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Iran

September 11, 2026

Tehran 2:52 pm

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Pedestrians walk past a wall mural along a street in downtown of Tehran on Aug. 31, 2026.

Analysis

Could Iran’s nuclear ambitions harden as war escalates?

A new report has raised alarm about the Pickaxe Mountain nuclear site that President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to strike.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks during a meeting with Australia's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Richard Marles at the Pentagon in Washington, DC, on September 2, 2026. (Photo by Kent NISHIMURA / AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Iran’s Pickaxe mountain tests limits of Trump’s military options

A secretive Pentagon innovation agency has hastened to test munitions that may penetrate deeper than the GBU-57 bombs dropped on Iran’s two main enrichment facilities.

Jared Szuba

In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military

Elke Scholiers/Getty Images

Iran's IRGC set to declare new ‘sanctions zone’ beyond Hormuz: What to know

The latest Iranian effort to assert control over waterways in the region follows heavy US strikes targeting oil tankers.

AFPTV / AFP via Getty Images

Brent crude sails past $100 as Middle East war intensifies

The Iran war escalated this week as Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels attacked four southern Saudi Arabian cities and oil facilities.

Latest News

US strikes Iranian tankers after attempted attack on Navy ship

Vessels transit the Hormuz Strait off the coast of Iran's southern port city of Bandar Abbas on September 7, 2026. Iran's top negotiator threatened on September 6 of a more forceful response to any further US attacks after Tehran targeted American warships in their latest round of clashes. The exchanges of fire, which began with US raids last week, come amid a deadlock in the six-month war between the two foes. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP via Getty Images) /

Analysis

What Houthi setbacks in Yemen mean for Iran's regional influence

Forces loyal to Yemen's Saudi-backed government

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Analysis

Israel braces for Iran attack as Trump’s economic squeeze on Tehran intensifies

TOPSHOT - Explosions from projectile interceptions by Israel's Iron Dome missile defence system are pictured over Tel Aviv on February 28, 2026. The United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran on February 28, with Israel's public broadcaster reporting that the Iranian supreme leader had been targeted, as the Islamic republic retaliated with barrages of missiles at Gulf states and Israel. (Photo by Jack GUEZ / AFP via Getty Images)

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

US hits 27 Iranian airlines with latest sanctions

A picture take on September 14, 2017 shows an Airbus A340 of Mahan Air at the tarmac at Dubai's International Airport. (Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE / AFP) (Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images)

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

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan's leaves after an interview with Reuters Editor-in-Chief Steve Adler and Reuters Chief Correspondent Parisa Hafezi at The Peninsula hotel on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in Manhattan, New York, U.S. September 21, 2017. REUTERS/Darren Ornitz - RC1C6B1C2FF0

Ankara could misplay its hand again

Despite hostile remarks from Ankara, the only way to deal with the Kurdish independence referendum is diplomacy, seasoned diplomats warn.

Uzi Arad, a senior adviser to Israel's prime minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu, speaks during an interview with Reuters in Tel Aviv March 12, 2009. Netanyahu will likely shelve recently revived Israeli peace talks with Syria given its territorial demands and alliance with Iran, Arad said on Thursday. REUTERS/Gil Cohen Magen (ISRAEL POLITICS) - GM1E53D09JW01

Ex-Netanyahu national security adviser urges US to keep Iran deal

Former Israeli National Security Adviser Uzi Arad urges Washington to build on the 2015 Iran nuclear accord rather than abandon it.

United States Senator Bob Corker (R-TN) chairs his first Senate Foreign Relations Committee in Washington January 21, 2015. Top U.S. Treasury and State Department officials said on Wednesday that, despite reports, Russia had not entered into oil-for-goods deals with Iran in violation of international sanctions. REUTERS/Gary Cameron (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) - GM1EB1M02QO01

Can Congress avoid blowing up the Iran deal?

If President Donald Trump doesn’t certify Iranian compliance with the 2015 agreement later this month, the US Senate only needs a bare majority to reinstate deal-breaking sanctions.

Iranian media takes interest in Catalan independence

Iranian media has given widely positive coverage of the Catalan independence referendum, contrasting its critical coverage of last week's Iraqi Kurdistan vote.

‘The last Iranian Americans’

The Trump administration’s "Travel Ban 3.0" runs the risk of turning current Iranian Americans into the last of their kind.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin arrive for a press conference in Ankara, Turkey, September 28, 2017. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RC1FB3502600

Putin boxed in by Iran, Turkey on Iraqi Kurdish referendum

The Russian president could find himself at odds with Iran if he misplays a weak hand.

Turkey, Iran, Iraq in shaky alignment against Iraqi Kurdistan

Turkey, Iran and Iraq have closed ranks over the independence vote in Iraqi Kurdistan, but how long can their partnership survive?

Culture Alert: October dominated by film festivals in Middle East

A number of film festivals, from short films to documentaries, take place in Beirut, Tehran, Haifa and Istanbul throughout October — where many of the regional countries’ nominees for Oscars will be screened.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (R) and co-chair of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Selahattin Demirtas arrive for a meeting in Moscow, Russia, December 23, 2015. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov - GF10000274576

Kurdish referendum a double-edged sword for Russia

Although Russia says it respects Iraqi Kurds' desire for self-determination, their independence is probably not in Russia's best interest.

World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Roberto Azevedo talks to the audience during the International Poultry and Pork show in Sao Paulo, Brazil August 29, 2017. REUTERS/Nacho Doce - RC1D9C8ECA60

Iran abandons hope for WTO accession

Although many thought Iran might finally be able to join the World Trade Organization following the nuclear deal, the Islamic Repubic appears to have lost hope of becoming part of the influential body.

Thousands turn out in Iran for burial of soldier beheaded by IS

An Iranian soldier who was killed in Syria in August received a large public funeral in Iran.

Palestinians react to opening of first US military base in Israel

The Sept. 18 announcement of the establishment of the first permanent US-Israeli military base in the Negev desert, in southern Israel, is evidence of the strategic military cooperation between the Americans and Israelis.