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Iran

September 14, 2026

Tehran 10:31 am

29°C

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

An Iranian woman gestures as she attends a reformist campaign for upcoming parliamentary election, in Tehran February 18, 2016. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi/TIMA ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. - RTX27K9Y

How some Iranians are mobilizing to get voters off the couch

Amid hot contests with Principlist rivals and mass disqualifications of candidates, Iranian Reformists face a boycott campaign and voter apathy ahead of key polls.

A Turkish Shi'ite girl holds a chain as she mourns during an Ashura procession in Istanbul November 24, 2012. Muslims all over the world mourn the slaying of Imam Hussein during the first ten days of the Islamic month of Muharram. Imam Hussein was killed by his political rivals along with 72 companions in the seventh century battle of Kerbala. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: ANNIVERSARY RELIGION) - RTR3ATV2

Is 'Iran-phobia' spreading in Turkey?

The former leader of Turkey's main opposition party raises hackles with what his critics say is sectarian rhetoric.

Men stand in line to vote during the Iranian presidential election at a mosque in Qom, 120 km (74.6 miles) south of Tehran June 14, 2013. Millions of Iranians voted to choose a new president on Friday, urged by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to turn out in force to discredit suggestions by arch foe the United States that the election would be unfair. REUTERS/Fars News/Mohammad Akhlagi (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ON

Wary voters await elections in Iran

Conservatives are suspicious of foreign influences as Iran prepares to hold key elections.

Khamenei warns of subtle US influence on elections

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said in a speech that while the United States has been quiet on the Iranian elections, Iranians must be wary of attempts to polarize their society.

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

A general view of the Bushehr main nuclear reactor, 1,200 km (746 miles) south of Tehran, August 21, 2010. Iran began fuelling its first nuclear power plant on Saturday, a potent symbol of its growing regional sway and rejection of international sanctions designed to prevent it building a nuclear bomb. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi (IRAN - Tags: BUSINESS ENERGY P

Will IAEA be able to verify Iran's nuclear program?

The GAO warns that budget pressures and uncertain access could enable Iranian cheating.

Is BBC Persian meddling in Iranian elections?

Pre-election sniping ahead of the Assembly of Experts vote heats up as Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani’s ticket is labeled “British.”

Iran's Supreme Council of Cyberspace announces plans for social media monitoring

Given the widespread use of smartphones, Iranian officials say there is a need to monitor election-related social media activity.

A man pushes a trolley full of Dell computers through a company factory in Sriperumbudur Taluk, in the Kancheepuram district of the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, in this June 2, 2011 file photograph. Dell Inc's shares fell 9 percent on August 17, 2011, a day after weak technology spending forced the world's second-largest PC maker to slash its full-year revenue forecast. REUTERS/Babu/Files (INDIA - Tags: BUSINESS) - RTR2Q1AT

Did the UN ship restricted technology to Iran?

House lawmakers finally hear from patent agency whistleblowers after four years of stonewalling.

Why this election of Iran's Assembly of Experts is more important than ever

The next Assembly of Experts is also being selected this election season, and this one has a good chance of determining the next supreme leader of Iran.

'Special messages' aside, Iran's S-300 missiles still up in air

Despite the increasing regional cooperation between Iran and Russia, the Tehran-Moscow relationship is marred by distrust over the long-stalled S-300 air defense missile deal.

How one Kurdish woman went from child soldier to Swedish lawmaker

Swedish parliamentarian Amineh Kakabaveh tells Al-Monitor about her remarkable journey from Kurdish guerrilla camps in Iraq’s mountains to the rostrum of European politics.

Iranian women take part in a reformist campaign for the upcoming parliamentary elections in Tehran February 20, 2016. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi/TIMA ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. - RTX27UFB

Everything you need to know about this week's elections in Iran

Thousands of contenders are rushing to make use of Iran's short campaigning window in a contest that will determine crucial support for President Hassan Rouhani's policy efforts.