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Iran

September 15, 2026

Tehran 6:35 am

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VTB Bank in Moscow

US hits major Russian bank VTB with Iran-linked sanctions

State-controlled VTB becomes one of the most prominent global names yet caught up in Washington’s ongoing effort to squeeze Iran's economy.

Milak border crossing near the town of Zabol, Iran

Third Sunni cleric killed in Iran’s Sistan and Baluchistan Province: What to know

Iran says it is stepping up its crackdown on armed groups in the impoverished province as Sunni clerics have been reported killed there and in the predominantly Kurdish northwest.

AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Saudi pipeline shutdown exposes shrinking global oil-supply buffers

Oil prices have climbed to their highest since May as disruptions to flows through the Strait of Hormuz and the temporary shutdown of Saudi Arabia’s East-West Pipeline tighten global supply.

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

A sailor from the navy of Yemen's Aden-based internationally recognized government stands at a machine-gun position aboard a vessel patrolling a shipping lane off Hanish Island in the Red Sea on July 27, 2026.

Oil tops $109 after Houthi strikes, Saudi pipeline shutdown

The Houthi militia said on Monday that it fired dozens of drones and ballistic missiles at military targets in Saudi Arabia in retaliation for airstrikes by Riyadh in Yemen.

Latest News

Analysis

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

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

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

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

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

Analysis

Could Iran’s nuclear ambitions harden as war escalates?

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

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

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

Analysis

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

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)

Jared Szuba

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

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 worker works on a production line of carmaker Iran Khodro, west of Tehran June 20, 2011. Unusually for the Middle East, Iran has developed its domestic car industry for five decades and produced 1.6 million vehicles last year, about half of them made by Iran Khodro which aims to export around 10 percent of its production this year. Even with sanctions, which have scared off some suppliers from exporting to Iran, and a limp economy, Iran Khodro says sales rose 18 percent in 2010 and plans a 13 pe

Can Iran shield its embattled auto sector?

Amid a parliamentary move to hike car import tariffs, debate surfaces on the wider problem of what to do about Iran's troubled auto sector.

US-Iraqi relations need a reset

US-Iraqi relations have had their ups and downs since the 2003 invasion and withdrawal of US troops in 2011, and currently require a reassessment to establish a solid partnership between the two parties.

Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) addresses the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) policy conference in Washington March 1, 2015. Israeli Prime Benjamin Netanyahu has come under almost unprecedented criticism from the U.S. administration and in Israel for his planned speech to Congress on Tuesday, as international talks with Iran are under way to secure a deal on Teheran's nuclear program. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4RMVE

Senate bill splits Iran deal advocates

Nuclear deal skeptics seek to put the screws on Tehran without blowing up the agreement.

Is Syria bringing Iran, Egypt together?

Egypt's seemingly shared interests with the Syrian government may provide grounds for improved relations with Iran.

Khamenei warns ‘appeasement’ won't end enemy hostility

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei counseled military leaders that it is futile to compromise with Iran's enemies and that the nation must maintain its independent path for generations to come.

Iranian hard-line newspaper falls out of Khamenei's favor

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei seems to be breaking ties with the hard-line Kayhan newspaper, long understood to be his mouthpiece.

Imprisoned 'economic basij' pleads case to Rouhani

Babak Zanjani, the former "economic basij" imprisoned for allegedly using international sanctions to keep $2 billion from the Oil Ministry, has claimed innocence in a letter to President Hassan Rouhani.

U.S. President Barack Obama addresses attendees during the 70th session of the United Nations General Assembly at the U.N. Headquarters in New York, September 28, 2015. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri - RTX1SXTI

Iranian sources confirm Zarif, Obama handshake

Iranian sources have confirmed the handshake between Iran's foreign minister and the US president, although they said it was not planned.

What Rouhani's done to fight corruption

The Rouhani administration has done a great deal to fight pervasive corruption in Iran, and though progress is slow, the removal of sanctions will clear the way for further efforts.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani addresses attendees during the 70th session of the United Nations General Assembly at the U.N. headquarters in New York, September 28, 2015. REUTERS/Mike Segar - RTX1SX63

Rouhani settles into a more 'normal' UN routine

On his third trip to the UN as Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani is eclipsed by Pope Francis, Russian President Vladimir Putin and the deaths of hundreds of Iranian pilgrims in Saudi Arabia.

Why is Jalili pouncing on the nuclear deal?

In Iran, leading conservatives use the platform of a new parliamentary commission to attack the nuclear deal. But why?

The mystery of Iran's missing ambassador

As Saudi sources claim that Iran's former ambassador to Lebanon never entered Saudi Arabia for the hajj, Iranian media outlets are crying foul play.