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Iran

November 8, 2026

Tehran 2:14 am

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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

Ruhollah Zam, a former opposition figure who had lived in exile in France and had been implicated in anti-government protests, speaks during his trial at Iran's Revolutionary Court in Tehran on June 2, 2020. - Iran said it has sentenced to death Ruhollah Zam. The court has considered 13 counts of charges together as instances of 'corruption on earth' and therefore passed the death sentence, judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili said. (Photo by ALI SHIRBAND / MIZAN NEWS / AFP) (Photo by ALI SHIRBAND/MIZA

Death penalty upheld for Iran journalist defector who turned from establishment

Ruhollah Zam, the son of a regime-connected cleric, was charged in June with "corruption on earth" for inciting violence in Iran's 2017 protests.

WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 16: U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden (2nd L) arrives at a meeting with Senate Foreign Relations Committee members as he is welcomed by Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) (L) July 16, 2015 at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC. Vice President Biden was on the Hill to pitch the Iran nuclear deal. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) (3rd L) and Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) (4th L) also attended the meeting. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

High stakes for Iran, US as Tehran waits to see Biden approach

Iran has made it clear that if the new US administration of Joe Biden wants to reenter the nuclear deal, no preconditions are acceptable to Iran.

Iran sanctions US envoy to Yemen in retaliation for US blacklisting

The Iranian Foreign Ministry announced sanctions on Christopher Henzel, the US ambassador to Yemen.

Iran’s Rouhani suggests nuclear deal’s fate is in Biden’s hands

President Hassan Rouhani said Iran will resume full compliance with the nuclear deal as soon as his incoming American counterpart uses his signature to rejoin the same accord.

Iran makes arrests in nuclear scientist's killing, official says

Iranian parliamentary adviser Hossein Amir Abdollahian said some of the "perpetrators" had been identified and arrested.

A medical professional prepares a syringe with a dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine, before it is administered to a patient at Croydon University Hospital in south London on December 8, 2020. - Britain on December 8 hailed a turning point in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, as it begins the biggest vaccination programme in the country's history with a new Covid-19 jab. (Photo by Dan CHARITY / POOL / AFP) (Photo by DAN CHARITY/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran accuses US of blocking coronavirus vaccine purchases

Iranian officials said US sanctions have impeded their attempts to secure the purchase of coronavirus vaccines for their country, which remains the hardest-hit in the Middle East.

Rafael Grossi (R), Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), listens to Iran's Atomic Energy Vice-President Ali Akbar Salehi, who attends virtually the 64th General Conference of the IAEA at the agency's 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 rem

European powers call Iran’s enrichment plans 'deeply worrying'

The governments of France, Germany and the United Kingdom expressed concerns over Iran's reported plan to install additional centrifuges at its Natanz nuclear facility.

A woman walk by a billboard in honour of slain nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh in the Iranian capital Tehran, on November 30, 2020. - Iran laid to rest a nuclear scientist in a funeral befitting a top "martyr", vowing to redouble his work after an assassination pinned on arch-foe Israel. Fakhrizadeh died on November 27 from his wounds after assailants targeted his car and engaged in a gunfight with his bodyguards outside the capital, according to the defence ministry, heightening tensions once more bet

Iran claims scientist was assassinated via satellite

Commanders in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have said that Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was killed by use of satellite and face recognition.

Biden: 'Hard to tell' how scientist’s killing would impact Iran negotiations

The recent assassination of Iranian scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh could complicate Biden's pledge to rejoin the nuclear agreement.

WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 14: President Barack Obama, standing with Vice President Joe Biden, conducts a press conference in the East Room of the White House in response to the Iran Nuclear Deal, on July 14, 2015 in Washington, DC. The landmark deal will limit Iran's nuclear program in exchange for relief from international sanctions. The agreement, which comes after almost two years of diplomacy, has also been praised by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. (Photo by Andrew Harnik - Pool/Getty Images)

Israel worries that Biden will re-adopt Obama’s Iran policy

The most important thing now for Israel’s security agencies is for the Biden administration to dialogue with them and include them over its future Iran policy.

Trump administration imposes new sanctions on Iranian company

The administration is continuing to add sanctions on Iranian entities ahead of President-elect Joe Biden's taking office. Biden could remove some of the sanctions.

Iranian-Swedish scientist's execution on hold for 'next few days'

Amnesty International said Ahmadreza Djalali's execution has been halted for now, but his fate is unclear. The rights group, Sweden and the UN are protesting Iran's treatment of him.