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Iran

November 9, 2026

Tehran 3:44 am

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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

An Iranian man counts banknotes after exchanging a gold coin for cash in Tehran on January 23, 2012. Gold coins were being exchanged for over 10,000,000 rials as the Iranian currency continued to lose value against the US dollar. Top European Union diplomats are meeting in Brussels to tighten existing sanctions on Iran by banning imports of Iranian crude as well as targeting finance, petrochemicals and gold to pressure the country. AFP PHOTO/ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images

Iran's poorest citizens still waiting for some semblance of parity after 39 years

Iranian authorities need to muster the courage and will to tackle fundamental tax and subsidy reforms to remedy the gaping wealth inequality in the country.

An Iranian-Kurdish female fighter stands behind a sand berm during a battle with Islamic State militants in Bashiqa, near Mosul, Iraq November 03, 2016. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah - S1BEUKSWXTAD

Assassinations mount as Iranian Kurdish militants clash with Tehran

Tension builds in northern Iraq as the conflict between Iranian-Kurdish militants and Tehran seems to escalate.

Iraqi-Kurdistan

Iran's Agriculture Minister, Mahmoud Hojjati (C) walks past agricultural equipment during the Sommet de lElevage livestock show at Cournon dAuvergne near Clermont-Ferrand, central France, on October 5, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / Thierry Zoccolan (Photo credit should read THIERRY ZOCCOLAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Iranian MPs move to impeach three of Rouhani’s ministers

Iranian members of parliament move to impeach three ministers in President Hassan Rouhani's government.

French Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian attends the questions to the government session at the National Assembly in Paris, France, February 20, 2018. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes - RC1C077C0AF0

Iran rejects French FM's call to curb missile program

The French foreign minister seemingly failed to persuade Iranian officials to negotiate over their country’s missile program.

Rouhani’s visit a reality check for Iran-India relations

Trade connectivity overtakes energy as Tehran and New Delhi move to forge closer cooperation.

Iran's Rouhani mocks his opponents, again

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who has welcomed criticism in the past, is under fire for mocking his critics once again.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sits in the audience ahead of a planned address at the Muni World 2018 conference in Tel Aviv, Israel February 14, 2018. REUTERS/Nir Elias - RC1B832C7E70

How could Bibi lose by offering 'ultimate deal' with Iran?

Israel Pulse columnist Akiva Eldar calls for direct Iran-Israel talks; Ali Akbar Velayati opposes Sadr-Communist bloc; Has Islamic State returned to Hawija?

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks via a video link from Israel to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) policy conference in Washington, U.S., March 27, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts - RC1F228F8BE0

Pro-Israel lobby struggles to bring parties together ahead of annual conference

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee hasn’t made much headway on key issues such as the Iran nuclear deal and anti-boycott legislation.

Iranian rial banknotes bearing a portrait of the late founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, sit on the stand of an Iraqi money dealer on June 19, 2014, in Arbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq. President Hassan Rouhani said on June 18 Iran would do whatever it takes to protect revered Shiite shrines in Iraq against Sunni militants fighting the Baghdad government. AFP PHOTO/KARIM SAHIB (Photo credit should read KARIM SAHIB/AFP/Getty Images

Iranian lawmakers block cuts to cash handouts

Iran's parliament has dramatically weakened the administration's proposed plan to end cash subsidy payments in a politically motivated backlash against the cost-saving effort.

Turkish-Iranian trade revived amid growing cooperation in Syria

Turkey and Iran have reversed a four-year downturn in bilateral trade as collaboration in Syria increases, but the possibility of a setback remains real.

Mideast braces for war: Israel vs. Iran-backed Hezbollah

Israel is threatening a new war against Hezbollah and its weapons plants in Lebanon and Syria.

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on their ability to film or take pictures in Tehran.
Motorists travel on a highway in Tehran as the city is covered in dust July 6, 2009. The government closed private educational centres, state offices, industrial units and military bases for two days and raised its pollution alert status due to the dust, which an official from Tehran's environment office attributed the source to dust from dried marshland in Iraq blown towar

Iran prepares to boost jobs, clean air by revamping auto fleet

The vast fleet of dilapidated vehicles on Iranian roads may disappear sooner than thought, though not everyone is optimistic about Tehran's latest attempt to get it done.