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Iran

April 23, 2026

Tehran 8:42 am

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Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi speaks at a candidates' registration office in Tehran on May 30, 2024, during the first day of registration ahead of the country's presidential election.

Who is Ahmad Vahidi, IRGC chief and hard-liner against nuclear compromise?

A longtime Revolutionary Guard insider with strong ties to Iran’s security apparatus and proxy network, Ahmad Vahidi has taken over the IRGC at a moment of crisis, with some reports suggesting he is playing an outsized role in the country’s decision-making.

BAY ISMOYO / AFP via Getty Images

How are Iran-linked tankers still moving through Hormuz blockade?

At least 19 Iran-linked tankers have passed through the US blockade on the strait to exit the Gulf while at least 15 have entered, according to the cargo-tracking group Vortexa.

Fishing and cargo ships and ferries are pictured in the Gulf off the Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas, which is the main base of the Islamic Republic's navy and has a strategic position on the Strait of Hormuz, on April 29, 2019.

Iran seizes two cargo ships in Hormuz after Trump extends ceasefire

The IRGC Navy’s seizure of two cargo vessels follows US Navy interdictions of two Iran-linked crude oil tankers in the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean earlier this week.

Mahdi Farid, who was convicted of espionage for Israel’s Mossad, was executed after his death sentence was upheld by Iran’s Supreme Court, Tehran, Iran, April 22, 2026.

Iran executes 14th person since war over alleged Mossad ties: What to know

Iran has carried out multiple executions since the outbreak of the war with the United States and Israel, as it intensifies a crackdown on individuals accused of spying for Israel.

Latest News

Analysis

As Iran's power struggle deepens, US talks stall, who’s calling the shots in Tehran?

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi speaks to the press during a visit to the shrine of slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut's southern suburbs on Jan. 8, 2026.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Trump extends ceasefire with Iran ‘until discussions concluded’

President Donald Trump walks toward reporters before answering questions before boarding Air Force One on April 10, 2026, at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland.

Analysis

Gulf energy deals face Iran war stress test as global expansion meets oil shock

A picture shows the Ras Laffan Industrial City, Qatar's principal site for production of liquefied natural gas and gas-to-liquid, administrated by Qatar Petroleum, some 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of the capital Doha, on Feb. 6, 2017.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

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

A Russian Tupolev Tu-160 strategic bomber and Su-35S fighter jets fly in formation during the Victory Day military parade, Moscow, Russia, May 9, 2021.

Ukraine war at year 1: Russia-Iran alignment threatens delicate Middle East balance

US officials say Russia's invasion of Ukraine has given Iran a chance to hone its drone warfare skills while potentially expanding its proxies' footprint in Syria, risking escalation with Israel.

Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (L) answers journalists' questions with Iceland's Foreign Minister Thordis Kolbrun Reykfjord Gylfadottir (R), during a special session of the UN Human Rights Council on the situation in Iran, at the United Nations, Geneva, Switzerland, Nov. 24, 2022.

Analysis

As Germany's relations sour with Iran, pressure grows on Berlin to do more

Activists in Germany are doubtful whether the expulsion of two Iranian diplomats will thwart the death sentence of German-Iranian national Jamshid Sharmahd.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Karaj

Iran claims 'military exercises' behind Karaj explosions, gunfire

Iranian state media said there was a military training exercise in the area, near the city of Karaj. The news follows an Iranian attack on an Israeli-linked ship and a suspected Israeli attack on an Iranian factory.

Men look at currency exchange rates at an exchange shop in Tehran on Feb. 21, 2023. Iran's currency plunged to new lows on Jan. 20 amid fresh European Union sanctions, crossing the psychologically important rate of 500,000 rials to a dollar in foreign exchange markets.

Iran's currency dips to all-time low, basic prices skyrocket

Recently launched government plans to restore stability to the troubled foreign exchange market proved no remedy, as ordinary Iranians continue to see their pockets shrink.

Iran nuclear

Analysis

Ukraine war at year 1: Iran’s drones to Russia derail nuclear diplomacy

Plus, the family of a US resident on death row in Iran speaks out, and a deadly Israeli raid on Nablus raises State Department concerns.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

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

A man reads the Iranian newspaper Etemad, with the front page title reading in Farsi "The night of the end of the JCPOA ", and cover photos of Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and his deputy and chief nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani, in the capital Tehran on Aug. 16, 2022.

Analysis

Iran floats adherence to NPT, dialogue on Ukraine as JCPOA fades

Iranian officials say a nuclear deal is still possible, but US says it’s up to Tehran.

Week in Review

Andrew Parasiliti

By Week in Review , Andrew Parasiliti

Iran international

Tehran threatens US with legal action for hosting Iran International

Prior to relocating to Washington, the London-based Persian-language TV station had already infuriated Iranian authorities with its around-the-clock coverage of the unrest that has shaken the core of the Islamic Republic.

Iran street

EU slaps fifth wave of sanctions on Iran, targeting 32 individuals

The new list brings the total number of Iranian individuals under EU sanctions to 196 and the tally of sanctioned Iranian entities to 33.

A handout picture provided by the Iranian Army official website on September 11, 2020, shows an Iranian navy warship during the second day of a military exercise in the Gulf, near the strategic strait of Hormuz in southern Iran. (Photo by -/Iranian Army office/AFP via Getty Images))

US Military: Iranian drone hit Israeli-owned tanker in Arabian Sea

The drone attack on the Campo Square tanker is at least the fourth suspected Iranian attack targeting a commercial vessel linked to Israeli businessmen in just two years.

FBI/Getty Images

Iran denies harboring de facto al-Qaeda leader

After years of accusations it offered a safe haven to al-Qaeda members, Iran has dismissed a new UN report on the presence of the extremist group's de facto leader on its soil.

A picture taken on May 18, 2017 shows the skyline of northern Tehran from the "Nature" bridge in the capital Tehran on the eve of the presidential elections. / AFP PHOTO / Behrouz MEHRI (Photo credit should read BEHROUZ MEHRI/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran's 'Productivity Plan' likely to lead to an increase in corrupt transactions

Our latest Pro memo looks at how Iran's new strategy to drive economic growth will play out.

Bijan Khajehpour

Bijan Khajehpour

In Vienna, reporting on Iranian politics

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) drill held by the Iranian army in Semnan, Iran, on Jan. 5, 2021.

US defense intelligence confirms Iran’s drone use in Ukraine

The Pentagon report comes a day after the UK government turned over weapons and other evidence to the United Nations that Iran had attempted to ship to Yemen's Houthi rebels in violation of international law.