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Iran

November 8, 2026

Tehran 12:18 am

13°C

Alexey BABUSHKIN / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Iran turns to Putin as war, US election reshape strategic calculations

A Kremlin meeting with Iran's top security official coupled with reports of new arms deals amid looming war demonstrate Tehran's push to turn vulnerability into strategic leverage.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Tump

Can Trump turn midterm defeat into Iran breakthrough?

Although Iran may have contributed to Republican losses in midterms, the Trump administration still has a historic opportunity in the Middle East.

ATTA KENARE / AFP via Getty Images

As Trump weighs Iran strikes, possible nuclear opening emerges

Sticking points include Iran's highly enriched uranium and lack of access for international inspectors.

Latest News

Russia to provide Iran with 90 missile launchers as military ties grow: Reports

Russian Mil Mi-8 military helicopters fly over a joint Russian and Turkish convoy, northeastern Hasakeh province, Syria, Feb. 4, 2021.

Turkey says soldier killed by gunfire from Iran at border: What to know

A sign marking the border of Turkey in Van, Turkey, on March 14, 2026.

Explainer

Democrats’ midterm sweep tests US-Israel ties as Eisenkot vows reset

An aerial view shows a campaign billboard depicting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of the Likud party and President Donald Trump in Tel Aviv, on Oct. 26, 2026, on the eve of Israel's legislative elections.

Analysis

Iran cheers Democrats’ midterm victory but fears Trump's next move

Iranians walk along a building installed with a giant poster depicting Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei during a rally in front of the former US embassy to mark the anniversary of the 1979 Iran hostage crisis, in Tehran on Nov. 4, 2026.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

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

Report says US officials met with Yemen’s Houthis in bid to end war

Timothy Lenderking sat down with the Houthis' lead negotiator late last month.

Israeli ship sailing again following explosion

MV Helios Ray was off the coast of Oman on Wednesday. Israel blamed last week's explosion aboard the ship on Iran, which Iran denied.

Iran criticizes IAEA censure from European countries

Iran says the plan by some European countries to censure Iran at the IAEA will have a negative effect on nuclear negotiations.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Saied Khatibzadeh gestures during a press conference in Tehran on February 22, 2021. - Iran hailed as a "significant achievement" a temporary agreement Tehran reached with the head of the UN nuclear watchdog on site inspections. That deal effectively bought time as the United States, European powers and Tehran try to salvage the 2015 nuclear agreement that has been on the brink of collapse since Donald Trump withdrew from it. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo by ATTA KEN

Iran says 'time not ripe' for negotiations with US

Tehran has said Washington's proposed inclusion in negotiations over reviving the Iran nuclear deal cannot work unless the United States lifts sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

TOPSHOT - Armed Yemeni tribesmen loyal to the Shiite Huthi rebels sit in the back of an armed vehicle during a gathering to mobilise more fighters into several battlefronts on November 1, 2016 on the outskirts of the capital Sanaa.
The war in Yemen escalated in March 2015 when the Saudi-led coalition launched a military campaign to push back the Huthi rebels, after they seized the capital in 2014 and then advanced on other parts of Yemen.

/ AFP / MOHAMMED HUWAIS (Photo credit should read MOHAMMED

US sanctions two Houthi military leaders after attacks on Saudi Arabia

The administration's revocation of the Houthis' terrorist designation has been met with further missile strikes.

WATCH: Pentagon releases video of Iran ballistic missile attack on Iraq air base

More than a dozen ballistic missiles rained down on Ain al-Asad and Erbil air bases in Iraq last year after the United States killed Qasem Soleimani.

Will Iran’s Reformists ‘hire’ a candidate for presidency?

In its struggle against all of the odds, Iran’s Reform movement says it is learning lessons from the past to avoid losing its last trench of power in the June presidential election.

Rouhani says US has no choice but to lift sanctions

Iran wants the United States to remove all sanctions before it accepts an invitation to talks.

Iran rejects EU invitation to talks with US on nuclear deal

Tehran's rejection may be posturing, but the clock is ticking on chances to limit its nuclear capabilities.

China, Iran relations widen amid renewed nuclear talks

While pressuring Washington to drop sanctions and renew the JCPOA, Beijing has expanded trade and military relations with Tehran and its neighbors.

limpet mine us navy.png

Israeli-owned cargo ship rocked by explosion in Gulf of Oman

The blast came just hours after US airstrikes hit an Iran-linked militia in Syria

Iran's Atomic Energy Vice-President Ali Akbar Salehi, is seen speaking on a screen as he attends virtually the 64th General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) at its headquarters in Vienna, Austria on September 21, 2020. (Photo by JOE KLAMAR / AFP) / The erroneous mention[s] appearing in the metadata of this photo by JOE KLAMAR has been modified in AFP systems in the following manner: [Ali Akbar Salehi] instead of [Zarif]. Please immediately remove the erroneous mention[s] from all

Iran warns it could halt IAEA cooperation after US criticism

Tehran has threatened to call off a recent deal with the United Nations' atomic watchdog that allows for limited inspections of Iran's nuclear facilities.