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Iran

September 15, 2026

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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

The stakes in Vienna

Fragile and promising trends in regional security and US-Iran cooperation are already underway as a result of the nuclear negotiations.

U.S. Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) speaks to the media before attending a closed meeting for members of Congress on the situation in Syria at the U.S. Capitol in Washington September 1, 2013. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Sunday tests showed that sarin nerve gas was used in a deadly August 21 chemical attack near Damascus as he sought to build the case to convince skeptical lawmakers to authorize a military strike against the Syrian government. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts (UNITED STAT

Congress seeks to help Tunisia, hinder Iran

A look at the Middle East issues Congress will be addressing the week of July 13.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry meets with foreign ministers and representatives from Germany, France, China, Britain, Russia and the European Union during nuclear talks at a hotel in Vienna, Austria July 10, 2015. Iran accused major powers on Friday of backtracking on previous pledges and throwing up new "red lines" at nuclear talks, after the deadline to reach an agreement in time to receive expedited scrutiny from the U.S. Congress expired with no deal. REUTERS/Carlos Barria TPX IMAGES OF THE DA

Reversals in Vienna throw deal into doubt

As negotiators try to finalize a nuclear deal, it seems differences within the P5+1 may push them past the deadline once again.

Iran reform must start at home

A nuclear deal may strengthen the position of those in Iran who believe that better relations with the West can improve, not weaken, Iran's influence in the region.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry talks to journalists in front of Palais Coburg, the hotel where the Iran nuclear talks meetings are being held in Vienna, Austria July 9, 2015. The United States and other major powers are not in a rush reach a nuclear agreement with Iran, though Washington and its partners will not negotiate with Tehran indefinitely, Kerry said on Thursday. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger - RTX1JS36

Iranian nuclear talks go on even if 'clock strikes midnight'

US Secretary of State John Kerry said Iran nuclear deal must withstand the test of time and "we will not be rushed" as negotiations continue past a US congressional deadline.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif speaks at the New York University (NYU) Center on International Cooperation in New York April 29, 2015. Iran's foreign minister on Wednesday offered assurances that Tehran is committed to maintaining freedom of navigation in the Persian Gulf in the aftermath of the seizure of a commercial ship by Iranian forces a day earlier. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson - RTX1AUQZ

Zarif's comeback spawns hashtag

After Iran's top nuclear negotiator Mohammad Javad Zarif reportedly said "Never threaten an Iranian" during the nuclear talks, Iranians took to Twitter to respond.

U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and U.S. Under Secretary for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman (L-3rd L) meet with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (2nd R) at a hotel in Vienna, Austria June 28, 2015. Kerry is joining negotiations from six powers and Iran seeking an agreement under which Tehran would curb its nuclear program in exchange for relief from economic sanctions that have crippled its economy. REUTERS/Carlos Barria - RTX1I3WB

Is US pursuing Iran regime change in nuclear deal?

A former adviser to nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili wrote that the United States has not abandoned its previous strategies with respect to Iran within the nuclear talks.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani takes a question during a news conference on the sidelines of the 69th United Nations General Assembly at United Nations Headquarters in New York September 26, 2014. Rouhani said on Friday "courageous decisions" must be made to clinch a long-term nuclear agreement and that any deal without the lifting of all sanctions against Tehran was "unacceptable". REUTERS/Adrees Latif (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR47VPF

Iran, P5+1 face Security Council conundrum

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani will have problems if Iranian expectations regarding the timing of lifting sanctions are not managed.

A Kurdish Peshmerga fighter takes up position with his weapon as he keeps watch, on the outskirts of Mosul January 26, 2015. Kurdish Peshmerga fighters are digging trenches and building defense berms in Wadi al-Ghorab (Valley Of The Crows), less than 2 km away from the IS-held Sultan Abdullah village, which demarcates the new border of their autonomous region. The Kurds have enjoyed de facto self rule since the first Gulf War in 1991. They are now closer than ever to achieving their dream of full independen

Who has 'boots on the ground' in fight against IS?

A mismatch in priorities between the United States and its Sunni allies is obliging the Obama administration to rely more on Iran-backed forces to fight the group that calls itself the Islamic State.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (R) and his Finnish counterpart Erkki Tuomioja hold a joint press conference following a meeting in the capital Tehran, on August 31, 2014. Tuomioja pays a two-day visit to the Islamic Republic during which he is expected to meet high-ranking Iranian officials. AFP PHOTO/ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)

Iran MP defends trip to Finland to 'promote Islam'

Conservative Iranian MP Hamid Rasaei has been criticized for once again traveling to Europe.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (C), Head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization Ali Akbar Salehi and Hossein Fereydoon (R), brother and close aide to President Hassan Rouhani meet with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (not pictured) at a hotel in Vienna, Austria July 3, 2015. A year and half of nuclear talks between Iran and major powers were creeping towards the finish line on Friday as negotiators wrestled with sticking points including questions about Tehran's past atomic research. R

Iranian negotiators determined to reach nuclear deal

Iranian diplomats have said they will continue talking until an agreement is reached or it becomes absolutely clear that one is not possible.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (C), Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman, National Security Council point person on the Middle East Robert Malley (front L) and Chief of Staff Jon Finer (R) meet on the terrace of a hotel where the Iran nuclear talks meetings are being held in Vienna, Austria July 2, 2015. Iran's stockpile of low-enriched uranium gas dropped below the maximum level required under a 2013 interim nuclear agreement with world powers, a U.N. report showed, but a U.S. t

Iran’s Additional Protocol concerns need not stop deal

Iran has little to worry about in agreeing to enforce the NPT Additional Protocol, with resources like "managed access" and precedents for dispute resolution from other countries.