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Iran

December 19, 2025

Tehran 11:38 pm

3°C

JESSICA GOW/TT News Agency/AFP via Getty Images

Sweden summons Iranian ambassador over dual national sentence

The Iranian-Swedish national was arrested during Iran’s June war with Israel for allegedly spying on Israel’s behalf.

Brig. Gen. Alireza Elhami, pictured in this undated image, has been appointed as the commander of Iran’s Air Defense Headquarters.

Iran appoints new air defense, air force chiefs in post-war shakeup

The promotion of Brig. Gen. Alireza Elhami and Brig. Gen. Bahman Behmard follows Iran's efforts to rebuild its air defenses following the war with Israel in June.

TATYANA MAKEYEVA/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Iran’s FM Araghchi in Moscow as biting sanctions drive closer Russia ties

The economic agenda of the meetings in Moscow and Tehran reflected a deliberate effort by both governments to signal momentum in a partnership increasingly shaped by isolation from the West.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Lebanese Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Youssef Rajji meets with Maj. Gen. Diodato Abagnara, UNIFIL head of mission and force commander, at the UN peacekeeping headquarters in Naqoura, southern Lebanon, Oct. 24, 2025.

Lebanon FM lashes out at Iran amid ambassador impasse: What to know

Lebanese officials have grown more frustrated at Tehran over its perceived meddling in Lebanon’s internal affairs by making repeated comments about its ally, Hezbollah, and the importance of its weapons, at a time the country is working to extend control over all arms.

Latest News

Analysis

Militant merger in Iran’s Baluchistan signals new threat to Tehran

Iranian soldiers keep watch at a patrol post in Zabol, southeastern Iran, near the Afghan border, on Oct. 10, 2012.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Iran’s World Cup players face US visa uncertainty over military service: What to know

Iran’s forward #9 Mehdi Taremi looks on during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Asia zone qualifiers Group A football match between Iran and the North Korea at the Azadi Sports Complex in Tehran on June 10, 2025.

Russia to launch 3 Iranian satellites into orbit this month: What to know

The Soyuz MS-15 rocket carrying three crew members of the International Space Station (ISS) blasts off to the ISS from the launch pad of the Russian-leased Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Sept. 25, 2019.

Three IRGC members killed near Iran-Pakistan border: What to know

A motorcyclist rides past a banner with the portraits of (L-R) Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari, welcoming Iran's president during his state visit in Islamabad on August 2, 2025. (Photo by Farooq NAEEM / AFP) (Photo by FAROOQ NAEEM/AFP via Getty Images)

Elizabeth Hagedorn

Diplomatic Correspondent

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

Andrew Parasiliti

President and Chief Content Officer

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, national security

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

Bijan Khajehpour

In Vienna, reporting on Iranian politics

Iranians work at a food store in Tehran on May 13, 2021.

Nationwide protests in Iran as food prices increase

Subsidy cuts have led to nationwide protests in Iran.

ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

Will Iran look east if nuclear deal talks fail?

The European Union’s deputy foreign policy chief was in Tehran this week, but there are indications that Iran may be preparing backup options.

Recreational boats along the shore of the salt lake of Urmia and Shahid Kalantari causeway crossing it in Iran.

Is a water crisis brewing between Turkey and Iran?

Discord over transboundary waters and dam construction emerges as a major factor underlying the strains in Turkish-Iranian ties.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in Tehran, May 12, 2022.

Iran's supreme leader warns Qatari emir about Israel

The Iranian state media coverage of the meeting made no mention of the Iran nuclear deal, which was widely speculated to have topped the agenda of the emir's visit to Tehran.

ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images

Iran says it will execute Iranian-Swedish scientist

Iran’s judiciary still plans to execute Ahmad Reza Jalali, an Iranian-Swedish citizen convicted of espionage.

Deputy Secretary General of the European External Action Service (EEAS) Enrique Mora speaks to journalists in front of the Coburg palace after a meeting of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in Vienna on Dec. 3, 2021.

EU envoy, Qatar emir arrive in Tehran amid final push for Iran deal

The Iran nuclear deal may be facing "last bullet" with no deal in sight on IRGC.

Enrique Mora

Top EU diplomat says offer may be 'last bullet' to pull off Iran nuclear deal

Tehran has dismissed expectations of a breakthrough as a top EU diplomat makes a last-ditch effort in Tehran.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi (R) receiving Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Syria's Assad makes rare visit to Tehran

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad met with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other Iranian leaders.

PKK

Analysis

Sinjar becomes latest flashpoint for Iran-Turkey tensions in Iraq

New Pentagon IG report says that the Turkey-PKK conflict and Iranian militias are contributing to instability in Iraq.

Week in Review

By Week in Review

MAARTEN WEYNANTS/AFP via Getty Images

Iranian decision to execute Swedish dual national sparks backlash

Reports that the Islamic Republic is set to execute the scientist came as a Swedish court prepares to sentence a former Iranian official in connection to the killing of thousands of political prisoners in his country in 1988.

Afghan refugees

Iranian minister threatens Afghan refugees over census

Afghan refugees who fled the Taliban have faced hardship in Iran. The Islamic Republic wants to have friendly relations with the Islamist group next door.

Families of wrongfully detained Americans hold a demonstration on May 4, 2022, in Washington, DC.

Reed’s release from Russia raises optimism for Iran-US exchange

Following the release of Marine veteran Trevor Reed from Russia, Americans with family members wrongfully detained by Iran are ramping up their pressure on the Biden administration to cut a deal with Tehran.