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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

A street vendor chews qat, a mild stimulant, as he sits by his vegetable stall at a market place in the Old Sanaa city March 19, 2014. Qat dominates life in Yemen, where most men spend half the day chewing it, even at work, and experts say it is ravaging Yemen's frail economy and sucking up precious water. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah (YEMEN - Tags: SOCIETY ENVIRONMENT) - RTR3HSAZ

Development plan needed for peace in Yemen

The Gulf Initiative has failed to bring peace to Yemen, prompting the need for a new initiative that is more realistic and includes a long-term economic and development plan.

U.S. President Barack Obama makes a statement about an agreement reached with Iran on its nuclear program at the White House in Washington November 23, 2013. Obama said on Saturday that the deal between Iran and six major powers was an important first step toward a comprehensive solution to Iran's nuclear program. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX15QN7

In Iran, some conservatives balk at sanctions 'suspension'

As the nuclear talks' deadline looms, some Iranian conservatives distrust the US political process and fear a potential temporary and reversible suspension of sanctions.

Chairman of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee Robert Menendez (D-NJ)(R) questions Secretary of State John Kerry as Senator Bob Corker (R-TN) looks on during a hearing on "U.S. Strategy to Defeat the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant" on Capitol Hill in Washington September 17, 2014. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTR46NIU

Returning Congress gives Iran a pass — for now

Key lawmakers kept an open mind on a potential extension of nuclear talks with Iran on their first day back after midterm elections.

Iraq's transport minister Hadi al-Amiri (2nd R), head of the Badr Organisation, visits members of the Iraqi security forces after clashes with the predominantly Sunni militants from the radical Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the town of Dalli Abbas in Diyala province, June 26, 2014. Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, the most influential Shi'ite cleric in Iraq, called on the country's leaders on Friday to choose a prime minister within the next four days, a dramatic political intervention that cou

Iran news site profiles head of Iraq’s Badr Organization

Conservative Iranian website Mashregh News has run a glowing profile of the Iraqi Badr Organization's leader, Hadi al-Amiri.

Admiral Ali Shamkhani, Iran?s Supreme National Security Council Director, speaks to the media after his arrival at Damascus airport, September 30, 2014. REUTERS/Khaled al-Hariri (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CONFLICT CIVIL UNREST) - RTR48C04

Iran official: Obama’s letters have been answered

The secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council has said that some of President Barack Obama's letters have received responses.

Rouhani raises concern over falling oil price 'plot'

Hosting Iraq’s Vice President Nouri al-Maliki this week in Tehran, Iran’s president raised the issue of falling oil prices and their implications for the region.

Jon Stewart: My film not meant to demonize Iran

"Rosewater," the first movie by "Daily Show" host Jon Stewart is being released 10 days before the deadline for an Iran nuclear deal and some Iran experts worry that critics of a deal may cite the human rights abuses depicted in the film to try to sabotage an agreement.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (R) and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (L) shake hands as Omani Foreign Minister Yussef bin Alawi (2nd R) and EU envoy Catherine Ashton watch in Muscat November 9, 2014. Zarif began talks with Kerry and Ashton in Oman on Sunday to try to advance efforts to end a standoff over Tehran's nuclear program, a witness said. REUTERS/Nicholas Kamm/Pool (OMAN - Tags: POLITICS ENERGY) - RTR4DEJ8

Iran negotiator thanks supreme leader for support

In an interview, Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has praised Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for supporting and guiding Iran's nuclear negotiators.

Syrians wait to cross back into Syria at the Turkish Cilvegozu border, opposite the Syrian commercial crossing point Bab al-Hawa, in Reyhanli, Hatay province, May 14, 2013. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTXZLW2

Turkey's border security problem

Political factors are not the only cause of Turkey’s border security vulnerability.

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on their ability to report, film or take pictures in Tehran.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei meets with Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in Tehran October 18, 2010. REUTERS/Khamenei.ir (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS) ) THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS - RTXTK0D

Newspaper close to Iran leader reacts to Obama’s letter

Iranian newspaper Kayhan reports that US President Barack Obama's letter to Iran's supreme leader is a sign that the United States has reached a dead end in Iraq.

A general view shows what activists said is the area of Aleppo controlled by the Syrian Regime April 26, 2014. REUTERS/Mahmoud Hebbo (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTR3MQN6

Syrian official: negotiations with US blocked by Saudi Arabia

A Syrian official spoke on the continued gains of the Syrian army, the failings of the international coalition and chances of talks between the opposing parties.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry addresses the media during a news conference in Vienna July 15, 2014. Kerry on Tuesday dismissed the idea that Iran could maintain its current number of nuclear enrichment centrifuges as part of a long-term deal with six world powers that would lead to a gradual end of sanctions. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader (AUSTRIA - Tags: POLITICS ENERGY) - RTR3YQCC

Iran conservatives limit discussion topics at nuclear talks

Conservative Iranian officials have not formally responded to claims that the US president asked for cooperation in a letter to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei but insist that the nuclear talks will not cover any other issues.