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Iran

March 3, 2026

Tehran 3:11 pm

10°C

TEHRAN, IRAN - MARCH 2: A plume of smoke rises after an explosion on March 2, 2026 in Tehran, Iran. Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was confirmed killed after the United States and Israel launched a joint attack on Iran on February 28. Iran retaliated by firing waves of missiles and drones at Israel, and targeting U.S. allies in the region. (Photo by Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)

Analysis

Israel-US offensive devastates Iran’s military, can Tehran sustain long war?

Tehran is under near-constant bombardment, senior commanders are dead and regional tempers are rising just days into the fighting.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Staff from Qatar Airways help assist people with questions at their empty check-in area at London Heathrow Airport in west London on March 1, 2026, as flights are severely disrupted following the US and Israel's strikes on Iran.

State Department urges Americans in Middle East to leave immediately

The latest travel advisory applies to nearly the entire region and comes as the US Embassy in Jordan evacuated all personnel due to an unspecified threat.

A man rides a motorbike past a billboard of Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in Tehran on March 2, 2026.

Analysis

As Iran weighs Khamenei’s successor, some question future of role

Iran faces uncertainty as the process of choosing Khamenei’s successor unfolds, with some experts saying that wartime conditions and the lack of a clear heir could prompt debate over whether the supreme leader’s office should continue in its traditional form.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Small boats loaded with merchandise sail past the St. Kitt's and Nevis-flagged container ship Marsa Victory in the waters of the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Khasab in Oman's northern Musandam Peninsula, on June 25, 2025.

Hormuz traffic slows as Iran threatens to set 'ships on fire'

Maritime intelligence company Lloyd’s List reported on Sunday that no traceable passages have been made by major crude tankers through the Strait of Hormuz since Saturday night.

Latest News

Analysis

From oil to data centers, US-Iran war takes key Mideast infrastructure offline

A food delivery bike drive close to a plume of smoke rising from the Zayed Port following a reported Iranian strike in Abu Dhabi on March 1, 2026. Iran's retaliatory missile and drone campaign in the Gulf has killed three people and wounded 58 in the United Arab Emirates since it began, Emirati authorities said on March 1, the day after the US and Israel launched a nationwaide attack on Iran killing its supreme leader. (Photo by Ryan Lim / AFP via Getty Images)

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

With Gulf partners under fire from Iran, will Europe step up its defense?

Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Meet Alireza Arafi, a Khamenei confidant on Iran’s Leadership Council

Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, a member of Iran’s interim leadership council.

Trump pledges 'whatever it takes,' signals Iran war could last weeks

US President Donald Trump arrives for a Medal of Honor Ceremony in the East Room of the White House on March 2, 2026, in Washington.

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

The Iranian-flagged oil tanker Fortune is docked at the El Palito refinery after its arrival to Puerto Cabello in the northern state of Carabobo, Venezuela, on May 25, 2020. - The first of five Iranian tankers carrying much-needed gasoline and oil derivatives docked in Venezuela on Monday, Caracas announced amid concern in Washington over the burgeoning relationship between countries it sees as international pariahs. (Photo by - / AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

Third, final Iranian tanker arrives in Venezuela

Iran sent three tankers carrying more than 800,000 barrels of fuel to the South American country, successfully evading US sanctions in the process.

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 10: U.S. President Donald Trump look on during a ceremony to present the Presidential Medal of Freedom to retired four-star Army general Jack Keane in the East Room of the White House March 10, 2020 in Washington, DC. Gen. Keane currently works as an analyst on Fox News. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Iranians call COVID-19 diagnosis 'lesson' for Trump

To many Iranians, the news that US President Donald Trump has the novel coronavirus is poetic justice.

Two Iranian fuel tankers reach Venezuelan territory

The Associated Press reported that two Iran-flagged ships reached Venezuela and a third is on its way without US interference. Together they are carrying 815,000 barrels of fuel.

Employees walk past a lighted Twitter log as they leave the company's headquarters in San Francisco on August 13, 2019. - Twitter on August 13 said that by the end of the year users will be able to follow a small number of interests the same way they follow people. The feature will be rolled out internationally as the one-to-many messaging platform makes a priority of being an online venue for conversations rather than a pulpit for one-way broadcasting to the masses. (Photo by Glenn CHAPMAN / AFP) (Photo by

Twitter says it closed Iranian government accounts focused on US election

The social media company said it received the information on Tehran's purported activity during the first US presidential debate from the FBI.

Iranian women, wearing protective masks due to the COVID-19 pandemic, shop in the capital Tehran on August 4, 2020. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran to issue fines for those not wearing masks

Struggling to slow a third wave of the coronavirus, Iran is hoping issuing fines will help.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani delivers a speech during the inaugural session of the new parliament following February elections, in Tehran on May 27, 2020. - The 11th legislature since the Islamic revolution of 1979 opened as the country's economy, which has been hard hit by the novel coronavirus, gradually returns to normal. Rouhani, who is in the final year of his second and final term, called on MPs, collectively and individually, to place the "national interest above special interests", "party intere

Iran president says 'no' to pre-election deal with Trump

Despite an official line of indifference toward US election results, Iranian authorities are closely monitoring the race from Tehran.

Military trucks are seen on the side of a road near the village of Zangakatun in Armenia on September 30, 2020. - Armenia and Azerbaijan rejected international calls for negotiations and a halt to fighting as fierce clashes over the disputed region of Nagorny Karabakh spilled over into a fourth day on September 30. (Photo by - / AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

Can Azeri-Armenian flare-up grow into big regional conflict?

The Nagorno-Karabagh clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia could evolve into a war of attrition, but none of the regional heavyweights want a conventional war in the region.

Saudi policemen stand guard in front of the "Public grievances Department" building in Riyadh on March 11, 2011 as Saudi Arabia launched a massive security operation in a menacing show of force to deter protesters from a planned "Day of Rage" to press for democratic reform in the kingdom. AFP PHOTO/FAYEZ NURELDINE (Photo credit should read FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran denies links to Saudi-busted ‘terror cell’

Prospects of a Saudi-Iran deescalation appear dimmer as the two sides have entered a fresh episode in their war of words.

Iranian tanker reaches coast of Venezuela

Other Iranian ships are bringing fuel to and from the South American country, despite a US seizure of such vessels in August.

Prominent Iranian charity leader fights worsening health in detention

Held in solitary without a formal charge for nearly 100 days, Sharmin Meymandi-Nejad, the founder of a reputable Iranian charity, is facing deteriorating health as interrogators protract his indefinite detention.

A man gestures boarding a bus to depart to the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region after Armenian authorities declared military mobilisation following armed clashes with Azerbaijan, Yerevan, September 28, 2020. (Photo by Stepan Poghosyan / PHOTOLURE / AFP) (Photo by STEPAN POGHOSYAN/PHOTOLURE/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran tries to deescalate conflict between Armenia, Azerbaijan

Iran has called for calm following the increase in tension between its northwestern neighbors Armenia and Azerbaijan.

US Secretary of State John Kerry (L) and Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif attend a bilateral meeting in Vienna, Austria, May 17, 2016.
/ AFP / POOL / LEONHARD FOEGER (Photo credit should read LEONHARD FOEGER/AFP via Getty Images)

Why rejoining Iran nuclear deal isn’t so easy, even if Biden wins

A new Iran deal should consider the “gold standard” energy pact by the UAE and include a regional dialogue on the peaceful use of nuclear power.

United Arab Emirates