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Iran

November 4, 2026

Tehran 10:20 am

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Explainer

War, oil, AI: What US midterms could mean for Middle East economies

Governments across the Middle East will be watching closely after the election amid fears the US-Israel-Iran war could spiral into a new cycle of violence.

A police officer monitors traffic as he stands under portraits of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei in Tehran, on Oct. 21, 2026.

Iran executes two men in case tied to January protests: What to know

Iran has stepped up executions during the war with the US, and attacks on police are on the rise in the southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchistan.

Evan Vucci/Getty Images

Analysis

'All we can do is wait': Netanyahu's push for Iran strikes hangs on Trump’s post-midterm call

Amid the political deadlock following Israel's elections, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's leverage on Washington to resume Iran strikes will depend on the US' own vote.

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

Latest News

Iran gives 2-day window for Hormuz deal as US mulls strikes: What to know

Iranian motorists drive past a poster of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei in central Tehran on Nov. 1, 2026. I

Will Iran take up Vance lifeline to avoid another US attack?

US Vice President JD Vance speaks to the media at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland on Oct. 27, 2026.

Analysis

Who will blink first in latest US-Iran diplomacy efforts?

Tehran

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Limpet mine attack in Hormuz suggests Iran may be shifting tactics

Vessels transit the Hormuz Strait

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

This picture taken on July 8, 2021, shows a view of the Ain al-Assad air base hosting US forces in Iraq.

Gaza truce brings halt in Iran-linked attacks on US troops in Iraq, Syria

Pause in fighting between Israel and Hamas coincides with tentative reprieve for US troops hunting down the remnants of the Islamic State group as Iran-backed militias hold their fire.

Russian army Mi-24 helicopters fly above a warship at the Turali range on the Caspian Sea coast in the Republic of Dagestan in Southern Russia on September 23, 2020 during the "Caucasus-2020" military drills gathering China, Iran, Pakistan and Myanmar troops, along with ex-Soviet Armenia, Azerbaijan and Belarus. - Up to 250 tanks and around 450 infantry combat vehicles and armoured personnel carriers will take part in the September 21 to 26 land and naval exercises that will involve 80,000 people including

Iran unveils new Deylaman warship capable of launching cruise missiles

The new warship is part of Iran’s efforts to increase its military presence in the Caspian Sea.

Permanent Representative of Iran Amir Saeid Iravani is seen during the 5th plenary meeting of the Economic and Social Council regarding the removal of the Islamic Republic of Iran from membership in the Commission on the Status of Women at the United Nations headquarters, New York, Dec. 14, 2022.

Iran’s UN envoy: US military boost leaves it 'exposed' to attacks, Saudi-Israel normalization derailed by war

Saeid Iravani told Al-Monitor that Saudi Arabia’s normalizing relations with Israel in the foreseeable future has reached an impasse following war in Gaza.

A truck carries an Iranian Fattah hypersonic ballistic missile during the annual military parade marking the anniversary of the outbreak of the devastating 1980-1988 war with Saddam Hussein's Iraq, in Tehran, Iran, Sept. 22, 2023.

How significant is Iran's unveiling of latest hypersonic cruising missile?

Iran continues to voice support for Hamas in its war against Israel while boosting its own military capabilities.

Iran Qaani

How far will Iran go to support Hamas in war with Israel?

Forty days into the Israel-Hamas war, the commander of Iran's Quds Force promised the militant group that Iran "will do anything required." Yet questions linger over Iran's willingness to risk direct involvement.

Iran Manoto

Iran hardliners celebrate imminent shutdown of UK-based Manoto TV

The independent Persian-language channel Manoto said it was about to shut down due to financial strains, as official Iranian media celebrated the news.

People protest against executions and detentions in Iran, in front of the Iranian Permanent Mission to the UN in New York City on December 17, 2022. (Photo by Kena Betancur / AFP) (Photo by KENA BETANCUR/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran executed 114 people since Israel-Hamas war began: report

It seems Iran is taking advantage of the world focus on the Israel-Hamas war to carry out mass executions across its prisons.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan.

Israel's Gaza war opens room for Turkey-Iran rapprochement

Turkey’s Gaza diplomacy has failed to bear fruit thus far, but it has clearly led to a rapprochement between Ankara and Tehran.

Iran Raisi

Iran's Raisi intensifies Gaza diplomacy ahead of Riyadh visit

At a regional economic summit in Uzbekistan, the Iranian president attempted to galvanize diplomatic pressure on Israel, as he prepared for a separate meeting of Muslim nations in Riyadh, his first visit to the kingdom following the Iranian-Saudi reconciliation.

Iranians shop for fruits at a market in Tehran on November 21, 2019. (Photo by STR / AFP) (Photo by STR/afp/AFP via Getty Images)

Can food security help forge Iran-GCC ties?

Shifting attitudes to food security have the potential to turn the agricultural and food sectors into the main platform for greater trade and investment between the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Iran.

Bijan Khajehpour

Bijan Khajehpour

In Vienna, reporting on Iranian politics

NORTHEASTERN SYRIA - MAY 26: U.S. Army CH-47 Chinook helicopter gunners scan the desert while transporting troops on May 26, 2021 over northeastern Syria. U.S. forces, part of Task Force WARCLUB operate from remote combat outposts in northeastern Syria, coordinating with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in combatting residual ISIS extremists and deterring pro-Iranian militia. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

US launches new airstrikes against IRGC facility in Syria as attacks continue

US F-15s bombed a facility in eastern Syria as the Pentagon's Middle East policy director openly warned that the US military may target Iranian IRGC personnel in a bid to halt militia attacks on American troops.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani meets with Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei in Tehran on Nov. 6, 2023.

Iran's Khamenei urges Iraq PM to pressure US over Gaza

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani's Tehran visit came only one day after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Baghdad, amid an uptick in Iran-backed militia attacks on US bases in the region in response to Israel's war on Hamas.