Iran-US tensions

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Analysis

Iran’s FM Araghchi in Moscow as biting sanctions drive closer Russia ties

The economic agenda of the meetings in Moscow and Tehran reflected a deliberate effort by both governments to signal momentum in a partnership increasingly shaped by isolation from the West.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Iran’s forward #9 Mehdi Taremi looks on during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Asia zone qualifiers Group A football match between Iran and the North Korea at the Azadi Sports Complex in Tehran on June 10, 2025.

Iran’s World Cup players face US visa uncertainty over military service: What to know

The head of Iran’s soccer body said this week that some players might not receives visa to the US due to their military service.

The Soyuz MS-15 rocket carrying three crew members of the International Space Station (ISS) blasts off to the ISS from the launch pad of the Russian-leased Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Sept. 25, 2019.

Russia to launch 3 Iranian satellites into orbit this month: What to know

The upcoming launch will be the second time Russia’s Soyuz rockets have carried Iranian-made satellites into space.

Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji visits the headquarters of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in Naqoura, southern Lebanon, on October 24, 2025, touring border villages and the Blue Line aboard a UNIFIL helicopter as part of efforts to assess the security situation along the frontier. (Photo by Courtney Bonneau / Middle East Images via AFP) (Photo by COURTNEY BONNEAU/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

Lebanon's FM snubs Iran, turns down invitation to visit Tehran: What to know

Youssef Rajji declined an invitation from his Iranian counterpart to visit Tehran, saying, "The appropriate conditions for such a visit were not present.”

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Analysis

Russian leak signals Su-35s for Iran moving to production: What to know

Russian Sukhoi Su-35S fighter aircrafts, Su-34 military fighter jets and Su-30SM jet fighters fly over downtown Moscow during a military parade on June 24, 2020.

Francesco Schiavi

By Francesco Schiavi

In Bologna, reporting on security, defense, economy, governance

Analysis

Iran’s new military drills near disputed islands ratchet up tensions with UAE

People walk and drive past a billboard covering the facade of a building on Vali-Asr square, depicting as postage stamps the disputed Abu Musa and Greater and Lesser Tunb islands that were seized by Iran in 1971, in Tehran on October 26, 2024. Residents of Tehran awoke and went about their business as planned on October 26 after their sleep was troubled by Israeli strikes that triggered blasts that echoed across the city. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

US strategy document names Iran 'chief' destabilizer, calls Syria 'potential problem'

The US National flag flies at half staff on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC on December 4, 2025, in honor of Sarah Beckstrom, the National Guard member who was fatally shot the week before. An Afghan man accused of shooting two members of the National Guard near the White House, killing one, pleaded not guilty on December 2, 2025 to murder charges. Lakanwal is charged with first-degree murder for the death of Sarah Beckstrom, 20, a National Guard member from West Virginia, as well as ass

Iran currency dips to new low of 1.2M per dollar as sanctions bite: What to know

currency exchange in Tehran

A US Navy Martin UAV drone hovers mid-air beneath a US Navy SH-60S Seahawk helicopter, while Bahraini Coast Guard ship Deraa 13 (L), US Coast Guard cutter Maui (C), and Royal Bahrain Naval Force (RBNF) Abdulrahman Al Fadhel (R) operate on Gulf waters during joint naval exercise between US 5th Fleet Command and Bahraini forces, on October 26, 2021. - The US and Bahrain navies conducted a joint exercise at sea, launching a series of drills integrating unmanned systems into regional maritime operations. (Phot

US not notified yet of UAE's withdrawal from Gulf maritime coalition

The announcement that the UAE had withdrawn its participation in the Combined Maritime Forces coalition appears to be Abu Dhabi's latest signal to Washington that it wants serious dialogue on security guarantees.

CENTCOM Chief Michael Kurilla meets with IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, Tel Aviv, May 30 2023 Credit: IDF spokesperson office.

CENTCOM commander visits Israel, observes multifront war exercise

Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla is on a wider tour of the Middle East as the Pentagon aims to build regional military capabilities to better deter attacks by Iran and its proxies.

ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

Why did Shamkhani, Iran's powerful national security chief, resign?

Ali Shamkhani, the longstanding secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, has yielded his post to a prominent commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei meets with Oman’s Sultan, Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, and his accompanying delegation on Monday, May 29, 2023.

Iran’s Khamenei hails thaw with Egypt, Saudi Arabia during Omani sultan visit

The potential rapprochement falls within Tehran's hard-liners' recent push on the reset button in Iran's ties with Arab rivals to reposition itself in the regional power play, avert economic collapse and fight off international isolation.

Raisi and Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif met on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday.

Iran-Pakistan cooperation complicated by sanctions, porous border

Newly inaugurated power line and border marketplace mark progress, but sanctions hinder completion of long-delayed pipeline.

US President Joe Biden shakes hands with Air Force General Charles Brown, Jr. (R), after nominating him to serve as the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, DC, May 25, 2023.

Meet Gen. CQ Brown: US Air Force chief tapped to be Pentagon's top general

Gen. Charles "CQ" Brown has pushed the Air Force to adapt in order to deter war with China while being ready to respond elsewhere in the world.

Washington Connection

Israel's new army chief of staff Herzi Halevi (C) speaks to a supporter following his official appointment ceremony in Jerusalem, on January 16, 2023. (Photo by Maya Alleruzzo / POOL / AFP) (Photo by MAYA ALLERUZZO/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Israeli brass sounds alarm on Iran's readiness to launch nuclear attack

Israeli officials are watching tensely as intelligence indicates Iran is working on the detonation mechanisms needed for a nuclear bomb.

missile

Iran tests ballistic missile with 1250-mile range, capable of hitting Israel

The missile's declared range makes it capable of reaching Israel, which warned Tehran this week with military action over its ramped-up nuclear enrichment and regional activities.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian (R) welcomes his Omani counterpart Sayyid Badr al-Busaidi in Tehran on November 19, 2022. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

Sultan of Oman to make first visit to Iran amid regional thaw

The visit comes amid Iran’s rapprochement with Saudi Arabia, and Oman's mediation between Egypt and Tehran.

Alireza Enayati, previously Tehran’s ambassador to Kuwait from 2014 to 2019. Enayati will be the next envoy to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Who is Alireza Enayati, Iran’s first ambassador to Saudi Arabia in 7 years?

Alireza Enayati previously served as the director-general for Persian Gulf Affairs at the Iranian Foreign Ministry and as Iran’s ambassador to Kuwait.

Ali Shamkhani (R), the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran extends his hand to Emmanuel Bonne (L), diplomatic advisor to the French president, in the Iranian capital Tehran on July 10, 2019. - Iran has breached a uranium enrichment cap set by a troubled 2015 nuclear deal and warned Europe against taking retaliatory measures, as France decided to send an envoy to Tehran to try to calm tensions. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran replaces security chief Shamkhani with IRGC official

Ali Shamkhani was heavily involved in Iranian foreign policy and will be replaced by a senior member of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

Breaking | Last Updated: May 19, 2023, 2:34 pm

New US sanctions target Russia-Iran military trade

The sanctions come days after the White House said Russia was seeking to replenish its supply of Iranian-made attack drones.