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May 20, 2026

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Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf (C) waves as he returns to his car after visiting the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted Beirut's Basta neighbourhood, on October 12, 2024. At least 22 people were killed in Israeli strikes on a densely populated area of central Beirut on October 10, the Lebanese health ministry said, with a security source saying a Hezbollah figure was the target. (Photo by Ibrahim AMRO / AFP) (Photo by IBRAHIM AMRO/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Speaker, negotiator, China envoy: What Ghalibaf's accumulated powers mean for Iran

Iran's appointment of Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf to oversee the China relationship demonstrates his ability to operate across Iran's fractured institutional landscape and produce political outcomes.

Jamshid Jamshidi

By Jamshid Jamshidi

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) speaks during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on May 14, 2026 in Washington, DC.

Senate advances resolution to limit Trump's Iran war powers

The measure marks a symbolic win for Democrats and a small but growing number of Republicans who have questioned the Trump administration's war with Iran.

Baluch Iranian youths cross a street in Zahedan, in the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan bordering Afghanistan, on Dec. 18, 2025.

Analysis

Iran tightens wartime crackdown across Kurdish, Baluch ethnic regions

Arrests in Baluchistan and Kurdistan highlight widening wartime security operations that are deepening mistrust between the state and disadvantaged minorities.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Latest News

Analysis

Israel pushes for full Iran blockade as it awaits Trump's next move

A bride and group couple rides in a military jeep arriving for a public mass wedding ceremony at Imam Hossein Square in Tehran on May 18, 2026. Iran said on May 18 that it had responded to a new US proposal aimed at ending the war, adding that diplomatic exchanges continue despite Iranian media reports describing Washington's demands as excessive. Washington and Tehran have been swapping proposals in an effort to end the conflict which the US and Israel launched on February 28, but they have held only a sin

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

US extends Russian oil sanctions waiver as Iran war squeezes supply

A tugboat guides the Russian oil tanker Anatoly Kolodkin as it arrives at the oil terminal in the port of Matanzas, northwestern Cuba, on March 31, 2026.

Oil swings as UAE nuclear plant strike, Iran diplomacy push roil markets

Ritesh Shukla/Getty Images

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

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meets with Iraqi Shi'ite leader Muqtada al-Sadr in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia July 30, 2017. Bandar Algaloud/Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTS19RFI

Saudi engagement with Iraqi Shiites stirs talk of opening with Iran

Saudi Arabia’s engagement with Iraqi Shiite figures gives rise to speculation about a potential opening between Tehran and Riyadh.

Protesters carry Al-Qaeda flags during an anti-government protest after Friday prayers in the town of Marat Numan in Idlib province, Syria, March 11, 2016. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi - RTSAD3X

Trump says al-Qaeda received US weapons intended for Syrian rebels

In a July 25 interview made public Tuesday, the president said he canceled a CIA program to train and equip moderate Syrian rebels after weapons ended up in the hands of Al-Qaeda.

TEHRAN, IRAN - MAY 22: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani gives a press conference on May 22, 2017 in Tehran, Iran.
Responding to criticism of the Islamic Republic from U.S. President Donald Trump, Rouhani said on Monday stability could not be achieved in the Middle East without Tehran's help. (Photo by Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)

Rouhani under fire over likely new Cabinet appointments

In Iran, President Hassan Rouhani comes under fire from Reformists who demand more seats in his second-term Cabinet. Meanwhile, reports indicate that his campaign pledge to appoint female ministers will not be realized.

Armed followers of the Houthi movement protest against the president's announcement of an extension of the state of emergency and U.S. supporting the Arab alliance led by Saudi Arabia, what they say is a U.S. interference in Yemen's affairs in Sanaa, Yemen May 12, 2017. REUTERS/Mohamed al-Sayaghi - RTS16DN2

Iran outflanking Saudi Arabia in Yemen

Saudi Arabia's war on Yemen has allowed Iran more influence than ever in the region.

U.S. President Donald Trump awards the Medal of Honor to James McCloughan, who served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War, during a ceremony at the White House in Washington, U.S. July 31, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts - RTS19WJR

Trump’s options on the nuclear deal with Iran

Before settling on an Iran policy, President Trump must take a holistic view of the US footprint in the region and move forward based on pragmatism.

Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Iraqi Vice President Nuri al-Maliki during their meeting in St. Petersburg, Russia, July 25, 2017. Sputnik/Alexei Nikolsky/Kremlin via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RTX3CTS4

Maliki’s visit to Moscow reflects many facets

Iraq’s vice president may have had upcoming elections and Iranian influence in mind when he visited Moscow recently.

Smoke rises from Saudi Arabia's embassy during a demonstration in Tehran January 2, 2016. Iranian protesters stormed the Saudi Embassy in Tehran early on Sunday morning as Shi'ite Muslim Iran reacted with fury to Saudi Arabia's execution of a prominent Shi'ite cleric. REUTERS/TIMA/Mehdi Ghasemi/ISNA ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS IMAGE. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKE

Iran upholds sentences for Saudi Embassy attackers

As Iran sent pilgrims for hajj after skipping the pilgrimage to Mecca in 2016, an Iranian court upheld the sentences of 10 individuals for an attack on the Saudi Embassy.

Brett McGurk, U.S. envoy to the coalition against Islamic State, speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Embassy in Amman, Jordan, November 6, 2016. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed - RTX2S6NC

Ankara decries ‘provocative’ remarks by US anti-IS envoy

Turkey continues to be concerned about the relationship between the United States and the Syrian Kurds.

Iran's economy a 'masterpiece of structural ambiguity'

For President Hassan Rouhani to realize his campaign pledge to revive the Iranian economy, he must find a way to rein in the quasi-state sector.

U.S. President Donald trump speaks during a lunch meeting with Senate Republicans to discuss healthcare at the White House in Washington, U.S., July 19, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RTX3C3ZR

Trump risks fallout from Iran deal assault

US President Donald Trump, in seeking options to exit the Iran nuclear deal, may jeopardize his administration’s goal of containing Iran’s other troubling behaviors.

Supporters of Iran's President Hassan Rouhani hold his posters during a campaign rally in Tehran, Iran, May 17, 2017. Picture taken May 17, 2017. TIMA via Reuters ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. - RTX36BFG

Victories put Iranian Reformists on path to repeat past failures

Consecutive electoral victories are giving rise to infighting in the Reformist camp.

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on leaving the office to report, film or take pictures in Tehran.

A security official talks to journalists in front of Bushehr main nuclear reactor, 1,200 km (746 miles) south of Tehran, August 21, 2010. Iran began fuelling its first nuclear power plant on Saturday, a potent symbol of its growing regional sway and rejection of international sanctions designed to prevent it building a nuclear bomb. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi

Iranians support restarting nuclear program if US backs out of deal

A growing percentage of Iranians also support their country’s military intervention in Syria in the aftermath of terrorist attacks in Tehran, according to a new poll.