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Iran

November 8, 2026

Tehran 12:27 am

13°C

Alexey BABUSHKIN / AFP via Getty Images

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

A man walks past the World Bank building in Washington on April 21, 2022.

World Bank says debt increasing in Middle East countries

Egypt, Iran and Turkey’s debt rose significantly last year.

Nasr-Azadani was arrested in the city of Isfahan two days after allegedly taking part in an "armed riot" in which three security agents were killed on September 16, Isfahan's judiciary chief Abdullah Jafari said, quoted on December 11 by Iran's ISNA news agency. (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

Fate of Iran soccer player unclear as he faces risk of execution

Iranian prosecutors are seeking to send Amir Reza Nasr Azadani to the gallows, as the Islamic Republic defiantly presses ahead with death sentences for protesters.

People demonstrate outside the Iranian Embassy in Ukraine on Oct. 17, 2022, in Kyiv.

Iran says Ukraine failed to prove drone claims

Tehran continued to dig in heels over deliveries of Iranian drones to Russia and accused Ukraine of making "baseless" claims.

A man walks past a French-language daily newspaper stand displaying the final issue of Algerian French-language daily newspaper "Liberté" in Algeria's capital Algiers on April 14, 2022. (Photo by RYAD KRAMDI/AFP via Getty Images)

In press freedom index, Middle Eastern countries go from bad to worse

Press freedom and journalist safety remain “very bad” in the majority of the Middle East and North Africa nations, Reporters Without Borders' 2022 index shows.

A photograph of Majid Reza Rahnavard, 23, stands on a table among candles during a demonstration by supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran outside the German Foreign Ministry on December 12, 2022 in Berlin, Germany. (Sean Gallup/Getty)

Iran publicly executes another 23-year-old in connection to protests

Iran hanged on Monday protestor Majid Rahnavard, on charges of killing two members of the Basij force.

Iran protest

Group of Iranian artists defies hijab in taboo-breaking video

More Iranian women are beginning to post videos of themselves without the mandatory headscarves as part of the ongoing protests in the country.

Mohsen Shekari

Raging backlash as Iran executes protester

Iranians expressed horror, disbelief and anger at the ruling establishment and its judiciary, which hanged a 23-year-old protester over his participation in an anti-government demonstration.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani addresses Middle East Research Institute Workshop on ‘Iraq’s Immediate Priorities’ in Baghdad, Dec. 7, 2022.

Analysis

Iran looms large over Iraqi PM’s reform agenda

Mohammed Shia al-Sudani’s government is seeking a fast start amid uncertainty in Iran.

Week in Review

By Week in Review

ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

Iranian dissident who disappeared in Turkey resurfaces in Evin prison

Mohammad Bagher Moradi who took refuge in Turkey has ended up in Iran's notorious Evin prison, five months after he went missing in Ankara, his lawyer told Al-Monitor.

A woman holds a placard as protesters march in solidarity with protesters in Iran in front of the White House in Washington, DC, on October 22, 2022. - Iran has been rocked by protests since 22-year-old Mahsa Amini's death on September 16, three days after she was arrested by morality police in Tehran for allegedly violating the Islamic republic's strict dress code for women. (Photo by OLIVIER DOULIERY / AFP) (Photo by OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images)

US issues new Iran sanctions over protest crackdown

The latest sanctions target two law enforcement commanders and the warden of an Iranian prison housing political prisoners.

A photograph of a murdered Iranian woman hangs from a tree in front of the Palacio de la Moneda placed by Iranians living in Chile, as they protest against violence against women in their country, during the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women in Santiago, Chili, Nov. 25, 2022.

Police chief says 'no more restraint' as more die in Iran unrest

The commander suggested that his forces had so far tolerated the unrest, while rights activists counted the killings of over 470 protesters at the hands of security forces.

An Iranian woman walks past a mural showing Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the capital Tehran on March 9, 2022.

Iran's Khamenei shows no sign of retreat in latest speech

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has shown no signs of relaxing the country’s cultural policies.