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Iran

September 4, 2026

Tehran 4:41 am

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

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

The country’s oil exports were around 3 million barrels per day in August.

A women stands overlooking the water as ships are seen anchored in the Strait of Hormuz on Aug. 10, 2026, off the coast of Bandar Abbas, Iran.

US expands Iran campaign with strikes on oil tankers

Airstrikes on Iranian oil tankers mark a subtle tactical pivot after months of periodic bombardment targeting IRGC military infrastructure failed to shut down the IRGC’s attacks in Hormuz.

In this picture obtained by AFP from the Iranian news agency Tasnim on September 2, 2026 a destroyed vehicle is pictured at the site of an overnight strike in Kuhestak, Sirik County, in Iran's southern Hormozgan province on September 2, 2026. Iranian forces said on September 2 that they launched attacks on US military targets in the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain and other countries in the region, vowing "severe" consequences for renewed American attacks on the Islamic republic. (Photo by Masoud Moha

Iran vows continued military action amid renewed hostilities with US

Iran responded to US attacks with a wave of drone and missile strikes against countries across the region, raising fears of a return to war.

Latest News

Analysis

Can Iran’s economic buffers withstand new US sanctions?

A shopkeeper in Tehran

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

US airstrikes target Iran's Bandar Abbas, Qeshm Island

ISNA / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Israel favors status quo as tensions in Iran's leadership fuel escalation risk

missile

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

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

AO/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

Iran to launch missile drill as Araghchi signals conditional IAEA cooperation

Ahead of a missile exercise planned for Thursday, Iran’s foreign minister said that the return of IAEA inspectors will be possible should it be approved by Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.

Mohammad Javad Zarif, the former Iranian foreign minister, speaks to supporters during an election rally in support of Iranian presidential election candidate Masoud Pezeshkian in Tehran, Iran, on June 24, 2024.

Iran's political split deepens: Reformists urge uranium freeze as hard-liners resist

The recent war with Israel has exposed fault lines across Iran's political spectrum, galvanizing moderate factions to call for domestic and regional policy reforms.

A view of Simorgh (L) and Safir (2nd from left) Space Launch Vehicles and other Iran-made missiles in Iran's Museum of the Holy Defense in Tehran, Iran, on April 4, 2025.

Iran plans 20 satellites, test launch by end of 2025: What to know

Iran is seeking investment in its space agency and has made progress in developing satellites in the face of sanctions, though reliance on Russia remains a factor.

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian waves as he boards a plane at Tehran's Mehrabad Airport on Aug. 18, 2025, ahead of his trip to Armenia.

Iran’s Pezeshkian seeks assurances in Armenia as Yerevan, Baku nominate Trump for Nobel

Tehran is concerned that the new Armenia-Azerbaijan corridor, announced in an agreement brokered by Washington earlier this month, threatens its access to regional trade routes and could invite a foreign military presence.

US President Donald Trump (C) joins hands with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev (L) and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan (R) during a signing ceremony in the State Dining Room of the White House, Washington, DC, Aug. 8, 20

Analysis

US-brokered Armenia-Azerbaijan deal hands Turkey South Caucasus opening

The agreement could pave the way for normalizing Turkey-Armenia relations and establishing a long-sought transport link unsettling to Iran.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Maj. Gen. Abdolrahim Mousavi, holds talks with the chief of the South African National Defense Force, Gen. Rudzani Maphwanya, in Tehran, Aug. 12, 2025.

Analysis

Iran courts Africa to ease isolation, but trails Russia, China, Turkey

Iran's outreach to Africa after the recent war with Israel is as much about optics as it is about outcomes. In hosting South Africa's top general, Tehran framed limited agreements and symbolic gestures as strategic wins and steps toward new alliances amid diplomatic isolation.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Russia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov (R), shakes hands with Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi (L), during a joint press conference following their talks in Moscow on April 18, 2025.

Analysis

'No real levers': Will Russia deepen Iran ties in South Caucasus over Trump plan?

Moscow tries not to publicly criticize Trump's initiatives, but in reality has too few tools for crisis response.

Anton Mardasov

By Anton Mardasov

RABIH DAHER/AFP via Getty Images

Lebanon's PM slams Hezbollah chief for making 'threat of civil war'

Tensions are rising as Lebanon’s government, under pressure from the US, moves forward with a plan to disarm the Iran-backed Hezbollah.

OLGA MALTSEVA/AFP via Getty Images

Russia, Iran in talks on construction of small nuclear plants: What to know

The comments by the head of Rosatom follow increasing cooperation between Iran and Russia on gas.

The Amir Kabir dam and its outflow along the Karaj River in Iran's northern Alborz mountain range are pictured on June 1, 2025.

Tehran’s dams at 19% as Iran water crisis worsens: What to know

The water levels in dams across Iran are falling amid hot temperatures, as the government pleads with the public to cut consumption.

Iran's Supreme National Security Council chief Ali Larijani (C) speaks to reporters after meeting with Lebanon's parliament speaker in Beirut on Aug. 13, 2025.

Iran’s Larijani in Lebanon as Beirut, Tehran spar over Hezbollah disarmament

The visit of Iran’s top security chief Ali Larijani to Beirut comes amid tensions between Lebanon and Iran following the approval of a plan to disarm the Iranian-backed Hezbollah, which also rejected the move and vowed not to give up its weapons.

IRAN-SANCTION-DIPLOMACY-POLITICS Iran's Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani (L) speaks while seated next to President Hassan Rouhani, during the 2nd Speaker's Conference, which includes delegations from Afghanistan, China, Pakistan, Turkey, and Russia and focuses on terrorism and regional cooperation, in the capital Tehrnan on December 8, 2018. Rouhani said US sanctions were "economic terrorism", as he sought to foster a united front from visiting regional officials on December 8. Addressing parliament speakers

Iran's Larijani seeks proxy revival in Iraq, Lebanon as regional axis falters

Ali Larijani's first foreign visit to Iraq and Lebanon as top security official reflects Tehran's urgency to restore a shrinking strategic foothold and reinvigorate its battered Axis of Resistance amid shifting regional dynamics.