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Iran

November 7, 2026

Tehran 6:55 pm

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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

People disperse near the site where two explosions in quick succession struck a crowd marking the anniversary of the 2020 killing of Guards general Qasem Soleimani on Jan. 3, 2024.

How Gaza war is complicating Iran's pledge to revenge deadly bombings

Despite a claim of responsibility by the Islamic State, Iranian officials continued to point fingers at Israel and the US as the main culprits yet kept vague their promise for revenge, as the region remains on edge due to the Gaza war.

Iranian mourners gather around coffins wrapped with the Iranian flags during the funeral ceremony of yesterday's explosion on Jan. 5, 2024, in Kerman, Iran.

Analysis

Israel-Hamas war gets personal for Iran

Targeted killings in Iraq, Lebanon and Syria cause Iran to rethink escalatory options.

Week in Review

Andrew Parasiliti

By Week in Review , Andrew Parasiliti

This picture shows people and Iranian emergency personnel at the site where two explosions in quick succession struck a crowd marking the anniversary of the 2020 killing of Guards general Qasem Soleimani, near the Saheb al-Zaman Mosque in the southern Iranian city of Kerman on Jan. 3, 2024.

ISIS claims responsibility for twin Iran blasts that left nearly 100 dead

Two Islamic State operatives were responsible for the attacks, according to the group.

An Iran Air Boeing 747 passenger plane sits on the tarmac of the domestic Mehrabad airport in the Iranian capital, Tehran, on Jan. 15, 2013.

Why has Iran Air abandoned plans to relaunch Saudi Arabia flights despite detente?

The Iran Air flights to Saudi Arabia were intended to transport pilgrims to Jeddah and were scheduled to take off from Tehran, Mashhad and Isfahan on Wednesday.

Footage shows crowds gathered the moment the first explosion occurred in Kerman, Iran, Jan. 3, 2023.

Explosions in Iran near Qasem Soleimani‘s burial site, 84 killed

The explosion comes amid concerns that the Gaza war will expand across the region.

An Iranian navy missile is displayed during the army day military parade, outside the mausoleum of the late founder of Islamic republic, Ayatollah Khomeini (poster) in Tehran, April 18, 2007.

Iran hails Houthi rebels, deploys warship as Red Sea simmers

As the Houthi spokesman visited Tehran, the Iranian army dispatched a leading destroyer to the Red Sea, where the United States has been mobilizing an international coalition to end disruptions by the Tehran-backed militant group.

Wang Yi speaks during a UN Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East and the Israel-Hamas war at the United Nations headquarters on Nov. 29, 2023.

With confidence at all-time high, can China emerge as Mideast peace broker?

China is riding a wave of support since its Iran-Saudi agreement, but experts say the Palestinian-Israeli brokerage is a different matter.

11/24/2023 Tehran, Iran. 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. (Photo by Hossein Beris / Middle East Images / Middle East Images via AFP) (Photo by HOSSEIN BERIS/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

2023 in review: Iran sees opportunity in Gaza war, steps up crackdown at home

Iran's theocratic establishment engaged in a flurry of foreign diplomacy to try to ease the international isolation it is facing, while at home it intensified its crackdown on dissent.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi hold a meeting in Tehran on July 19, 2022. - Iran's president will host his Russian and Turkish counterparts for talks on the Syrian war in a three-way summit overshadowed by fallout from the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Sergei SAVOSTYANOV / SPUTNIK / AFP) (Photo by SERGEI SAVOSTYANOV/SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images)

What is behind Iran-Russia de-dollarization deal as sanctions bite?

The long-awaited agreement was one among several solutions the two countries have sought to salvage their battered economies, which remain cut off from key international banking systems.

MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images

Naftali Bennett: Israel attacked Iran drone base, killed IRGC commander in 2022

Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett accused the current government of ignoring the war Iran is waging against it and letting its leaders off the hook.

An Iranian woman holds a poster with a picture of Sayyed Razi Mousavi, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Syria, during his funeral ceremony at the Imam Hossein Square in Tehran, Dec. 28, 2023.

Iran executes four alleged spies for Israel as regional tensions flare

The executions follow accusations that Israel was responsible for the death of Sayyed Razi Mousavi, commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Syria.

Honor guards carry the coffin of Sayyed Razi Mousavi.

Funeral held for Iran's IRGC commander killed by Israel as Tehran vows revenge

Iran said Sayyed Razi Mousavi was killed in an Israeli strike in Syria. The death of the commander, who was mourned in Syria and Iraq, could ignite war between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah.