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Iran

July 9, 2026

Tehran 8:37 pm

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US strikes strategic railway bridge linking Iran to China: What to know

The railway bridge also links Tehran and other southern cities to Mashhad, where large crowds are gathering for the burial ceremony on Thursday of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Iranian NOPO special police officers stand guard in front of a large portrait of Iran's late Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, at Valiasr square on July 3, 2026, in Tehran, Iran.

Analysis

As Trump declares deal 'over,' IRGC takes lead in shaping Iran's response

While President Donald Trump has declared the US-Iran memorandum over, Tehran's response suggests it is recalibrating — not abandoning — its strategy as military pressure increasingly eclipses diplomacy.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan (R) shakes hands with Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian during his visit in Yerevan on July 19, 2025. (Photo by KAREN MINASYAN / AFP) (Photo by KAREN MINASYAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Feature

Armenia's Pashinyan keeps Iran close while wooing Trump, Turkey and Azerbaijan

As Yerevan pursues normalization with Turkey and Azerbaijan and backs a US-led transport corridor, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is working to reassure an increasingly assertive Iran that its interests won't be threatened.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Latest News

Oil soars more than 6% as Trump rules out Iran deal, threatens more strikes

A cargo ship is pictured off coast of 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 June 28, 2026.

US airstrikes hit Iran after tankers attacked in Hormuz

In this US Navy released handout, an F/A-18E Super Hornet, attached to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 14, prepares to take off from the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) in support of Operation Epic Fury on March 1, 2026 at Sea.

US revokes Iran oil waiver after Hormuz attacks

A picture taken on March 12, 2017, shows an Iranian tanker docking at the platform of the oil facility in the Khark Island, on the shore of the Gulf.

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

Ukraine rejects Iran's final report on downed passenger plane

The Iranian government said last year's shooting down of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 was the result of a human error.

A cameraman arrives at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA),prior to a press conference at the agency's headquarters in Vienna on March 4, 2021. - European nations will not go ahead with a planned resolution criticising Iran at this week's meeting of the UN nuclear watchdog, diplomatic sources said on March 4, 2021. (Photo by ALEX HALADA / AFP) (Photo by ALEX HALADA/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran operating new advanced centrifuges, nuclear watchdog finds

According to an International Atomic Energy Agency report, Iran is now using IR-4 centrifuges to enrich uranium in violation of the nuclear accord.

Top general threatens Iran could ‘blow up’ Israel as rhetoric escalate

In a new cycle of escalating rhetoric between Tehran and Tel Aviv, Iran’s top general said his country already has what it takes to destroy Israel.

Iran’s supreme leader authorized infowar campaign during US election

Hezbollah and Russia also spread disinformation to try to influence the 2020 presidential election, a newly released US intelligence report says.

A picture shows a heavily polluted skyline as seen from west of the Iranian capital Tehran on January 12, 2016. / AFP / ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

French citizen charged with espionage in Iran

The man was flying a helicopter with a camera in the desert, according to his lawyer. Several foreigners have been charged with spying and related crimes in Iran recently.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards tout new missile base in support of navy

Top IRGC commanders inaugurated on Monday what Iranian state television described as a new underground missile base.

Iran begins phase one of domestic vaccine production

Iran says it has begun the first phase of production for a domestic coronavirus vaccine.

Israel behind serial sabotage of Iranian tankers, report says

Israeli attacks have hit more than a dozen Iranian oil tankers in recent years, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Iran receives COVID-19 vaccine from Cuba

Iran enjoys warm relations with the Latin American state and the two countries are also developing a coronavirus vaccine together.

Provocative music video leads to arrests in Iran

Iran has arrested two music producers for working on Sasan Heidari Yafteh's new music video, "Tehran Tokyo."

A handout picture provided by the office of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on October 24, 2020, shows him wearing a protective face mask as he gives a speech in the capital Tehran during a meeting of the national staff to discuss the issue of the novel coronavirus pandemic crisis. (Photo by - / KHAMENEI.IR / AFP) / XGTY / === RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / HO / KHAMENEI.IR" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS === (Photo by

Khamenei stands defiant on Iran’s regional military presence

In a speech replete with diatribes against the United States, Iran’s supreme leader defended his country’s controversial regional policies and accused Washington of “inverting the truth.”

Saudi Arabia to take ‘necessary measures’ to protect oil after drone attack

Riyadh wants international support to prevent future attacks, foreign minister says alongside Russian counterpart.