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Iran

September 13, 2026

Tehran 12:50 pm

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Fighters loyal to the Houthi authorities gather in Sanaa on Sept. 10, 2026.

Analysis

As Houthis seize Bab el-Mandeb, Iran appraises value of new Red Sea card

Iran is celebrating the Houthis' rapid advance toward Bab el-Mandeb, but appears reluctant to act on the win.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

member of the Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces firing a heavy machine gun

Claude AI used for missile, influence projects in UAE, Iran, Yemen: Anthropic

Military and government actors across the Middle East — from Iran to Yemen to the United Arab Emirates — have used Anthropic's Claude AI model for war planning and influence campaigns.

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

Latest News

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

Elke Scholiers/Getty Images

Brent crude sails past $100 as Middle East war intensifies

AFPTV / AFP via Getty Images

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

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

The U.S. families of Iranian dissidents, members of Iran's opposition movement Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) who reside in Camp Liberty in Iraq, look on as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry testifies on agreements over Iran's nuclear programs, before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, December 10, 2013. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) - RTX16CNF

What's next for Baghdad-Tehran ties as last MEK members leave Iraq?

In a new regional victory for Iran, the last group of the exiled opposition group Mujahedeen-e-Khalq left neighboring Iraq.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani makes a speech during a signing ceremony after a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Azeri President Ilham Aliyev (not seen) in Baku, Azerbaijan, August 8, 2016. REUTERS/Alexander Nemenov/Pool - RTSLVFF

Can Rouhani reel in the IRGC's financial empire?

Still under fire by hardliners over the nuclear deal, Iran's President Hassan Rouhani is now confronting them over compliance with international banking regulations.

Iranian men holding a picture Bahraini Shiite cleric Sheikh Isa Qassim (R) and a caricature of the Saudi king, participate in an anti-Saudi demonstration in the capital Tehran on September 9, 2016.
With Iranians barred from the annual hajj pilgrimage, thousands protested in Tehran and officials criticised Saudi Arabia's refusal to discuss last year's deadly stampede during which more than 400 Iranians were among the nearly 2,300 pilgrims that were killed. The writing on the posters in Arabic read "Malicious

Iranian commander offers rare advice

The special military adviser to Iran’s supreme leader has called for Tehran to strengthen ties with the Gulf states and avoid increasing tensions with Saudi Arabia.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gestures to photographers after meeting with Indonesian counterpart Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in Nusa Dua, Bali November 9, 2012. Ahmadinejad said on Thursday the age of nuclear deterrence was long gone and any country still stockpiling nuclear weapons was "mentally retarded". He again denied Iran was trying to develop nuclear weapons, a day after the re-election victory of U.S. President Barack Obama, for whom Tehran's disputed nuclear programme will be one of the thorn

How Iran’s Ahmadinejad plans to propel political comeback

In addition to opposition from the public and the Reformists, former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad faces antagonism within his own Principlist camp.

Shi'ite fighters launch artillery toward Islamic State militants in al-Fatha, northeast of Baiji, October 18, 2015. Iraqi forces backed by Shi'ite militia fighters say they have retaken a mountain palace complex of former President Saddam Hussein from Islamic State fighters, as government forces push ahead on a major offensive against the insurgents. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTS4YZX

Rise of Iran-backed militias jeopardizes US aid to Iraq

US law prohibits military assistance unless Baghdad reins in PMU.

Shiite Muslim pilgrims, mostly from Iran, walk near the shrine of Imam Abbas on Arafah day, referring to a prayer performed by Shiites in Saudi Arabia's Arafat plain on the second day of hajj, on September 11, 2016 in the holy Iraqi city of Karbala, 80 kilometres south of the capital Baghdad.
Barred from Mecca amid an escalating spat between Tehran and Saudi Arabia, masses of Iranian Shiite faithful have converged on the holy Iraqi city of Karbala for an alternative pilgrimage. The row that has prevented I

Saudi Arabia launches Persian-language hajj TV program for Iranians

The Muslim festival to mark Eid al-Adha has done little to reduce tensions between regional rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia.

A picture taken on September 17, 2014 shows a partial view of Lar dam's reservoir located some 70 kms northeast of the capital Tehran, at the foot of Damavand mountain, in the town of Damavand. The Iranian authorities have warned and urged the people of Tehran to drastically reduce their water consumption, as three of the five dams supplying the capital are almost empty. AFP PHOTO/ISNA/HAMIDREZA DASJJERDI (Photo credit should read HAMIDREZA DASTJERDI/AFP/Getty Images)

Water pressure plummets in Tehran

After years of warnings about an impending water crisis, Tehranis are experiencing dramatic drops in water pressure and now face the likely prospect of water rationing.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov look toward one another during a press conference following their meeting in Geneva, Switzerland where they discussed the crisis in Syria September 9, 2016.REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RTSN26D

Iran wary groups might use Syria cease-fire to rearm

Iranian officials have welcomed the Syria cease-fire agreement but have warned that it may be used by armed opposition groups to rearm and resupply.

Flames rise from Saudi Arabia's embassy after it was stormed by Iranian protesters during a demonstration in Tehran, Iran, January 2, 2016. REUTERS/TIMA/Mehdi Ghasemi/ISNA/File Photo ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS IMAGE. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. NO THIRD PARTY SALES. NOT FOR USE BY REUTERS THIRD PARTY DISTRIBUTORS. THIS PICTURE IS

Are Saudis open to rapprochement with Iran?

Despite a war of words between Iran and Saudi Arabia and other tensions, some observers believe relations between Riyadh and Tehran could improve.

Anti-Wahhabism spreading in Muslim world

The Shiism-Wahhabism conflict is expanding among other Islamic denominations, as several Sunni schools are taking actions against Wahhabism.

An aircraft fires missiles during the Northern Thunder exercises, in Hafr Al-Batin, near Saudi Arabia's border with Iraq, March 10, 2016. REUTERS/Abedullah al-Desori EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVE - RTSA6JM

Will 9/11 lawsuit vote sabotage US arms sales to Riyadh?

The Obama administration has offered to sell Saudi Arabia a record $115 billion in weapons. Does the Sept. 9 vote to allow the families of terrorist victims to sue the kingdom mean an end to business as usual?

Former U.S. Marine Amir Hekmati, recently released from an Iranian prison, steps out of the plane piloted by Mike Karnowski (R), as he arrives at an airport in Flint, Michigan January 21, 2016. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook - RTX23GEV

How US cash payments story played out in Iran

While Washington’s $1.7 billion payment to Iran caused controversy in the US, it was a non-story in Iran.