Russian influence

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

Analysis

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

Iran is lobbying states to resist enforcement of UN sanctions — looking particularly to China and Russia to blunt the impact, even as questions remain about the limits of their willingness to act.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Iranians drive next to a billboard displaying pictures of nuclear scientists, centrifuges and a sentence reading in Farsi, "Science is the power," at the Enqelab Square in Tehran, on Aug. 29, 2025.

Iran rial hits record low 1.13M to dollar as UN snapback sanctions resume: What to know

The sanctions, which were trigged by the three European signatories to the nuclear deal, will not hinder Iranian oil exports to China, an official said.

US President Donald Trump (L) greets Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) upon his arrival at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 25, 2025.

From F-35s to Ukraine: Erdogan-Trump talks signal reset, but sanctions obstacles remain

The summit underscored both leaders’ personal chemistry while highlighting the limits of what the partnership can deliver.

MAXIM SHEMETOV/AFP via Getty Images

Sudan, Russia sign trade deals as Khartoum seeks funds, Moscow eyes Red Sea port

The meeting in Moscow produced two agreements and an economic and trade cooperation protocol.

Latest News

Russia, Iran sign deal to build small nuclear power plants: What to know

Thomas Kronsteiner/Getty Images

UK’s top spy uses farewell from Turkey to lure Russian recruits, sparks fury

Richard Moore

Iran's nuclear chief in Moscow, eyes nuclear power plant deal with Russia

Mohammad Eslami, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, speaks during the 69th annual International Atomic Energy Agency general conference on Sept. 15, 2025, in Vienna, Austria.

Analysis

As US steps back from Europe, Turkey eyes bigger role in NATO defense industry

People pose for photographs in front of a Turkish Hurjet at Turkey's 17th International Defense Industry Fair (IDEF) on July 24, 2025 in Istanbul, Turkey.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) and US President Joe Biden shake hands at the start of the first plenary session of the NATO summit at the Ifema congress centre in Madrid, on June 29, 2022.

Has Turkey’s Erdogan axed his Biden meeting because of Israel?

Despite rumors of a cancellation in Turkish media, several high-level US diplomats have traveled over the past few days to Ankara to lay the ground for the summit.

Protesters react as a man holds up a sign demanding that soldiers from the United States Army leave Niger without negotiation during a demonstration in Niamey, on April 13, 2024. Thousands of people demonstrated on April 13, 2024 in Niger's capital Niamey to demand the immediate departure of American soldiers based in northern Niger, after the military regime said it was withdrawing from a 2012 cooperation deal with Washington. (Photo by AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

Pentagon confirms talks to withdraw US troops from Niger

Washington failed to reach a compromise with junta leaders in Niamey, as Russia continues to make gains across the Sahel.

Elizabeth Tsurkov

Lawmakers urge Biden to help free Princeton researcher kidnapped in Iraq

The State Department says it has urged senior Iraqi officials to locate and secure the release of Elizabeth Tsurkov, an Israeli-Russian researcher believed to be held by Iran-backed militia Kataib Hezbollah.

Northern Cyprus tightens property sales rules amid influx of Russian money

Northern Cyprus seeks to tighten its laws on real estate purchases to foreigners amid allegations of Russian black money, Zionist plots and encouragement from Ankara.

A French soldier of the operation Barkhane, an anti-terrorist mission in Sahel, patrols as a tiger helicopter operates a tactical flight on March 12, 2016 in Mali. France's Barkhane counter-terror mission comprises at least 3,500 soldiers deployed across five countries (Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Chad and Burkina Faso) with a mandate to combat jihadist insurgencies in the region.

US aims to keep troops in Niger despite junta decision on ending counterterrorism ties

Niger’s ruling military junta announced Saturday it was cutting ties with US special operations forces, threatening to undermine a key point of US influence as Russia expands its military foothold across Central Africa.

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan in Saint Petersburg on Oct. 11, 2022.

Iran, Saudi Arabia, UAE, others shower Russia’s Putin with congratulatory messages

Several leaders in the region have extended their congratulations to Russia’s President Vladimir Putin over his reelection, as Western countries condemned the Russian elections as unfair.

RED SEA - MAY 10: In this handout photo provided by the U.S. Navy, Logistics Specialist 1st Class Ousseinou Kaba (left), from Silver Spring, Md., and Logistics Specialist Seaman Abigail Marshke, from Flint, Mich., attach cargo to an MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter from the "Nightdippers" of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 5 from the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) May 10, 2019 in the Red Sea. The Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group has been deployed to U.S. Cen

How Russia seeks to capitalize on US strikes in Yemen, Red Sea tensions

Russia has maintained balanced relations in Yemen, while avoiding criticism of the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, even as its trade has been affected.

Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard boats attack a naval vessel during a three-day military drill in the Gulf on April 22, 2010.

Iran, Russia, China conduct new military drills, defying Western pressure

The exercise brought together the three countries' lead warships for the stated purpose of bolstering maritime security, while Tehran-backed Yemeni rebels continued to target international navigation in the wake of the Gaza war.

ISTANBUL, TURKEY - MARCH 08: President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks to the media during a joint press conference with President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky on March 08, 2024 in Istanbul, Turkey. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

Turkey’s Erdogan hosts Zelenskyy, hopeful on Ukraine-Russia compromise

Zelenskyy’s visit to Turkey comes one week after that of Lavrov, and as Ankara is trying to find a compromise between Moscow and Kyiv on a Black Sea mechanism.

Supporters hold a poster depicting Malis interim leader and head of Junta, Colonel Assimi Goïta (L) and Guinea Interim leader and head of Junta, Mamady Doumbouya (R), in Bamako, Mali, on September 22, 2022 during Mali's Independence Day military parade. (Photo by OUSMANE MAKAVELI / AFP) (Photo by OUSMANE MAKAVELI/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

As Mali’s junta pokes at Algeria, what’s at stake for North Africa and Sahel?

Three years after severing its ties with Morocco, Algeria faces challenges in its relations with Mali and other Sahel countries.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

ranian President Ebrahim Raisi (L) and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune (R).

Iran, Algeria to build closer energy, tourism ties

Europe is increasingly interested in Algeria as an alternative to Russia for gas supplies, while Iran is seeking to boost its own gas output amid continued US sanctions.

A young boy carries the flag of Fatah as he walks past a mural painting of late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, during a solidarity march with the Palestinians of the Gaza Strip on Oct. 27, 2023.

What we know about Palestinian talks in Russia seeking unity

The meeting, in which rival Palestinian factions endorsed unity under the PLO umbrella, follows the resignation of Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh and comes as Russia is seeking a diplomatic role in the war.