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September 15, 2026

Tehran 11:41 pm

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Fighters loyal to the Houthi authorities shout slogans during a rally to recruit more fighters, in Sanaa, Yemen, on Sept. 10, 2026.

Analysis

Why Saudi Arabia's balancing act with US, Iran, Houthis risks collapse

Houthi rebels escalated their attacks on Tuesday, triggering alerts around the holy city of Mecca, Taif and the Red Sea port city of Jeddah.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Houthi

Exclusive

Houthi top diplomat says no intention to shut down Red Sea shipping, group open to talks

In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, Acting Foreign Minister of the Houthi-led administration Abdulwahid Abu Ras said concerns over a potential closure of the Red Sea are being fueled by Saudi Arabia.

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

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.

Latest News

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

Milak border crossing near the town of Zabol, Iran

Analysis

Saudi pipeline shutdown exposes shrinking global oil-supply buffers

AFP via Getty Images

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

Oil tops $109 after Houthi strikes, Saudi pipeline shutdown

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.

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

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

Iranians follow trucks carrying coffins towards Tehran's Baharestan square on June 16, 2015 during a funeral procession for 270 victims of the Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988) (175 of them belonging to a group of military divers), a month after their bodies were repatriated to Iran. The divers were responsible for breaking the enemy lines during an operation in 1986 with the aim of taking Basra in southern Iraq, but the operation was discovered by the Iraqi army that killed a large number of Iranian military and m

Iranians unite in burial of 270 Iran-Iraq War veterans

The burial of Iranian veterans, 175 of them buried alive, has stirred painful memories and united Iranians.

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on leaving the office to report, film or take pictures in Tehran.
Iranian protesters remove a satellite dish from a building near the gate of the British Embassy in Tehran November 29, 2011. Dozens of young Iranian men entered buildings inside the British embassy compound in Tehran on Tuesday, throwing rocks, petrol bombs and burning documents looted from offices, Iranian news agencies reported. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi (IRAN

Iran’s Basij concedes confiscating satellite dishes not working

The head of Iran's Basij organization said that instead of confiscating satellite dishes from homes, authorities should speak to homeowners to persuade them to give up the satellite dishes, which he believes are part of a cultural invasion of Iran's enemies.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani gives 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) - RTR47VNA

Reformist editor: No one pledged ‘allegiance’ to Rouhani

An op-ed by an Iranian Reformist editor says that President Hassan Rouhani, despite his winning the 2013 presidential election, does not have people's automatic support, in contrast with previous elections.

Iran's Mahdi Aliyarifeizabadi celebrates beating China's Xiao Di in their men's Greco-Roman 98 kg gold medal wrestling match at Dowon Gymnasium during the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon September 30, 2014. REUTERS/Issei Kato (SOUTH KOREA - Tags: SPORT WRESTLING) - RTR48BNP

Wrestling’s Curby Cup next move in US-Iran sports diplomacy

An event founded in the memory of a young American wrestler provides a new pathway for advancing people-to-people ties between the United States and Iran.

Senate to wrap up defense bill

A look at the Middle East issues Congress will be addressing the week of June 15.

Iranian former Vice-President Mohammad Reza Aref (C), attends the reformist Islamic Iran Participation Front (IIPF) party meeting in Tehran on January 15,2015. Iranian reformers gathered in Tehran, the first since 2009, with the ambition to return parliament to conservative control in the 2016 parliamentary elections, taking advantage of the momentum that carried Hassan Rohani to president in 2013. AFP PHOTO/ ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)

Are Reformists, Rouhani heading for split?

After supporting Hassan Rouhani in the presidential elections, Reformists expect Rouhani to repay them with support in the parliamentary elections, but that may not be the case.

Negotiators of Iran and six world powers face each other at a table in the historic basement of Palais Coburg hotel in Vienna April 24, 2015. Nuclear talks are making good but slow progress as they work towards a June 30 deadline for a final deal, Tehran's senior negotiator Abbas Araqchi said on Friday. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader - RTX1A5EA

Iran talks may go into overtime

Negotiators are focused on the June 30 target for reaching a final Iran nuclear deal, a US official said June 10, but brinksmanship may push Iran talks past the deadline as each side waits to see if the other will make concessions.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani arrives to attend the closing statement for the Asian-African Conference in Jakarta April 23, 2015.
REUTERS/Darren Whiteside - RTX19YAE

Is Iran on the right track to managing inflation?

To make the economy stable and predictable, the government needs to put an end to its borrowing habit and cut spending in a significant way, economists believe.

Former Iranian president and election front-runner Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani casts his ballot in the Iranian presidential election in Tehran June 17, 2005. Iran holds presidential election on Friday under international scrutiny for its nuclear programme, its rocky relationship with the United States and by observers keen to see which direction the Islamic Republic will move in now that the presidency of reformist Mohammad Khatami has ended. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj CJF/DY - RTREON2

Iran court upholds sentence of Rafsanjani's son

An appellate court has upheld the corruption case against Mehdi Hashemi, son of Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani.

Iranian President-elect Hassan Rouhani (2nd R) pays his respects to the grave of the founder of the Islamic Republic Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini at his mausoleum in Tehran June 16, 2013. Reuters/Fars News/Seyed Hassan Mousavi (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS) ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS PICTURE IS DISTRIBUTED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS - RTX10Q4E

Khomeini's supporters defend extravagant shrine

Critics have assailed the apparent lavishness of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's shrine, saying he would have opposed the "palace-like" building.

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Iran MP emerges as Instagram rabble-rouser

Conservative Iranian parliament member Mehdi Koochakzadeh has taken to Instagram to attack his political rivals, attracting over 2,000 followers in just over a month.

Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff U.S. Marine Corps Gen. James Cartwright testifies at a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee on the situations in Iraq and Afghanistan, on Capitol Hill in Washington September 23, 2008. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (UNITED STATES) - RTX8UA8

Ex-Obama adviser: Missile defense may avert GCC proliferation

Retired Gen. James Cartwright, a former commander of US Strategic Command, says that missile defense could persuade Persian Gulf states to forswear nuclear weapons despite their concerns about an upcoming nuclear accord with Iran.