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Iran

September 12, 2026

Tehran 5:44 am

22°C

Fighters loyal to the Houthi authorities gather in Sanaa on Sept. 10, 2026.

Analysis

As Houthis seize Bab el-Mandeb, Iran appraises value of new Red Sea card

Iran is celebrating the Houthis' rapid advance toward Bab el-Mandeb, but appears reluctant to act on the win.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

member of the Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces firing a heavy machine gun

Claude AI used for missile, influence projects in UAE, Iran, Yemen: Anthropic

Military and government actors across the Middle East — from Iran to Yemen to the United Arab Emirates — have used Anthropic's Claude AI model for war planning and influence campaigns.

Pedestrians walk past a wall mural along a street in downtown of Tehran on Aug. 31, 2026.

Analysis

Could Iran’s nuclear ambitions harden as war escalates?

A new report has raised alarm about the Pickaxe Mountain nuclear site that President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to strike.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks during a meeting with Australia's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Richard Marles at the Pentagon in Washington, DC, on September 2, 2026. (Photo by Kent NISHIMURA / AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Iran’s Pickaxe mountain tests limits of Trump’s military options

A secretive Pentagon innovation agency has hastened to test munitions that may penetrate deeper than the GBU-57 bombs dropped on Iran’s two main enrichment facilities.

Jared Szuba

In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military

Latest News

Iran's IRGC set to declare new ‘sanctions zone’ beyond Hormuz: What to know

Elke Scholiers/Getty Images

Brent crude sails past $100 as Middle East war intensifies

AFPTV / AFP via Getty Images

US strikes Iranian tankers after attempted attack on Navy ship

Vessels transit the Hormuz Strait off the coast of Iran's southern port city of Bandar Abbas on September 7, 2026. Iran's top negotiator threatened on September 6 of a more forceful response to any further US attacks after Tehran targeted American warships in their latest round of clashes. The exchanges of fire, which began with US raids last week, come amid a deadlock in the six-month war between the two foes. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP via Getty Images) /

Analysis

What Houthi setbacks in Yemen mean for Iran's regional influence

Forces loyal to Yemen's Saudi-backed government

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

U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin walks from a meeting during negotiations on a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) relief package on Capitol in Washington, U.S., March 23, 2020. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts - RC2QPF9GZ5DS

US issues fresh Iran sanctions targeting IRGC’s ‘web of front companies’

The US Treasury Department places sanctions on more companies, officials and individuals affiliated with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Quds Force and Iran-backed militias in Iraq.

A traffic police officer wears a protective face mask and gloves, amid fear of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), as he walks in Tehran, Iran March 26, 2020. WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Ali Khara via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY - RC2PRF9GFZAQ

Iran to restrict travel to stop coronavirus

Iranian authorities said that starting tomorrow they will restrict travel and implement more restrictive measures to stop the spread of coronavirus.

Intel: Timeline of CIA contractor Robert Levinson missing for 13 years in Iran

The family of Robert Levinson, a CIA contractor who disappeared on Iran’s Kish Island in 2007, confirmed Thursday that the US government informed them that the former FBI agent had died at some point prior to the coronavirus pandemic.

A street cleaner rests at empty Souk al-Hamidieh, as restrictions are imposed as measure to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Damascus, Syria March 24, 2020. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki - RC2HQF9TCDQH

Is Syria unable, or unwilling, to fend off Iran coronavirus contagion?

While close links between Damascus and Tehran put the former at great risk of an influx of COVID-19 cases, Syria's reliance on Iran for political and military support may make stemming the spread more difficult.

TEHRAN, IRAN - MARCH 25: Irans revolutionary guard volunteer members disinfect the entrance of a hospital on March 25, 2020 in Tehran, Iran. Iran is battling the worst outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19) in the region and authorities have advised people to stay at home but have not imposed the kinds of lockdowns seen in other countries. (Photo by Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)

Iranians look to each other, not government, for solidarity amidst COVID-19

Iranians attempt to lift each other's spirits with comedy, online cooking shows and by writing off debts, among other ways.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during a news conference at the State Department in Washington, DC, U.S., March 25, 2020. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Pool via REUTERS - RC24RF9D1JQJ

Intel: Pompeo urges Europe to join Iran pressure campaign in G-7 teleconference

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo used a teleconference of leading industrialized nations' foreign ministers to urge tougher international action on Iran and its regional proxies in line with the US maximum pressure campaign.

The Russian Navy cargo ship Dvinitsa-50 sails in the Bosphorus, on its way to the Mediterranean Sea, in Istanbul, Turkey, March 24, 2020. REUTERS/Yoruk Isik - RC2HQF9QB951

Intel: Why Moscow is dispatching its military to fight coronavirus in Syria, Italy

On March 25, the first Russian navy cargo ship transited Turkey’s Bosporus strait en route to Syria. The ship was reportedly carrying three ambulances and a shipping container on its deck — equipment to be used to help fight the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in Syria.

Iran hopes for partial sanctions relief amid epidemic

President Hassan Rouhani claims Iranian assets abroad could soon be unfrozen, but US has no plans to lift sanctions.

Iran expert says corruption 'No. 1 national security threat in Iran'

Al-Monitor contributor Bijan Khajehpour discusses impact of coronavirus on Iran’s economy.

Iran tells Doctors Without Borders to leave despite worsening epidemic

Iranian authorities asked a team of medical workers dispatched by Doctors Without Borders to leave the country despite initially allowing them to help fight the coronavirus pandemic.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivers remarks on the current state of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) during a news conference at the State Department in Washington, U.S., March 17, 2020. REUTERS/Tom Brenner - RC2TLF95GAUO

Intel: US rebukes France for Iran prisoner swap

The US State Department issued a stinging rebuke of France on Sunday after it released an Iranian prisoner wanted by the United States for allegedly evading sanctions.

Rouhani calls US offer to fight coronavirus 'great lie’

President Hassan Rouhani and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei have both rejected a US offer to help fight the coronavirus and say the United States is instead preventing them from being able to fight back against the pandemic.