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August 9, 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

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

An Iranian AirForce F-5F fighter plane takes off during manoeuvres in southern Iran June 24, 2009. REUTERS/Fars News (IRAN MILITARY) - RTR24ZCE

Iran denies cooperating with US on IS strikes

Iranian officials have not confirmed whether Iran has conducted airstrikes against the Islamic State in Iraq but continue to officially reject cooperation with the US-led coalition.

Shi'ite volunteers, who have joined the Iraqi army to fight against militants of the Islamic State, formerly known as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), carry a picture of Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani during a graduation ceremony after completing their field training in Najaf, August 16, 2014. School is out, but northern Baghdad's classrooms are packed - not with students, but with people who have travelled further than most to escape the Sunni militant onslaught splitting Iraq. REUTERS/Alaa Al

Sistani denies supporting Soleiman's involvement in Iraq

The office of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has denied allegations that he supports the Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani's presence and Iranian involvement in Iraq in the fight against the Islamic State.

Customers use computers at an internet cafe in Tehran May 9, 2011. Websites like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and countless others were banned shortly after the re-election of Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the huge street protests that followed. Seen by the government as part of a "soft war" waged by the enemies of the Islamic Republic, social networking and picture sharing sites were a vital communication tool for the anti-Ahmadinejad opposition -- more than a year before they played a similar rol

No sign of pardon for Iran blogger sentenced to death

The deputy head of Iran's judiciary has said that there is no move to pardon blogger Soheil Arabi, sentenced to execution over Facebook comments, but there is a request to review his case.

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

Iranian lawmaker Ali Motahari speaks in the Iranian parliament in Tehran November 15, 2009. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl (IRAN POLITICS) - RTXQRB3

Iran MP criticizes body that supervises supreme leader

Iranian conservative parliament member Ali Motahari has criticized the Assembly of Experts and continued house arrest without trial of the Green Movement leaders.

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden (L) meets with Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan at Beylerbeyi Palace in Istanbul November 22, 2014. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4F5NS

Erdogan slams US on Syria again, days after Biden visit

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan calls US "impertinent" on Syria, says West likes seeing Muslim children die; Israel considers extension of Iran nuclear talks as better than a bad deal.

A member of the Saudi border guards force stands guard next to a fence on Saudi Arabia's northern borderline with Iraq July 14, 2014. Three mortar bombs landed inside Saudi Arabia last week close to its northern border with Iraq, where Islamist militants have grabbed land in a lightning advance, officials said. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser (SAUDI ARABIA - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY CIVIL UNREST TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR3YMVB

Islamic State cell strikes Shiites in Saudi Arabia

A deadly attack by an Islamic State cell on Saudi Shiites has upped the ante in the jihadists' threat to the Saudi royal family as the guardians of Islam's most holy sites.

Iranian workers stand in front of the Bushehr nuclear power plant, about 1,200 km (746 miles) south of Tehran October 26, 2010. Iran has begun loading fuel into the core of its first nuclear power plant on Tuesday, one of the last steps to realising its stated goal of becoming a peaceful nuclear power, state-run Press TV reported on Tuesday. REUTERS/Mehr News Agency/Majid Asgaripour (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS ENERGY IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTXTUI4

Israel satisfied with delay in Iran nuclear deal

Following months of meetings with European and US leaders and with intelligence experts, Israel is relieved by the fact that the talks with Iran were extended and that the negotiated deal draft was not signed yet.

To promote wins against IS, Iran's Soleimani emerges

Quds Force Cmdr. Qasem Soleimani has been advising Iraqi Shiite militias with some success in the fight against the Islamic State.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, Britain's Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (LtoR) pose for photographers before a meeting in Vienna November 24, 2014. Iran, the United States and other world powers are all but certain to miss Monday's deadline for negotiations to resolve a 12-year stand-off over Tehran's atomic ambitions, forcing them to seek an extension, sources say. The talks in Vienna could lead to a transformation of

Khamenei not opposed to nuclear extension

In a speech, Iran's supreme leader has said that he supports the extension on the nuclear talks but slammed the countries involved in the negotiations.

Saudi soldiers stand guard in Jizan on the border with Yemen November 3, 2014. Gains by the Shi'ite Houthi rebel movement in Yemen are ringing alarm bells in Saudi Arabia, concerned for what it means for its vulnerable southern border, already the conduit for a constant flow of illicit activity. Picture taken November 3, 2014. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser (SAUDI ARABIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR4DNW9

Iran, Saudi Arabia find common ground in Yemen

Despite fears of increasing Riyadh-Tehran rivalry, Yemen's unity government serves the interests of both Iran and Saudi Arabia.

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

Members of Iran's Islamic Basij militia shout anti-U.S. and anti-Israel slogans during a ceremony to mark Basij week in Tehran November 26, 2009. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl (IRAN MILITARY POLITICS) - RTXR603

IRGC commander says US not reliable

Some Iranian conservatives feel that Iran has not received fair terms under the nuclear extensions.

Lebanese Hezbollah supporters march during a religious procession, to mark the burning of the tents that is part of the Ashura religious ceremony, in Nabatieh November 7, 2014. REUTERS/Ali Hashisho (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS RELIGION) - RTR4DAZY

Hezbollah arrives in Iraq

As the battle against the Islamic State evolves, experienced members of Hezbollah arrive in Iraq to provide guidance and training.