanctioned were two senior officials in Iran’s prison system accused of serious human rights abuses against women and girls.

ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey, Syria, Iran to hold 'technical talks' in Russia next week

The technical meeting is aimed at achieving progress in the stalled high-level dialogue process between Ankara and Damascus.