Iran-US tensions

People walk past a branch of Turkish bank HalkBank on Dec. 1, 2017 in Istanbul, Turkey.

Supreme Court clears path for Turkey’s Halkbank trial over Iran sanctions

The Turkish president personally raised the Halkbank case with US President Donald Trump at the White House, as Ankara pushes for a settlement to avoid a drawn-out legal battle.

Iran's president, Masoud Pezeshkian, addresses members of parliament in Tehran on March 2, 2025.

Analysis

Reeling from Israel war, Iran expands espionage law, bans Starlink use

Iran has officially enacted a sweeping new espionage law imposing harsher measures — including the death penalty — for collaboration with Israel, as rights activists decry what they say is a new campaign of arbitrary arrests and deeper repression.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

A woman walks past a deactivated Kheibar Shekan ballistic missile in front of a picture of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran's Bahrestan Square on Sept. 27, 2025, as part of an exhibit to mark the "Sacred Defense Week" commemorating the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war.

US targets Iran's military tech with sanctions after allies trigger snapback

New sanctions aim to increase pressure on Iran to restrict the IRGC’s relentless development of ballistic missiles and military aircraft, but risk pushing Tehran further into the orbits of Russia and China.

BAGHDAD, IRAQ - MAY 30: A U.S. Army soldier looks onto Baghdad from a guardhouse on the perimeter of the International Zone on May 30, 2021 in Baghdad, Iraq. Coalition forces based in Baghdad's International Zone are part of the U.S.-led Military Advisor Group of 13 nations supporting the Iraqi Security Forces. The United States currently maintains 2,500 military personnel in Iraq as part of Operation Inherent Resolve. Alpha Company 769th brigade Engineer Battalion, Louisiana National Guard is providing for

US troops in Iraq shift to Erbil to focus on ISIS in Syria

The US mission against the Islamic State is relocating its headquarters and most of its troops from Baghdad to Erbil as the prime minister's coalition faces reelection in November.

Latest News

Analysis

How far will China, Russia go in shielding Iran from UN sanctions?

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi (C) welcomes Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov (L) and Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazeem Gharibabadi.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Analysis

How Afghanistan's Bagram base became focal point of US-China-Iran rivalry

Taliban military vehicles parade to celebrate the third anniversary of Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan, at the Bagram Air Base, in Bagram, Parwan province on Aug. 14, 2024.

Sabena Siddiqui

By Sabena Siddiqui

In Karachi, reporting on South Asia, Middle East, Iran

Analysis

UN snapback sanctions deepen Iran’s 'sense of siege,' fuel fears of reprisal

Iranians walk past shops in the Grand Bazaar in Tehran on Aug. 13, 2025.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

US, Saudi Arabia wrap up drone drill after Iran’s top security chief visits Riyadh

A US Army Mobile Low, Slow, Unmanned Aircraft Integrated Defeat System (MLIDS) vehicle equipped with counter-drone sensors and weapons. Similar systems were fielded during the Red Sands 2025 exercise in Saudi Arabia.

Vehicles move past a billboard displaying the faces of the six candidates running in the upcoming Iranian presidential election in the Iranian capital Tehran on June 16, 2024.

In first debate, Iran’s 6 presidential contenders clash over sanctions, ailing economy

The first in a series of live debates was held as part of a campaign by the state broadcaster to instill voter enthusiasm and reverse anticipated apathy in a largely disillusioned electorate.

The Azerbaijan Army holds military pentathlon competitions on June 11, 2024.

Iran, Azerbaijan seek to move past tensions with joint military exercise

As part of its policy to build regional alliances, Tehran has been seeking to dissuade Azerbaijan against its warming ties with Israel, and to exert influence in the South Caucasus geopolitical calculations.

Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani leaves after talks at the Coburg Palais, the venue of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in Vienna on August 4, 2022. - The United States and the European Union's Iran nuclear envoys on August 3, 2022 said they were travelling to Vienna for talks with Tehran's delegation as they seek to salvage the agreement on its atomic ambitions. (Photo by Alex HALADA / AFP) (Photo by ALEX HALADA/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran hopes to finalize 20-year pact with Russia as Bagheri Kani meets Lavrov

Despite lingering questions and skepticism at home, the Iranian government has been pushing the agreement as part of its overall strategy to build new alliances meant to mitigate Western political pressure and economic sanctions.

A military truck carries an Arash drone past a portrait of Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a military parade as part of a ceremony marking the country's annual army day in Tehran, on April 17, 2024.

EU sanctions Iranian defense minister, Quds commander over drone transfers to Russia

Iranian Defense Minister Mohammad-Reza Gharaei Ashtiani and IRGC Quds Force commander Ismail Qaani are two of the six Iranian individuals and three Iranian entities sanctioned by the European Union this week as the United States also expands sanctions against Iran.

A police car is seen outside the Israeli Embassy in Stockholm, Swedem, Jan. 31, 2024.

Mossad says Iran behind attacks on Israeli targets in Sweden, Belgium

Two months before the Olympic Games in France, the Mossad warns that criminal organizations are acting on Iran's behalf to target Israelis and Jews across Europe.

Ghadr

What we know on Houthis' latest Ghadr anti-ship Iranian ballistic missile

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Wednesday that the Yemeni militant group has obtained the technology to manufacture anti-ship ballistic missiles.

Iraqis carry portraits of Iran's late president Ebrahim Raisi outside the Iranian embassy in Baghdad during a condolences service on May 20, 2024 for the president and his entourage, who were killed in a helicopter crash in Iran the previous day.

Iran pledges continued support for regional proxies despite Raisi's death

In a show of defiance to Western adversaries, Iran hosted senior leaders of several regional militant organizations to renew promises that they will continue to have Tehran's blessing despite President Ebrahim Raisi's death.

Iranians participate in the 12th term parliamentary elections and the 6th term Assembly of Leadership Experts' voting at a Tehran polling station on March 1, 2024.

What Iran's elections could signal about potential for US escalation

The sudden death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has plunged the country into new uncertainty, but it’s unlikely to derail Washington's quiet push to dial back tensions with Tehran.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei arrives to cast his ballot during the parliamentary runoff elections in Tehran on May 10, 2024. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

With outsiders purged, Iran hard-liners set to settle Khamenei succession

Former President Hassan Rouhani has attacked the ruling hard-liners for purging him and other moderates from a key clerical body that will be responsible for picking Khamenei's successor.

This handout image supplied by the IIPA (Iran International Photo Agency) shows a view of the reactor building at the Russian-built Bushehr nuclear power plant as the first fuel is loaded, on Aug. 21, 2010 in Bushehr, southern Iran.

Understanding Iran's increasingly open rhetoric about atomic bombs

Several Iranian officials and military generals have recently abandoned earlier reservations on nuclear policy, sending out the message that the country could be turning into an atomic weapons possessor to deter Israel.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei (L) welcomes Nechirvan Barzani, the regional president of Iraqi Kurdistan, during an official visit to Tehran on May 6, 2024. (Photo: KRG Presidency)

Analysis

In Iran, Iraqi Kurdistan President Barzani welcomed by Khamenei, IRGC

Nechirvan Barzani’s trip to Tehran follows tensions between the Kurdistan Regional Government and the Islamic Republic over Kurdish armed groups and attacks by Iran-backed militias.

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdoulahian meets with UN atomic watchdog chief Rafael Grossi in Tehran, Iran, May 6, 2024.

Iran urges IAEA to dodge US, Israeli 'pressure' over nuclear program

The visit by the UN nuclear watchdog's chief comes two months after he raised concerns about losing track of Tehran's enrichment program and its possible capabilities to produce nuclear weapons.