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Iran

September 16, 2026

Tehran 3:29 am

26°C

Houthi fighters marching

Analysis

How far will Iran push Houthis against Saudi Arabia amid raging conflict?

As Iran-backed Houthis broaden attacks on Saudi Arabia, Tehran's delicate calculation is exploiting the current conflict without being dragged into an escalation of its own making.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

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

Latest News

US hits major Russian bank VTB with Iran-linked sanctions

VTB Bank in Moscow

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.

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 visit Tehran's annual book fair on May 5, 2004. Persian is famed as the melodic, courtly language of mediaeval poets such as Omar Khayyam and Hafez, but it is a dictionary of vulgar street slang that is taking Iranian literary circles by storm. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl CJO/CRB - RTRIUKD

Censorship issues raised at Tehran book fair

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has harshly criticized book censorship in Iran, but existing laws confine his administration.

Iran women's magazine forced to close

A prominent Iranian magazine dedicated to women's issues has been suspended over accusations that it promotes unmarried cohabitation.

Ali Akbar Velayati, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's top adviser on international affairs, smiles as he listens to questions from the media during a news conference after meeting with Lebanon's Prime Minister Tammam Salam at the government palace in Beirut May 18, 2015. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir - RTX1DGIE

Khamenei adviser slams US over Fordow

Iranian officials have said that the United States has gone back on its statements regarding the underground enrichment facility of Fordow.

U.S. President Barack Obama greets Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council Abdul Latif bin Rashid Al Zayani while hosting the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) at Camp David in Maryland May 14, 2015.
REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RTX1D0YT

GCC official: Camp David 'exceeded' expectations

A senior Arab official says the Gulf Cooperation Council is pleased at US assurances of a “strategic partnership” and calls on Iran to “modify its behavior” toward the region in the wake of a likely nuclear deal.

An young Iranian woman takes a look at a censored book at the 18th Tehran International Book Fair May 6, 2005. Iran's Culture Ministry ordered the Iranian representation of foreign publishers to censor all pictures that show a part or complete part of a woman or man's nude body. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl MN/JK/DH - RTRACIC

Iranian dissident praises Rouhani's health care reform

Dr. Mehdi Khazali, an Iranian political dissident, says that health care reform is the one place that the Hassan Rouhani administration has made improvements.

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 money changer holds Iranian rial banknotes as he waits for customers in Tehran's business district January 7, 2012. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi (IRAN - Tags: BUSINESS) - RTR2VZCL

Iran slashes interest rates to boost economy

The Iranian leadership will need to make significant political and economic reforms, some of them counterintuitive, to complement interest rate cuts and generate economic momentum.

Irani workers stand near as a security helicopter lands near the pipeline during a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the inauguration of the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline, in the city of Chahbahar in southeastern Iran March 11, 2013. Ahmadinejad and Zardari marked the start of Pakistani construction on the much-delayed gas pipeline on Monday, Iranian media reported, despite U.S. pressure on Islamabad to back out of the project. REUTERS/Mian Khursheed (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS ENERGY) - RTR3EUW9

Iran-Pakistan pipeline could finally become reality

Iran and Pakistan both have political and economic interests in seeing a long-delayed gas pipeline come to fruition.

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

Hassan Khomeini, grandson of Iran's late leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, waves as he speaks at a ceremony to mark the death anniversary of the Islamic Republic founder Ayatollah Khomeini at Khomeini's shrine in southern Tehran June 4, 2010. REUTERS/IIPA/Sajjad Safari (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS ANNIVERSARY) - RTR2ER21

Will Ayatollah Khomeini's grandson enter politics?

A grandson of the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran is in a unique position to influence politics, but his family name limits his involvement.

U.S. President Barack Obama hosts a working session of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) at Camp David in Maryland May 14, 2015. Flanking Obama are U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (R) and Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah (L) the Emir of Kuwait. Obama will seek to convince Saudi Arabia and other Gulf allies on Thursday that the United States is committed to their security despite deep concern among Arab leaders about U.S. efforts to broker a nuclear deal with Iran. REUTERS/Kevin Lama

Will Camp David spur regional cooperation?

The signing of the nuclear deal between Iran and the P5+1 can open the door to cooperation between Middle East countries.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting at his office in Jerusalem May 10, 2015. REUTERS/Sebastian Scheiner/Pool TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTX1CAT6

Is Israel in cahoots with Saudi Arabia?

Israel and Saudi Arabia feel that the United States is playing a bad hand in its negotiating with Iran, trying to offer more and more compromises while Iran isn't budging.

A general view shows a besieged hospital, the last remaining Syrian army foothold in the town of Jisr al-Shughour, in the province of Idlib May 3, 2015. Syrian troops backed by heavy air strikes have edged closer to a hospital in northwestern Syria where dozens of Syrian soldiers and loyalist fighters have been holed up for the past two weeks, the army said on Sunday. The town was overrun last month by insurgents, including al Qaeda's wing in Syria, Nusra Front. Picture taken May 3, 2015. REUTERS/Ammar Abd

Iran’s new strategy in Syria

Iran and its allies, such as Hezbollah, seem to be getting more involved in the Syrian civil war.

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Yukiya Amano speaks at an annual conference of the Japan Atomic Industry Forum (JAIF), an organisation made up of all major nuclear reactor makers and utilities, in Tokyo April 13, 2015. REUTERS/Toru Hanai - RTR4X1ZC

IAEA comments on military sites strike nerve in Iran

Iran's hard-liners have rejected a call by the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency for Iran to allow inspections of military sites.