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Iran

March 9, 2026

Tehran 7:39 am

9°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

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Bocharov Ruchei state residence in Sochi, Russia September 12, 2019. REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov - RC1F2233D0D0

Netanyahu discovers hospitality has its limits

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tried to ingratiate himself at both the White House and the Kremlin, but now finds himself home alone.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attend a meeting in Jerusalem, Friday, October 18, 2019. Sebastian Scheiner/Pool via REUTERS *** Local Caption *** - RC1FF553CB60

Pompeo visit fails to reassure Israel on Syria, Iran

The meeting of US secretary of State Mike Pompeo with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not reassure Jerusalem over developments in Syria and Iran.

Military units of the IRGC Ground Force are seen as they launched war games in the Gulf, December 22, 2018. Hamed Malekpour/Tasnim News Agency via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC1B1C2DA910

Pentagon turns to irregular tactics to counter Iran

The Pentagon is trying to put the finishing touches on a plan to use irregular warfare tactics to temper Iran’s military escalation in the Middle East, Al-Monitor has learned.

Arrest of Telegram channel operator surprises Iranians

The operator of a popular dissident Telegram channel was in Iraq when he was apprehended and handed to Iran, according to BBC Persian.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaks at a news conference on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, U.S., September 26, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan Mcdermid - HP1EF9Q1DCLMP

Angry protests, empty seats overshadow Rouhani speech

Leaders of several student unions walked out of a commencement speech by President Hassan Rouhani after they were barred from the podium.

A man walks past the Central bank of Iran in Tehran, Iran August 1, 2019. Nazanin Tabatabaee/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY - RC11AFC63C40

Iran's Central Bank chief speaks out on currency plunge, $15 billion French credit line

Iranian Central Bank governor Abdulnaser Hemmati speaks in-depth about the re-imposition of US sanctions on his country, the unprecedented plunge of the rial and more.

Russian and Syrian national flags flutter on military vehicles near Manbij, Syria October 15, 2019. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki - RC134A208F00

Putin goes for broke to negotiate Turkey cease-fire

US withdrawal created some opportunites for Russia but also had it face new challenges with Turkey.

Majority of Iranians now want to quit nuclear deal

A new poll shows that Iranian public support has decreased significantly for the JCPOA, and three-quarters of those polled indicate that they only support restarting negotiations with the United States if sanctions are lifted first.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani attends a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of a session of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council In Yerevan, Armenia October 1, 2019. Sputnik/Alexei Druzhinin/Kremlin via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC125DBD8560

Rouhani calls US sanctions on Iran 'crime against humanity'

Iran's president has slammed the US economic sanctions on food and medical supplies for Iran but promised that Tehran will defeat Washington in the "economic war."

Syrian army soldiers are seen in the town of Tel Tamer in northeast Syria, in this handout released by SANA on October 14, 2019. SANA/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THIS IMAGE. - RC18459B82D0

Kurdish deal with Syrian regime against Turkey a boon for Iran

As the Kurds sic Syria's army on Turkey, Iran offers to assume the high-profile role of mediator in the crisis.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani attends a meeting of†the†Supreme Eurasian Economic Council in Yerevan, Armenia October 1, 2019. Sputnik/Alexei Druzhinin/Kremlin via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC1BE1385900

Iran, Saudi Arabia and the 'Trump variable'

Relations between Saudi and Iranian leaders seem to sway precariously from week to week, propelled by a host of outside influences.

Why Iran's grand ayatollahs are fighting over Rumi

Two grand Ayatollahs have declared their opposition to production of a movie about the celebrated poem Rumi and his friend and mentor Shams al-Tabrizi, but it is not clear whether they can stop it.