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Iran

September 13, 2026

Tehran 1:23 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

U.S. President Barack Obama's daughters Sasha (L) and Malia arrive with their parents to board Air Force One for travel to Massachusetts for their annual vacation at Martha's Vineyard, from Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, U.S. August 6, 2016. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RTSLFBL

Why are Iranian web trolls targeting Malia Obama?

In Iran, prominent actors and sportsmen urge netizens to join a campaign to block trolls as online hate appears to increasingly spiral out of control.

One of the five military vessels from Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps that approached a U.S. warship hosting one of America's top generals on a day trip through the Strait of Hormuz is pictured in this July 11, 2016 handout photo. U.S. Navy/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. EDITORIAL USE ONLY - RTSHLRW

Does Iranian law green light encounters with US warships?

The legal arguments underpinning US and Iranian views on the Law of the Sea should not be overlooked as tensions once again mount over the passage of US military vessels through the Strait of Hormuz.

Committee chairman Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA) speaks during a hearing of the Foreign Affairs Committee on Capitol Hill June 2, 2015 in Washington, DC. The committee held the hearing to hear from four family members of Americans held in in Iran. AFP PHOTO/BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI (Photo credit should read BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images)

Can Congress stop Obama from making payments to Iran?

Congress wants to rein in the White House's legal settlements slush fund. It's a little late for that.

A man holds a banner that reads "God's curse on Al Saud (Saudi royal family)" during the funeral of victims killed in Saudi Arabia in a stampede at the haj pilgrimage, in Tehran October 4, 2015. More than 464 Iranian nationals were killed in last month's crush in Mina, Saudi Arabia, Iran's Haj Organization says. Iranian officials have alleged the overall total death toll is more than 1,000. Saudi Arabia has confirmed the deaths of 769 people. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi/TIMAATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS

Khamenei calls for international investigation into hajj stampede

One year after the hajj disaster that killed nearly 500 Iranians out of more than 2,000 people, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is calling for an international body to investigate.

Palestinian Hamas leader in Gaza Ismail Haniyeh waves to his supporters during an anti-Israeli rally in Gaza city April 28, 2016. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem - RTX2C2YQ

Qatar or Iran: Who will save Hamas?

The Hamas delegation will split forces after performing the hajj in Mecca, with Ismail Haniyeh heading to Qatar and Mahmoud al-Zahar visiting Iran.

Western legends fight Eastern heroes in new Iranian animation

A group of seminary students are turning the popular book “Tintin and Sinbad” into an animated film series.

Eli Cohen, (R) and Avihai Weinstein, (L), sit handcuffed at the magistrates court in the Israeli town of Petah Tikva February 2. The court on Wednesday extended the detention of the two Israelis arrested on suspicion of selling large amounts of military equipment to Iran.

HL/FMS - RTRVL3

Ultra-Orthodox arms dealer faces extradition to US

Israel's Supreme Court has rejected Eli Cohen's appeal to stop his extradition to the United States for violating sanctions against Iran after a long history of evading prosecution for such offenses.

A member of Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA), seen with a mural of the Islamic State in the background, stands guard in front of a building in the border town of Jarablus, Syria, August 31, 2016. REUTERS/Umit Bektas TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTX2NQ4X

Will Turkey be dragged deeper into Syria?

US military support for Kurdish forces pulled Turkey into Syria, but the IS factor will now determine whether or not Turkey gets bogged down.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during Friday prayers in Tehran September 14, 2007. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl/File Photo - RTX2FG6B

Upcoming hajj pilgrimage again inflames Saudi-Iran tensions

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued his strongest condemnation of Saudi Arabia yet in response to the stampede during last year’s hajj pilgrimage.

An Iranian family look at the "Gate of All Nations" at the ancient Persian city of Persepolis near Shiraz in southern Iran on September 26, 2014. Persepolis, is one of the greatest architectural complexes of the ancient world, built atop a huge limestone platform. It was the main royal residence and ceremonial center of the Achaemenid empire of Persia (550-330 BC), but was later burned and plundered by Alexander the Great in 330 BC. AFP PHOTO/BEHROUZ MEHRI (Photo credit should read BEHROUZ MEHRI/AFP/

Is Islamic Republic embracing Iran’s ancient past?

The Islamic Republic has abandoned previously contentious attitudes toward Iran's cultural heritage, but it has much more work to do to protect sites.

Member from Hashid Shaabi hold a banner of Abdulmalik al-Huthi during a demonstration to show support for Yemen's Shi'ite Houthis and in protest of an air campaign in Yemen by a Saudi-led coalition, in Baghdad March 31, 2015. Saudi troops clashed with Yemeni Houthi fighters on Tuesday in the heaviest exchange of cross-border fire since the start of a Saudi-led air offensive last week, while Yemen's foreign minister called for a rapid Arab intervention on the ground. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani - RTR4VNMI

Shiite alliance against Saudis grows tighter

As the sectarian conflict intensifies, Shiite forces expand their cooperation against Saudi Arabia while Iraq plays a key role in this regard.

Supporters of Iranian presidential candidate Tehran's mayor Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf hold a banner depicting him, in Shahr-e-Rey, south of Tehran, on June 7, 2013. Candidates vying for Iran's presidency clashed on June 7 in a heated televised exchange over nuclear talks with world powers, with pointed criticism aimed at top nuclear negotiator and hardline candidate Saeed Jalili. AFP PHOTO / ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)

Did Rouhani just nip Tehran mayor’s presidential challenge in the bud?

In Iran, leaks indicating massive corruption are surfacing one after another in an apparent factional fight ahead of the country’s May 2017 presidential election.