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Iran

November 7, 2026

Tehran 6:47 pm

14°C

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Analysis

Iran turns to Putin as war, US election reshape strategic calculations

A Kremlin meeting with Iran's top security official coupled with reports of new arms deals amid looming war demonstrate Tehran's push to turn vulnerability into strategic leverage.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Tump

Can Trump turn midterm defeat into Iran breakthrough?

Although Iran may have contributed to Republican losses in midterms, the Trump administration still has a historic opportunity in the Middle East.

ATTA KENARE / AFP via Getty Images

As Trump weighs Iran strikes, possible nuclear opening emerges

Sticking points include Iran's highly enriched uranium and lack of access for international inspectors.

Latest News

Russia to provide Iran with 90 missile launchers as military ties grow: Reports

Russian Mil Mi-8 military helicopters fly over a joint Russian and Turkish convoy, northeastern Hasakeh province, Syria, Feb. 4, 2021.

Turkey says soldier killed by gunfire from Iran at border: What to know

A sign marking the border of Turkey in Van, Turkey, on March 14, 2026.

Explainer

Democrats’ midterm sweep tests US-Israel ties as Eisenkot vows reset

An aerial view shows a campaign billboard depicting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of the Likud party and President Donald Trump in Tel Aviv, on Oct. 26, 2026, on the eve of Israel's legislative elections.

Analysis

Iran cheers Democrats’ midterm victory but fears Trump's next move

Iranians walk along a building installed with a giant poster depicting Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei during a rally in front of the former US embassy to mark the anniversary of the 1979 Iran hostage crisis, in Tehran on Nov. 4, 2026.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

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

Pakistani soldiers wearing facemasks patrol near the closed Pakistan-Iran border in Taftan, as fears over the spread of the coronavirus escalate following an outbreak in neighboring Iran, Feb. 25, 2020.

What is behind Iran-Pakistan border escalation, the worst in decades?

Iran’s Sistan and Baluchistan province, located on the border with Pakistan, has long been plagued by poverty, protests and militant activity.

GHULAM RASOOL/AFP via Getty Images

Pakistan conducts strikes inside Iran as China, Turkey call for restraint

The region is already at a boiling point as the Israel-Hamas war continues to reverberate across the Middle East, with attacks in Yemen, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon.

Pakistani and Iranian flags flutter on the closed Pakistan-Iran border in Taftan on February 25, 2020 as fears over the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus escalate following an outbreak in neighbouring Iran. - The Iranian outbreak where at least 15 people have already died -- the highest death toll in any country outside of China -- has aggravated already frayed nerves in neighbouring Afghanistan and Pakistan. (Photo by Banaras KHAN / AFP) (Photo by BANARAS KHAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran-Pakistan tensions simmer after strikes, IRGC officer killed in southeast

Iran is seeking to contain the damage to its relationship with Pakistan following a deadly Iranian military strike in Pakistani territory targeting a dissident group.

FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images

Iraq, KRG leaders cancel meetings with Iran's FM at Davos over missile row

Tensions between Baghdad and Tehran have flared since the Monday attack, which Tehran claimed targeted an Israeli "spy cell" in the city.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) speaks with Foreign Affairs columnist Thomas Friedman during a meeting as part of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos on January 17, 2024.

Davos 2024: Blinken says Palestinian statehood could help isolate Iran

The US secretary of state called former President Donald Trump's withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal "a big mistake."

Protesters hold a banner and Kurdish flags during a demonstration outside the United Nations (UN) office, a day after several areas in the city were hit by a missile attack launched by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), in Erbil, the capital of Iraq's northern autonomous Kurdish region early on Jan. 16, 2024.

How Iran chose easy targets in Iraq's Erbil to avoid Israeli reprisal

As the Islamic Republic and its hardcore loyalists chanted in triumph, debates heated up as to whether the attack was meant only for domestic propaganda and flexing about a promised "revenge" that seemed to have been exacted on the wrong, easy target.

A Shahab-3 surface-to-surface missile is displayed next to a portrait of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at a street exhibition by Iran's army and paramilitary Revolutionary Guard force to celebrate "Defense Week", marking the 41st anniversary of the start of 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war, at the Baharestan Square in Tehran, on Sept. 25, 2021.

Iran strikes inside Pakistan following IRGC missile attacks in Iraq, Syria

Tasnim news agency reported that sites belonging to Jaish al-Adl in Balochistan were struck with missiles and drones.

SAFIN HAMID/AFP via Getty Images

Who is Peshraw Dizayee, Kurdish-Iraqi businessman killed in Iran's attack?

Iran claimed it targeted “spy bases” belonging to Israel’s spy agency in northern Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, but several civilians were also killed in the strike.

Two Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) armed military personnel are monitoring an area while standing guard next to an Iranian Majid anti-aircraft missile system during the Ela Beit Al-Moghaddas (Al-Aqsa Mosque) military rally in Tehran, Iran.

Iran’s IRGC strikes 'spy centers' in Iraq with ballistic missiles

The IRGC also said it struck Syria in response to the recent ISIS attack in Iran.

An Iranian woman holds a portrait of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei duringa demonstration against the Saudi-led coalitions Operation Decisive Storm against the Huthi rebels in Yemen, outside the Saudi embassy in Tehran on April 13, 2015. AFP PHOTO/ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

Will Iran manage to dodge ripple effects of Red Sea tensions?

The Islamic Republic has condemned the Western coalition strikes targeting its favored Houthi rebels in Yemen, yet it appears to have no appetite for an escalation that could threaten its very survival.

This picture taken on Oct. 31, 2022 shows a view of an oil tanker, seized by Iranian naval forces at the Gulf port of Bandar Abbas in southern Iran.

Turkey says tanker seized by Iran carrying Turkish oil purchased from Iraq

The ship was seized by the Iranian navy off the coast of Oman.

A woman touches victims' portraits as mourners attend an outdoor vigil for the victims of Ukrainian passenger jet flight PS752.

Downed Ukrainian jet families struggle to hold Iran accountable

The families' quest for justice remains futile four years after the tragedy, as Iran continues to defy international pressure and obstruct independent probes.