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Iran

March 8, 2026

Tehran 2:59 pm

14°C

Yasin AKGUL / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Qatar gas shock roils Middle East energy risk profile amid Iran war

The disruption to energy transportation through the Strait of Hormuz predictably threatens crude prices, but it's natural gas supplies that are shocking the markets.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

A group of Peshmergas of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) walks during military training near one of their bases in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, on March 1, 2025.

Analysis

Turkey cautious but unfazed by US plan to mobilize Iranian Kurds against regime

Plans to involve Iranian Kurdish armed groups in the US-Israeli campaign against Tehran raise potential security, ethnic and refugee spillover risks for Turkey, but officials in Ankara appear largely unfazed.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Kurdish Peshmerga fighters affiliated with PAK train on Jan. 18, 2026, near Erbil, Iraq.

Why Israel's looking to Kurds to make gains against Iran regime

Israeli-Kurdish relations are rooted in a common struggle against Islamic extremism and the Kurds’ strategic presence across Turkey, Syria and Iran.

Rouzbeh Fouladi / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images

Meet Mojtaba Khamenei, hard-liner with IRGC ties, likely Iran’s next supreme leader

The late supreme leader's son has long operated behind the scenes in Iran’s political system and has close ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Latest News

Analysis

Iran’s other battle: The regime’s wartime fight for control at home

Plumes of smoke rise following an explosion on March 5, 2026, in Tehran, Iran.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Analysis

US war aims murky as Trump eyes role in Iran’s postwar future

President Donald Trump departs following an event celebrating the 2025 MLS Cup in the East Room of the White House on March 5, 2026

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

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

UAE to freeze billions in Iranian assets following strikes

Christopher Pike/Getty Images

United Arab Emirates

Analysis

CIA, Mossad bolster Iran’s Kurds as US, Israel seek to ignite military revolt

Osama Al Maqdoni / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images

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

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

Iraq's President Barham Salih meets with Iran's President Hassan Rouhani in New York, U.S., September 25, 2019. Picture taken September 25, 2019.The Presidency of the Republic of Iraq Office/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC17C7ED7020

Is Iran expanding its influence in Iraq?

Iran seems to have further expanded its influence in the Iraqi government; Tehran still, however, faces challenges in Iraqi governmental bodies that have remained independent of Iran.

Boys wave towards a convoy of U.S. vehicles withdrawing from northern Syria, in Erbil, Iraq October 21, 2019. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari - RC155923AC50

Trump administration scrambles to salvage US troop presence in Syria

President Trump says he would leave some US troops in Syria to keep the Assad regime and Iranian forces away from oil fields; the Syrian Democratic Forces commander speaks with both Trump and the Russian army chief of staff.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attends a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Black sea resort of Sochi, Russia, 22 October 2019. Sergei Chirikov/Pool via REUTERS - RC1A9B5BF840

Erdogan still under fire in Iran despite Syria agreement

While Iran's Foreign Ministry has welcomed the Russia-Turkey agreement on Syria, the Turkish president remains in hot water over the offensive he launched against Syrian Kurds.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan attend a news conference following their talks in Sochi, Russia October 22, 2019. Sputnik/Alexei Druzhinin/Kremlin via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC1AC62B4210

Turkey, Russia both claim win in Syria agreement

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan seems to get what he wants regarding the Kurdish People's Protection Units, and Russia appears to gain yet more influence in Syria; has Idlib become a pawn in Turkish-Russian negotiations?

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meets with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, October 15, 2019. Bandar Algaloud/Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC16CE5018F0

Pakistan's diplomacy unlikely to work with Tehran, Riyadh

The world can hope for, but not expect, great things to come from Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan's recent diplomatic trips to Iran and Saudi Arabia.

Freed Lebanese businessman Nizar Zakka, who had been detained in Iran since 2015, gestures during a news conference at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, Lebanon June 11, 2019. REUTERS/Aziz Taher - RC161D667D00

Iran angles for prisoner swap deal with US

Iran has sent yet another signal of readiness for a prisoner swap deal with the United States, one that could see several inmates released on both sides.

A general view of the Arak heavy-water project, 190 km (120 miles) southwest of Tehran January 15, 2011. A group of ambassadors to the U.N. atomic watchdog toured an Iranian nuclear site on Saturday, state television reported, and Tehran accused the European Union of missing an historic opportunity by boycotting the visit. REUTERS/ISNA/Hamid Forootan (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS ENERGY SCI TECH BUSINESS) - GM1E71G09FT01

Iran announces upgrades at Arak nuclear reactor

Iran has announced upgrades to the Arak nuclear reactor and says it is ready to take the fourth step toward the reduction of nuclear commitments.

Trump's Syria pullout divides Iran hawks

Despite bipartisan rebuke, some see great benefits in fixing ties with Turkey.

A member of Iraqi federal police stands guard in a street in Baghdad, Iraq October 7, 2019. REUTERS/Wissm al-Okili - RC160EF8FEE0

Iraq on low boil in anticipation of renewed protests

The crisis in Syria has only made Iraq’s problems worse.

Saudi Arabia's King Salman meets with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, October 15, 2019. Bandar Algaloud/Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC1FB4090FF0

Pakistan hopes to ease hostility between Iran, Saudis

Traveling between Riyadh and Tehran, Pakistan’s prime minister is trying to diplomatically defuse the highly charged situation in the Middle East.

Palestinian Islamic jihad militants take part in a military show marking the 32nd anniversary of the organisation's founding, in the central Gaza Strip October 3, 2019. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa - RC17E1BD1920

Behind Egypt's gift to Islamic Jihad

Egypt has freed some 80 Islamic Jihad prisoners as a goodwill gesture in an effort to bring about an extended calm in Gaza and by extension prevent a conflagration in the Sinai Peninsula.

PA seeks warmer ties with Saudi Arabia

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas visited Saudi Arabia for the first time in months, reflecting warmer relations between the two countries.