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November 8, 2026

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People vote on Election Day during the midterm elections

Analysis

From sanctions relief to deterrence: How Iran reads US elections

Iran's negotiators now view US elections through the lens of political pressure and the costs of conflict, while even Javad Zarif frames diplomacy as part of deterrence.

Jamshid Jamshidi

By Jamshid Jamshidi

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.

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

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during the Missile Defense Review announcement at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, U.S., January 17, 2019. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RC1B92AE1D40

Trump administration finds its Iran policy not working

The Trump administration conducted an internal assessment of its Iran “maximum pressure” policy this month and determined that it so far has been ineffective, according to a new report.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during the Missile Defense Review announcement at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, U.S., January 17, 2019. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RC1D4E23D950

Intel: How Trump used his missile defense rollout to take shots at Iran

President Trump chastised Iran for attempting to launch a satellite earlier this week and pledged the United States would take a harder line on Iran.

Can Iranian sovereign crypto-rial loosen sanctions straitjacket?

The United States is gearing up to sanction Iran’s sovereign cryptocurrency in anticipation of its introduction.

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on their ability to report, film or take pictures in Tehran.

Iran's Armed Forces Chief of Staff Hassan Firouzabadi (L) and Revolutionary guards commander Mohammad Ali Jafari salute during a parade to commemorate the anniversary of the Iran-Iraq war (1980-88), in Tehran September 22, 2011. REUTERS/Stringer (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY ANNIVERSARY) - GM1E79M1GOU01

IRGC head vows to protect military advisers in Syria

The head of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has responded to comments by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about successful Israeli strikes in Syria.

Netanyahu’s bravado endangers Israel

Ahead of the April elections, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has broken away from Israel’s traditional policy of ambiguity on military operations in neighboring countries, but his credit-taking could endanger Israeli lives.

An Iranian woman shops at a drugstore at the Nikan hospital in Tehran on September 11, 2018. - Judges at the International Court of Justice in The Hague unanimously ruled Washington should remove barriers to "the free exportation to Iran of medicines and medical devices, food and agricultural commodities" as well as airplane parts. Iran produces 96 percent of the drugs it uses, according to the Syndicate of Iranian Pharmaceutical Industries, but imports more than half the raw materials to make them. (Photo

How US sanctions intensify rent-seeking in Iran’s pharma sector

As US sanctions hit Iranian patients, it is becoming clear that the impact of the sanctions — including renewed opportunities for rent seeking — are also intensifying turf wars in the country’s pharmaceutical sector.

Iranian TV says American-born anchor detained in US

An American-born Iranian TV anchor working for Iran's state broadcaster says she has faced mistreatment after being detained upon arrival in the United States.

Iranian workers stand in front of the Bushehr nuclear power plant, about 1,200 km (746 miles) south of Tehran October 26, 2010. Iran has begun loading fuel into the core of its first nuclear power plant on Tuesday, one of the last steps to realising its stated goal of becoming a peaceful nuclear power, state-run Press TV reported on Tuesday. REUTERS/Mehr News Agency/Majid Asgaripour (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS ENERGY IMAGES OF THE DAY) - GM1E6AQ1G1401

Intel: Why Iran’s boast of new nuclear fuel does not violate 2015 deal

Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohamed Ali Alhakim speaks with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif during news conference, in Baghdad, Iraq January 13, 2019. REUTERS/Khalid Al-Mousily - RC17491CB760

Iranian FM ‘maneuvers’ in Iraq as rivalry with US heats up

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has embarked on an extensive visit to neighboring Iraq at a time when US-Iran competition in the country is reaching levels not seen before.

A man waves a Kurdistan flag as a Turkish military truck escorts a convoy of peshmerga vehicles at Habur border gate, which separates Turkey from Iraq, near the town of Silopi in southeastern Turkey, October 29, 2014. Iraqi peshmerga fighters arrived in southeastern Turkey early on Wednesday ahead of their planned deployment to the Syrian town of Kobani to help fellow Kurds repel an Islamic State advance, a Reuters witness said. REUTERS/Kadir Baris (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY CONFLICT TPX IMAGES OF TH

Erdogan's plans in Iraqi Kurdistan may backfire

The news that Nechirvan Barzani will not continue as prime minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq is causing Turkey to worry that the new KRG Cabinet will not be formed of allies of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

U.S. President Donald Trump's national security adviser John Bolton speaks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S., November 27, 2018. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RC12739E4AB0

Intel: Bolton’s Iran strike plans leaked after he elevated longtime associate

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on their ability to film or take pictures in Tehran.

The front of the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company building is seen in Tehran November 17, 2009. Iran temporarily boosted gasoline production by about 30 percent on Tuesday to show the West it can cope with any sanctions targeting its fuel imports. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl (IRAN POLITICS ENERGY BUSINESS) - GM1E5BH1FIK01

Why Iran must shake up its approach to state-owned enterprises

While the government’s general budget grabs the most attention in Iranian media, it is high time for Iran to revise the way it approaches the dilemma of the vast number of uncompetitive state-owned enterprises.