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Iran

September 8, 2026

Tehran 4:32 am

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The former chief of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Mohsen Rezaei, takes part in a demonstration against American "crimes" following the killing of IRGC Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani in a US strike on his convoy at Baghdad international airport, Tehran, Iran, Jan. 3, 2020.

Iran to announce new Gulf restricted zone, Hormuz route: What we know

Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said the restricted zone would begin at the point where the US blockade of Iranian ports starts and extend into the Gulf.

A man walks past a mural depicting oil pumps and the Venezuelan flag, with portraits of Venezuelan independence leader Simon Bolivar (L) and former late President Hugo Chavez (R), in Caracas, Venezuela, on Sept. 3, 2026.

Analysis

Could Trump’s oil push in Venezuela upend OPEC’s energy order?

Washington’s growing role in controlling the Latin American country's crude riches could help reshape an energy order centered on OPEC as the Hormuz crisis pressures Gulf exports.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

mural of Iran's slain supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

Analysis

How Iran's campaign against US bases is forging a new Gulf defense network

Iran's targeting of Gulf states is fueling a regional security architecture designed to counter the Islamic Republic.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Amir Yaryab

Who is Amir Yaryab, IRGC’s cyber commander in US crosshairs?

The US State Department has offered up to $10 million for information on Amir Yaryab, who oversees a key part of Iran’s cyber operations.

Latest News

Analysis

Playing for time: Despite US pressure, Israel stalls Lebanon talks until after election

Ammar Ammar / AFP via Getty Images

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

US sanctions Turkey-based bank over Iran ties

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Saudi oil exports hit nine-year low as tanker attacks threaten recovery

A commercial vessel passes through an international shipping lane off Yemen's Hanish Island in the Red Sea on July 27, 2026.

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

Ebrahim Raisi

Who is Ebrahim Raisi, the front-runner in Iran's presidential race?

Here’s what you need to know about Ebrahim Raisi, the conservative cleric seen as the heavy favorite to replace outgoing President Hassan Rouhani.

Putin and Rouhani

Rouhani praises Putin, hails expanded ties with Russia

Rouhani's expression of gratitude came a few weeks after his foreign minister was caught in a leaked audio, complaining about Russian attempts to put a spike in the wheel of the 2015 multilateral talks that culminated in the Iran nuclear deal.

ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

Iran's hard-liners take page from China's election playbook

Iran's hard-liners have long been disillusioned with a system in which all citizens are encouraged to vote.

China's President Xi Jinping (C) speaks during a meeting with delegates of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization security secretary summit at the Great Hall of the People, Beijing, China, May 22, 2018.

China-Iran cooperation goes slow in context of nuclear talks

Beijing and Tehran are deepening ties across sectors, but progress will depend on the Vienna talks and Iran’s elections.

The flag of the European Union is on display at the Grand Hotel on the day the JCPOA Iran nuclear talks are to resume on May 25, 2021, in Vienna, Austria.

Iran nuclear deal talks to resume in Vienna this weekend

US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said talks aimed at reviving the nuclear deal will resume this weekend in Vienna.

Abbas Araghchi, political deputy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran, leaves the 'Grand Hotel Wien' after the closed-door nuclear talks in Vienna on June 2, 2021, where diplomats of the UK, the EU, China, Russia and Iran hold their talks.

Rouhani lashes out at hard-line media over criticism of US nuclear talks

The US and Iran are unlikely to reach an agreement at the Vienna nuclear talks before the June 18 Iranian presidential elections.

ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

Iran expects to restore oil output within month of US lifting sanctions

A senior official at the National Iranian Oil Company said that if the United States lifts sanctions on Iran, the country expects to restore its crude oil output to pre-sanctions levels in a matter of months.

Women supporters of Iranian presidential candidate Ebrahim Raisi hold up his posters during an election campaign rally in the city of Eslamshahr, about 25 kilometers south of the center of the capital, Tehran, on June 6, 2021. The 60-year-old ultra-conservative Raisi, widely seen as the favorite to win the June 18 presidential election, heads the judiciary and is a "hodjatoleslam," one rank below that of ayatollah in the Shiite clerical hierarchy.

Poll highlights deep voter apathy ahead of Iran election

An Iranian polling organization found that only one out of three eligible Iranians were planning to vote in the upcoming presidential election, suggesting it will be marred by the lowest turnout ever in the history of the Islamic Republic.

Police guard the Grand Hotel on the day the JCPOA Iran nuclear talks are to resume on May 25, 2021, in Vienna, Austria.

Blinken: Iran's nuclear 'breakout time' a matter of weeks if violations continue

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told lawmakers it was unclear if Iran is "willing and prepared" to resume compliance with the nuclear agreement.

Twitter photo of Ali Akbar Mohtashamipour.

Hezbollah founder dies of coronavirus in Iran

Ali Akbar Mohtashamipour died in northern Tehran at the age of 75, local media reported.

An Iranian man watches candidate Ebrahim Raisi speaking during the first televised debate between presidential candidates, at a fresh produce shop in the capital, Tehran, on June 5, 2021.

Iranian media pushes for high election turnout

Despite a moderate candidate doing well, the election debates have failed to generate enthusiasm.

Ebrahim Raisi campaign poster in Tehran

Iran reconsidering list of disqualified presidential candidates

Iran's powerful Guardian Council said it would review the decision to bar certain candidates from running in this month's presidential election.