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Iran

August 1, 2026

Tehran 8:02 pm

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Palestinian Hamas militants arrive to secure the area as Egyptian workers accompanied by members of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), search for the last two remaining bodies of hostages -an Israeli soldier and a Thai national- from under the rubble of the Jabalia refugee camp, in the northern of Gaza Strip on Dec. 1, 2025.

Analysis

How Hamas disarmament deal may test Iran's regional strategy

A possible Hamas decision to disarm would represent more than a Gaza development, testing Iran's decades-old strategy of projecting power through regional allies.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Mourners carry one of the bodies of members of Iraq's Hashed al-Shaabi, or Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) who were killed earlier in Diyala in central Iraq by US-Saudi strikes, during the funeral in Baghdad on July 29, 2026. The US-Saudi strikes killed at least 20 militants, including Iranians, according to the Hashed al-Shaabi. The US and Saudi Arabia said the strikes were in response to attacks on US forces and Saudi oil facilities. (Photo by murtadha ridha / AFP via Getty Images) /

Analysis

Renewed Iraq attacks test Zaidi’s push to disarm Iran-backed militias

An attempt by Iraqi government forces to seize weapons belonging to an Iranian-backed faction encountered resistance, raising questions about Prime Minister Ali Zaidi’s pledge to disarm militias by Sept. 30.

Mustafa Salim

By Mustafa Salim

US President Donald Trump walks to board Marine One on the Ellipse near the White House in Washington, DC, on July 31, 2026. President Trump is traveling to Camp David in Maryland to hold a cabinet meeting and later to Bedminster, New Jersey to spend the weekend at his golf club. (Photo by Oliver Contreras / AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

No Iran commitment, no Trump endorsement: Netanyahu leaves US empty-handed

The Israeli prime minister described Tuesday's meeting with US President Donald Trump was the "best ever," but diplomatic sources say he left the Washington with little tangibles.

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

Latest News

Iran’s new calculus: Strike first, talk later

A woman stands next to Iranian-made Zolfaghar missiles displayed at Azadi Square in Tehran on July 24, 2026.

China cuts deal with Houthis, adjusts for long US war with Iran

This aerial photo shows a tanker unloading imported crude oil at a terminal port in Qingdao, in China's eastern Shandong province on June 25, 2026. (Photo by CN-STR / AFP via Getty Images) / China OUT

US carries out strikes in southern Iran after IRGC attack on Jordan airbase

In this handout photo provided by the US Navy, Two F/A-18 Super Hornets launch from the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) in support of Operation Epic Fury on March 3, 2026 in the Mediterranean Sea.

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

Iranian cleric and head of the Imam Reza charitable foundation, Ebrahim Raisi, gestures while registering his candidacy for the upcoming presidential elections at the ministry of interior in the capital Tehran on April 14, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)

Iran's conservative presidential candidates pledge more cash handouts, jobs

Presidential candidates Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Ebrahim Raisi focus on the economy and make pledges to create jobs to attract votes.

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Mayor of Tehran, shows his ink-stained finger after registering his candidacy for the upcoming presidential elections at the ministry of interior in the capital Tehran on April 14, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / STR (Photo credit should read STR/AFP/Getty Images)

Iran polling: Will vote see Rouhani-Ghalibaf rematch?

Polls suggest incumbent Iranian President Hassan Rouhani will get a strong challenge from Tehran Mayor Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, but can cleric Ebrahim Raisi close the gap?

Iraqi fighters from Hashid Shaabi take part in a training at Makhmur camp in Iraq December 11, 2016. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem - RTX2UHUL

Will Iraqi government-PMU disputes spiral into armed clashes?

With the Islamic State nearly defeated in Iraqi cities, disputes between PMU-affiliated Shiite factions and the Iraqi government have surfaced, threatening future military clashes between them.

Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir (R) and Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani attend a news conference after an extraordinary meeting of the foreign ministers of GCC, in Riyadh January 9, 2016. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser - RTX21N8K

Why region should prepare for long Saudi-Iranian confrontation

Despite the efforts of smaller players such as Kuwait and Oman to defuse tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran, there is little on the horizon suggesting an end to Riyadh’s determination to directly confront Tehran.

Iranian cleric and head of the Imam Reza charitable foundation, Ebrahim Raisi, delivers a speech after registering his candidacy for the upcoming presidential elections in the capital Tehran on April 14, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)

Is conservative Iranian candidate reviving Ahmadinejad’s Cabinet?

Ebrahim Raisi is increasingly leaning on officials from former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s presidency.

Will Riyadh’s new DC ambassador draw US deeper into Yemen war?

While the new Saudi ambassador to Washington, Khaled bin Salman, wants to convince the Trump administration to get more involved in the war in Yemen, history may deter the US administration.

A member of the Islamist Syrian opposition group Ahrar al-Sham fires against a position of the Committees for the Protection of the Kurdish People (YPG), a militia set up to protect Kurdish areas in Syria from opposing forces, during clashes in the countryside of the northern Syrian Raqqa province on August 25, 2013. Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said on August 27 the UN mission investigating alleged chemical weapons attacks in Damascus has been delayed until the following after rebels failed to gu

Complex deal frees kidnapped Qatari royals, two Saudis

Various versions of a recent hostage deal are circulating that include, potentially, political motivations, millions of dollars in ransom, exchanged military prisoners and relocated civilians.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (L) listens to his Jordanian counterpart Nasser Judeh during a joint news conference in Amman, Jordan January 14, 2014. REUTERS/Mohammad Hannon/Pool (JORDAN - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX17E5V

War of words escalates between Jordan, Iran

Jordan’s 1994 peace treaty with Israel along with its pro-US orientation seems to have put the country on a collision course with Iran.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan addresses his supporters at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Turkey, April 17, 2017. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RTS12NRL

Does Erdogan expect Trump to ditch Syrian Kurds?

US and Turkish presidents talk, agree to meeting in Washington; Saudi-Iraqi ties hit Iranian ceiling; Turkey sees al-Bab as safe haven for displaced Syrians.

Is prominent conservative cleric really a threat to Rouhani?

While Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and cleric Ebrahim Raisi have to some extent shared backgrounds in public service, the incumbent Iranian president’s greater experience in politics remains the biggest thorn in the side of his conservative opponents.

Iran’s Guardian Council announces presidential candidate list

The Guardian Council has given the green light to six candidates to run in Iran’s May 19 presidential election, with former hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad being disqualified.

Syria chemical attack unsettles Iran's chemical weapons survivors

The use of chemical weapons in Syria has led members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a fighting force that remembers the horror and uncertainty of the Iran-Iraq War, to be both angry and cautious about blame.