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Iran

September 12, 2026

Tehran 7:50 am

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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

A truck loaded with Katyusha rockets is seen in Rashidiya, after ten rockets struck the Taji military camp, which house also U.S. forces, north of Baghdad, Iraq in this undated picture obtained March 12, 2020. Iraqi Media Security Cell/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY - RC2AIF9WX915

Intel: Pentagon says Iran-backed groups 'likely' behind deadly Iraq attack

Rocket attacks that left one British and two American service members dead in Iraq March 11 were likely the work of Iranian-backed militias, the top US military commander in the Middle East told Congress today.

A worker in a protective suit sprays a disinfectant inside the gate of Shalamcha Border Crossing, after Iraq shut a border crossing to travellers between Iraq and Iran, Iraq March 8, 2020. REUTERS/Essam al-Sudani - RC2MFF94758Q

Iran pleads for medicine as it fights epidemic under sanctions

Iran’s foreign minister has made a public plea for medical supplies and sanctions relief as the country struggles with the coronavirus explosion.

U.S. President Donald Trump boards Air Force One ahead of a trip to Tennessee, at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, U.S., March 6, 2020. REUTERS/Tom Brenner - RC2GEF9TB41R

Anti-war movement looks to take Trump to court to stop war with Iran

Anti-war groups are lobbying Congress to take President Donald Trump to court on Iran war powers.

A rescue worker wears protective hand gloves as he checks a man?s temperature amid coronavirus fears, at the entrance of the government office building in Peshawar, Pakistan March 12, 2020. REUTERS/Fayaz Aziz - RC26IF9CRNEA

Pakistan seeks to control spread of virus from Iran

Pakistan kept its border open with Iran, a COVID-19 hotspot, perhaps longer than it should have and is now screening thousands of its citizens returning from pilgrimages for the new coronavirus.

A worker in protective suit sprays disinfectants in a barber shop at popular market, following an outbreak of the coronavirus, in Basra, Iraq March 10, 2020. REUTERS/Essam al-Sudani - RC24HF95V7S1

Some Iraqis rejecting coronavirus warnings

The Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq has imposed a ban on communal worship in mosques because of the new coronavirus, but some people are ignoring the danger.

Iran's top security body rejects lockdown of epidemic areas

Iran said its death toll from the coronavirus epidemic will not stop rising until around the second week of April, while insisting that a lockdown on the hardest-hit provinces is not an option.

Flames emerge from flare stacks at Nahr Bin Umar oil field, as a man is seen wearing a protective face mask, following the outbreak of the coronavirus, north of Basra, Iraq March 9, 2020. REUTERS/Essam Al-Sudani - RC2IGF9A1IYO

Mideast oil producers brace for impact of price slide

The global coronavirus outbreak and falling oil prices could spell a massive economic slowdown for oil-producing countries in the Middle East.

Iran’s Khamenei cancels new year address over coronavirus

Iran’s supreme leader canceled his annual public address in the holy city of Mashhad amid the coronavirus epidemic, which continues to claim lives nationwide.

A cleric's cure for coronavirus becomes butt of jokes in Iran

A cleric’s bizarre response to treating COVID-19 in the guise of Islamic medicine has provoked widespread ridicule in Iran.

A member of the medical team sprays disinfectant as a precaution against the coronavirus, following the outbreak of the virus, in a dental clinic in Sadr city district of Baghdad, Iraq, March 9, 2020. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani - RC2CGF9V03HD

Coronavirus damages Iraqi economy with fall in tourism, oil prices

COVID-19 has harmed both the private and public sectors of the Iraqi economy.

Iranian lawmakers attend a session of parliament in Tehran, Iran July 16, 2019. Nazanin Tabatabaee/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS. ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC1120AED380

How Iran’s next parliament will affect foreign policy

Though Iran’s conservatives will rule the upcoming parliament, they might not rule with an iron fist as some expect.

A member of the medical team wears protective face mask, following the coronavirus outbreak, as he sprays disinfectant liquid to sanitise a taxi car in Tehran, Iran March 05, 2020. WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Nazanin Tabatabaee via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC2MDF9X8TSF

Iran releases 70,000 prisoners due to coronavirus, judiciary chief says

The total number of persons infected with coronavirus in Iran has risen to 7,161 as officials scramble to respond to the spread of the virus.