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August 8, 2026

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and Pakistani Prime Minister Shebaz Sharif in Mecca after signing the defense pact, Aug. 7, 2026.

Analysis

How Saudi-Turkey-Pakistan pact puts Iran's regional strategy to test

The defense agreement is not an anti-Iran bloc, but it may reflect a deeper regional adjustment to years of Iranian asymmetric warfare as well as uncertainty over US security commitments.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

US President Donald Trump (R) meets with Jordanian King Abdullah II in the Oval Office of the White House, Washington, DC, Feb. 11, 2025.

Analysis

Jordan shores up US lifelines as Iran targets Amman’s reliance on Washington

Already a leading recipient of US aid, Jordan has secured fresh funds from the United States as the Iran war tests Amman and Washington's partnerships.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Hussein FALEH / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

As US rethinks regional presence, Israel shifts focus to destabilizing Iran

Uncertain how to interpret the American regional redeployment, Israel is focusing on efforts to destabilize the Iranian regime and stop its nuclear program.

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

Latest News

Explainer

Iran-Oman deal spurs Hormuz hopes as Red Sea threats evolve

Khaled ZIAD / AFP via Getty Images

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

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress at the Capitol in Washington March 3, 2015. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4RX0B

Bibi's 'House of Cards' moment

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has maneuvered himself into a win-win position: If an Iranian agreement isn’t reached, he'll celebrate all the way to the ballot box; if not, he can say that at least he tried to avert the catastrophe.

Iranian journalists of leading moderate daily, Shargh (East), stand by their desks 06 August 2007 in Tehran after it was shut down for the second time in less than a year for publishing an interview with a woman accused of being a homosexual activist. The ban on Shargh (East), the favourite newspaper of Iranian liberals, comes amid growing pressure on the press in Iran and follows the closure of fellow moderate daily Ham Mihan last month. AFP PHOTO/ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty

Iran's female editors rise to the top despite challenges

Despite a growth of female journalists in Iranian media, they still face various barriers and limits.

People sit under a television broadcasting Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to the U.S. Congress, at a kiosk in the southern city of Ashkelon March 3, 2015. Netanyahu warned U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday against accepting a nuclear deal with Iran that would be a "countdown to a potential nuclear nightmare" by a country that "will always be an enemy of America". REUTERS/Amir Cohen (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4RWZN

Focused on Iran, Bibi ignores Israel's economic crisis

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke eloquently to Congress about Iran and the reception he received was warm, but now he has to win the support of an Israeli electorate struggling financially and increasingly alienated from him.

An Iranian woman registers her candidacy for the upcoming parliamentary elections at the interior ministry in Tehran on December 24, 2011. Iranians began to register their candidacy for the upcoming elections set for March 2, 2012 for a four-year tenure in parliament. AFP PHOTO/ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)

Iran's female MPs show mixed record

Iran's female members of parliament have been few in number but have had a large impact on national policies.

U.S. Senators' Lindsey Graham (front L) (R-SC), John McCain (Back L) (R-AZ), Charles Schumer (C) (D-NY) and Bob Corker (R) (R-TN) talk on the floor of the House Chamber prior to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's address to a joint meeting of Congress in the House Chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 3, 2015. REUTERS/Gary Cameron (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4RX59

Congress races to act on Iran after Bibi's speech

The Senate is to take up a bill demanding a say on the nuclear deal next week.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses a joint meeting of Congress in the House Chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 3, 2015. U.S. Speaker of the House John Boehner (L) (R-OH) and President pro tempore of the U.S. Senate Orrin Hatch (R-UT) look on from behind Netanyahu. REUTERS/Gary Cameron (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4RWHE

Iran paper sees conspiracy in Netanyahu speech

While reactions have been mixed in Iranian newspapers, hard-line Kayhan believes that Netanyahu and Obama are actually deceiving the Iranian negotiators.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gestures as he addresses the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) policy conference in Washington, March 2, 2015. Netanyahu said on Monday that the alliance between his country and the United States is "stronger than ever" and will continue to improve. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4RS6O

US, EU battle Netanyahu for public's trust on Iran

Israeli leader sees Congress as crucial backstop against "bad deal."

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on leaving the office to report, film or take pictures in Tehran.

A Nour missile is test fired off Iran's first domestically made destroyer, Jamaran, on the southern shores of Iran in the Persian Gulf March 9, 2010. A newly inaugurated Iranian destroyer test fired a surface-to-surface missile in the Gulf on Tuesday, Iran's Fars news agency reported. REUTERS/Ebrahim Noroozi/IIPA (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY IMAGES OF TH

IRGC: Naval exercise also 'media-psychological' operation

The head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps public relations has said that Iran's publicized naval exercises were meant to prepare for threats from countries beyond the region and praised the media coverage of them.

Former president Mohammad Khatami arrives to vote during the Iranian presidential election in northern Tehran June 12, 2009. REUTERS/Chavosh Homavandi/jamejamonline (IRAN POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR24KZC

Iranians challenge media ban on Khatami

Iranians have challenged the media ban on a former president, which received unusually high attention because of his sister's death.

Here comes Bibi!

Congress turns its attention away from other business this week as it prepares for the addres of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Senator Bob Corker (R-TN) speaks to reporters about U.S. President Barack Obama's request to authorize military force against Islamic State, on Capitol Hill in Washington February 11, 2015. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY CIVIL UNREST) - RTR4P8CN

New Iran bill doesn’t mandate up-or-down vote on nuclear deal

Legislation from the Senate Foreign Relations chairman would authorize — but not require — Congress to weigh in before sanctions can be lifted.

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director general Yukiya Amano arrives for a board of governors meeting at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna December 11, 2014. The head of the U.N. atomic agency asked member states on Thursday for 4.6 million euros ($5.7 million) in extra funding "as soon as possible" to help pay for its monitoring of an extended nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers. Iran and the United States, France, Germany, Britain, China and Russia failed last month to meet a self-impo

Iran's cooperation with IAEA at risk if nuclear talks fail

A breakdown in nuclear talks between Iran and the P5+1 would likely mean far fewer inspections in Iran.