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Iran

September 26, 2026

Tehran 2:43 pm

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A tugboat guides a ship at the Khor Fakkan Container Terminal, the only natural deep-sea port in the region and one of the major container ports in Sharjah Emirate, along the Gulf of Oman on July 14, 2026.

Analysis

Could Iran's 7-day Hormuz proposal culminate in diplomatic deal?

Iran's proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz in seven days brings into focus the central challenge facing diplomacy with Washington: how to turn military leverage into a negotiated path without giving up too much in return.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

An Iran Air Airbus A300 prepares for boarding at Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran, Iran, Aug. 16, 2016.

‘Free for all or for no one’: Iran warns neighbors over flight bans

Several countries in the region have suspended Iranian flights under US sanctions after Washington warned global companies they would no longer have access to the dollar system if they do business with Iranian airlines.

Hector RETAMAL / AFP via Getty Images

Iran flights continue, UAE route closes on day 2 of US sanctions

All flights by Iranian carriers to the UAE have been canceled, according to Iran's ISNA news agency.

AFP via Getty Images

Iran threatens to expand war to Indian Ocean: What to know

An adviser to Iran's supreme leader has threatened to open a new front in the Indian Ocean if the US resumes its strikes against Iran.

Latest News

Fresh clashes leave 6 dead in Iran's Sistan and Baluchistan: What to know

Iranian security forces stand guard in the capital city on July 03, 2026 in Tehran, Iran.

Rubio: US-Iran talks 'positive,' no breakthrough yet

Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images

Cargo vessel attack in Hormuz kills 1 as world leaders gather at UN

The Marshall Islands-flagged bulk carrier vessel Manta Ursula is pictured moored in Muscat on July 25, 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

Iranian smugglers load goods at the Omani port of Khasab September 26, 2012. Until recently the Iranian boats and their fearless young skippers escorted several cargoes a day across the narrow Strait of Hormuz - loaded with everything from soft drinks to mobile phones and cosmetics - bought in the flourishing trading centres of the United Arab Emirates and sold to merchants in Iran. The proximity of Iran to the UAE and Oman and their historic trade and finance links have supported thriving trade, which in r

Billion dollar smuggling industry drains Iran's economy

Partly due to sanctions, smuggling of drugs, cigarettes and cosmetics is widespread in Iran and some question whether government organizations are implicated.

Houthi fighters stand on a truck as they secure a street where pro-Houthi protesters demonstrated to commemorate the fourth anniversary of the uprising that toppled former President Ali Abdullah Saleh in Sanaa February 11, 2015. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah (YEMEN - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST MILITARY) - RTR4P71Q

Does Iran really control Yemen?

Statements by Iranian officials about the importance of the rise of Houthis in Yemen demonstrates that Iran would like to give the perception that there is a new member of the axis of resistance.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei arrives to cast his ballot in Iran's Parliamentary election in Tehran March 14, 2008. REUTERS/Caren Firouz (IRAN) - RTR1Y9QC

Khamenei agrees with Congress: no deal better than a bad deal

While there's talk of a preliminary deal in March, Iran's supreme leader says he is opposed to a multistep agreement.

U. S. President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrive to address a joint news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington February 9, 2015. REUTERS/Gary Cameron (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR4OW3R

Nuclear negotiators lean in as clock ticks on Iran deal

As the March deadline for a nuclear deal looms, Iran and the P5+1 are down to deliberating enrichment capacity and sanctions relief as well as the duration of a final deal.

U.S. Senator Bob Corker (R-TN) speaks with reporters as he arrives for the weekly Senate Republican caucus luncheon at the U.S. Capitol in Washington February 10, 2015. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4P2GJ

Senate aims to set up vote on Iran deal by month's end

The Foreign Relations panel expects to soon vote on legislation that would give Congress a say over a nuclear agreement.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani addresses the audience during a meeting in Ankara June 10, 2014. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3T16B

Rouhani challenges Iran deal detractors

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that "only the Zionists" are opposed to a nuclear deal, and those not supporting the negotiators are guilty of "betrayal."

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) welcomes Ali Akbar Velayati, former Iranian Foreign Minister, special foreign affairs envoy and a representative of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the presidential residence in Novo-Ogaryovo outside Moscow, February 8, 2007. REUTERS/Denis Sinyakov/Pool (RUSSIA) - RTR1M4ZB

Why did Velayati meet with Putin?

Despite points of disagreement on specific issues, Iran and Russia seem to be working diligently to develop a deep and strategic friendship.

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

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivers a sermon during Friday prayers at Tehran University June 19, 2009. Khamenei on Friday demanded an end to street protests that have shaken the country since a disputed presidential election a week ago and said any bloodshed would be their leaders' fault. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl (IRAN POLITICS ELECTIONS RELIGI

Iran conservatives see defiance in Khamenei speech

While most Iranian media outlets viewed the comments by Iran's supreme leader in a positive light, conservatives in the country are focusing on his comments in which he took a firm stand.

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on their ability to film or take pictures in Tehran.
Students wave Iranian national flags as they take part in a rally to mark the 32nd anniversary of the Islamic Revolution in Tehran February 11, 2011. Hundreds of thousands turned out on Friday to mark the 32nd anniversary of Iran's Islamic Revolution in a rally the clerical establishment billed as a chance to show solidarity with "Islamic" protesters in Egypt. REUTERS/Ra

36 years after the revolution, where is Iran now?

Iran after the 1979 Islamic Revolution has faced many challenges, with lifespan, access to education and standard of living having improved significantly, while corruption and the country's human rights situation remain a cause of concern.

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 customer holds a copy of the translated novel "Eleven Minutes" written by the Brazilian novelist Paulo Coelho at a bookshop in central Tehran January 29, 2011. Iranians are feeling the pinch from radical cuts in state subsidies, a plan President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called "the biggest economic plan in the past 50 years". The cuts in long-standing subsidi

Iranian writers welcome decline of censorship

After eight difficult years of strict censorship under President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iranian writers say that literary freedom is increasing under the new administration.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at a conference, launching the Likud party's campaign in Russian, at Bar Ilan University near Tel Aviv February 9, 2014. Israeli officials are considering amending the format of Netanyahu's planned address to the U.S. Congress next month to try to calm some of the partisan furore the Iran-focused speech has provoked. Netanyahu is due to address a joint session of Congress about Iran's nuclear programme on March 3, just two weeks before Israeli elections, fol

Bibi-Obama duel continues

US and Israeli experts say that an agreement with Iran is not imminent, yet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists on going ahead with his planned Congress speech, while damaging Israel's strategic relations with the United States.

An Israeli soldier speaks on his mobile phone at a military outpost on Mount Hermon in the Golan Heights over looking the Israel-Syria border February 4, 2015. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTR4O8R8

Hezbollah fears being squeezed from Syrian-Israeli borders

With Jabhat al-Nusra controlling the southern border area of Syria and reports on cooperation between the group and Israel, the Syrian-Israeli border has become an area of concern for Hezbollah and Iran.