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Iran

April 11, 2026

Tehran 5:59 am

15°C

A woman walks past a digital screen displaying news of US-Iran peace talks along a road in Islamabad on April 10, 2026.

In Islamabad, US set to face a more defiant Iran at negotiating table

Iran's widening ambitions after the war include a bid to exercise permanent control over the Strait of Hormuz.

TOPSHOT - Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli strike that targeted an area in Beirut on April 8, 2026. Israel launched a series of strikes on Beirut on April 8, the most violent attack on the Lebanese capital since the start of war. The strikes came as Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah, which drew Lebanon into the Middle East war by attacking Israel on March 2, claimed it was close to a "historic victory". (Photo by Dylan COLLINS / AFP via Getty Images) /

Analysis

Ahead of Washington talks, Israel has little choice but to accept ceasefire in Lebanon

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had little choice but to agree to direct talks with Beirut as it became clear that Hezbollah is unlikely to be quickly disarmed.

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

Fu Cong, China's permanent representative to the UN, speaks during a UN Security Council meeting regarding the situation in the Middle East on April 7, 2026, in New York City. A vote on a resolution in the Security Council introduced by Bahrain focusing on reopening the Strait of Hormuz failed after opposition from Russia and China. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Analysis

Sanctions relief, Pakistan role propel China backing of Iran-US ceasefire

The US–Iran truce boosts Pakistan — one of China’s closest partners — by elevating its role as a mediator and strengthening a regional balance that favors Beijing’s allies.

Joyce Karam

By Joyce Karam , Rosaleen Carroll

Latest News

UAE says no more 'niceties' with Iran, seeks clarity on fragile truce terms

TOPSHOT - People watch from a street as a tall smoke plume billows following an explosion in the Fujairah industrial zone on March 3, 2026. Iran's strikes on Gulf neighbours since February 28, following the US-Israeli attack, forced the UAE to shut its airspace, blindsiding travellers who thought they were headed to one of the region's safest holiday destinations. (Photo by Fadel SENNA / AFP via Getty Images)

United Arab Emirates

Lebanon rejects Iran negotiating on its behalf, PM says only Beirut handles talks

This picture taken on April 9, 2026, shows the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the Basta neighbourhood of Beirut the day before. Calls were mounting for the ceasefire between the US and Iran to be extended to Israel's war with Hezbollah, after a massive wave of Israeli strikes on Lebanon killed more than 200 people. (Photo by FADEL itani / AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Ceasefire or strategic pause? How Iran is framing war narrative amid deep mistrust

Iranians hold national flags as they gather in Tehran's Revolution Square after the United States and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire, on April 8, 2026 in Tehran, Iran.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Iran hits Gulf, threatens truce as Israel escalates in Lebanon: What to know

Firefighters attempt to extinguish a fire following an Israeli strike at the Corniche al-Mazraa neighbourhood of Beirut on April 8, 2026.

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

Iraq's Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari (back) receives the newly appointed ambassador of Saudi Arabia to Iraq, Mohanned Sleman al-Zaid, at the headquarters of the Foreign Ministry in Baghdad March 26, 2012. REUTERS/Mohammed Ameen (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR2ZWZ0

Saudi Arabia Vies For Influence in Iraq

Riyadh has reached out to tribal sheikhs in southern Iraq in what some see as a continuation of the ongoing Saudi-Iranian competition for influence in the region.

Iran Rethinks Facebook Under Rouhani

Iranian ministers are implementing a social media strategy, which is being challenged in some conservative quarters.

A member of the Iraqi Mine and Unexploded Ordnance Clearance Organization (IMCO) works with a sniffer dog to find mines in the Shatt-al-Arab district, in Iraq's southern city of Basra, November 6, 2012. Decades of war have left Iraq with one of the worst mine problems in the world, according to UNICEF, with around 20 million anti-personnel mines and more than 50 million cluster bombs believed to be left over in border areas and southern oilfields. Iraq's Environment Ministry says there are 25 million landmi

Land Mines From Iraq War Continue to Plague Iran

Though there is a lack of official data, Iran remains the second-most mine-polluted country in the world, with eradication no simple task.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Backs US-Russia Plan for Syria

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif says that if there is a chance for peace in Syria, “we have to grab it.”

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on their ability to film or take pictures in Tehran.
An Iranian employee checks the food shelves at a shopping mall in northwestern Tehran February 3, 2012. With just a month to go before a parliamentary election, Iran has been hit hard in recent months by new U.S. and European economic sanctions over its nuclear programme, which Tehran says is peaceful but the West says is aimed at making a bomb. Picture taken February 3, 2

Iran’s Household Economics

The Iranian government looks to control inflation, which is now surpassing 39%.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L) speaks next to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as they answer questions from the media, following meetings regarding Syria, at a news conference in Geneva September 14, 2013. The United States and Russia have agreed on a proposal to eliminate Syria's chemical weapons arsenal, Kerry said on Saturday after nearly three days of talks with Lavrov. REUTERS/Larry Downing (SWITZERLAND - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX13KRV

Obama’s Syria Policy Has Potential For Breakthrough on War

Al-Monitor’s analysis and coverage of US policy toward Syria.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin (R) meets with his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Bishkek, September 13, 2013. Rouhani said on Friday that he wanted a swift resolution to a dispute over Tehran's nuclear programme, which Western states fear is aimed at developing nuclear weapons. REUTERS/Mikhail Klimentyev/RIA Novosti/Kremlin (KYRGYZSTAN - Tags: POLITICS) ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, E

Rouhani’s Central Asia Policies In Spotlight at SCO Summit

Iran’s Central Asia policies under Iranian President Hassan Rouhani come into focus at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit in Bishkek, Kyrzygstan.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei casts his ballot at his office during the Iranian presidential election in central Tehran June 14, 2013. Iranians voted for a new president on Friday urged by Khamenei to turn out in force to discredit suggestions by arch foe the United States that the election would be unfair. REUTERS/Fars News/Hassan Mousavi (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE

Is Ayatollah Khamenei Ready for Change?

The influence Iranians have on the views of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei should not be underestimated.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javed Zarif (L) speaks during a joint news conference with his Iraqi counterpart Hoshyar Zebari in Baghdad, September 8, 2013. The United States will ignite a fire across the Middle East if it attacks Syria, Zarif said on a visit to Iraq on Sunday, warning Western powers against warmongering. REUTERS/Ahmad Al-Rubaye/Pool (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX13CUF

Iran Looks to Iraq for Syria Support

Qassem Soleimani, the leader of Iran’s Qods Force, has been seeking assistance from Iraqi Shiite forces to provide support to the Syrian regime but without much apparent success.

An Israeli soldier walks near tanks in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights September 1, 2013. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu played up Israel's ability to take on foes alone on Sunday after Washington backed off a threatened attack on Syria, prompting some Israelis to question their main ally's resolve against Iran. Israel remains technically at war with Syria, which has long demanded an Israeli withdrawal from the strategic Golan Heights, land that Israel captured in a 1967 war. REUTERS/Ronen Z

The Myth of Israeli Self-Reliance

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's statement that Israel relies only on itself contradicts Israel's military history, throughout which Israel has needed American arms shipments.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L) speaks next to U.N. Special Representative Lakhdar Brahimi (C) and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov after a meeting discussing the ongoing problems in Syria at the United Nations offices in Geneva September 13, 2013. REUTERS/Larry Downing (SWITZERLAND - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX13JO4

Former US Official Links Syrian Disarmament to Iran Nuclear Talks

Robert Einhorn says President Obama’s flexibility on Iran will be affected by the Syria chemical weapons disarmament plan, and the US and Iran should adopt a more informal approach to nuclear negotiations.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and U.S. President Barack Obama are pictured on a video screen installed in the press centre of the G20 Summit in Strelna near St. Petersburg, September 5, 2013. REUTERS/Grigory Dukor (RUSSIA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX138DW

Putin, Obama Should Team Up For WMD-Free Mideast

The channel opened between the United States and Russia to resolve the Syrian chemical-weapons crisis could provide leverage for ridding the Middle East of all non-conventional weaponry.